The African continent is the second largest continent after the Eurasian continent and the hottest continent on the planet. The reason for this is the geographical location of Africa, the entire territory of which is located in the tropical belt of the Earth. The continent's geography is unique and interesting as it stretches from the northern subtropics to the southern ones - and that's not all.
African Geography Facts
From the north, Africa, which covers 6% of the total surface area of the planet, is washed by the Mediterranean Sea, from the northeast by the Red Sea, from the west by the Atlantic Ocean, and from the east and south by the Indian Ocean. The continent's climatic zones are very diverse - they are represented by both dry deserts and humid tropical forests. This is due to the amount of precipitation and the periods of precipitation.
The territory of Africa crosses several climatic zones and the equator, being the only continent stretching from the northern to the southern climatic zone.
The northernmost point of the mainland is Cape Blanco, the southernmost point is Cape Agulhas, and the distance between them is approximately 8000 kilometers. Slightly closer are the western and eastern points of Africa - the Almadi soap and Cape Khafun, which are 7500 kilometers apart from each other. The African continent includes many islands located in the Indian and Atlantic Ocean - so, the most distant from it are the islands of St. Helena, Ascension and the island of Rodrigues. With Asia, Africa is connected by the Isthmus of Suez with the Suez Canal. The continent is separated from Europe by the Strait of Gibraltar.
Features of Africa
Africa is the most "compact" continent, the surface of which is dissected to a rather small extent. In terms of the average height above sea level (750 meters), it ranks second after Asia (among the continents). The highest point on the African continent, the Kilimanjaro volcano, is 5,895 meters high, and the African coastline is 30,500 kilometers long.
The total area of the African islands is 1.1 million square kilometers, and the Gulf of Guinea is the largest bay on the mainland.
The features of the relief include Low Africa and High Africa, located in the northwest and southeast, respectively. The predominant landforms of the African continent are plateaus, stepped plains, highlands and plateaus with volcanic cones and outlier peaks. Plains and plateaus are most often found in tectonic depressions in the interior of the continent, while ridges and hills are located near its shores. The Atlas Mountains are considered the youngest mountain system in Africa - the rest of the mainland is attributed to the ancient Precambrian platform, which is called the African.
