Africa

Africa as seen from space.

Africa is the second biggest continent in the world. Africa is situated south of Europe. The Atlantic Ocean borders it in the West, the Indian Ocean in the East. The first people probably came from Africa, that is why the continent is also called the cradle of humanity.

Along the Nile, the longest river in Africa, the Egyptian kingdom was created over 5000 years ago. A lot of other groups in Africa were small and had no writing. That is why we know very little about the original story of Africa.

Near the end of the Middle Ages, European countries started to conquer areas of Africa. In the beginning, they only succeeded along the coast. Throughout the 19th century, almost all of Africa had been colonized by European countries. That changed from 1920 through 1960. Since then, most countries in Africa were free but mostly very poor. In Africa, there are 55 independent countries.

When you look at Africa you see three parts. The North is mainly the Sahara Desert. The Arabs and the Berbers and most of the people there believe in Islam. The middle of Africa belongs to the Tropics and has a rainforest. It is warm and moist there. The people there have a dark skin color and many believe in Christianity or an African religion. There is more desert in the south or colder places. Some of the people who live here have families who came from Europe or Asia.

What are the outer points of Africa?

This satellite picture shows the westernmost point, called Cap-Vert

The northernmost point of Africa is the Ras al Abiad in Tunisia. It is located about 11 kilometers (6.8 miles) west of the city Bizerte. The whole landscape is also called “White Cape”. The land here is flat.

The easternmost point of Africa is the cliff Cape Guardafui. That is ancient Italian for “look and escape!” In ancient times, people called it “Elephant Cape”. It is located in Somalia. The whole area is also called “The Horn of Africa”.

The southernmost point of Africa is Cape Agulhas. At least, if you look at it closely enough. The name is Portuguese for “Cape of the Needles”, which probably comes from a lot of coral reefs and cliffs. The southernmost point is usually called the Cape of Good Hope. That is the cliff that is located more to the west. The first sailor that went around this cape was Portuguese. He was called Bartolomeo Diaz. He named the cape “cape of the storms”.

The westernmost point of Africa is the Cap-Vert or the “Green Cape”, it is located on a peninsula together with Dakar in Senegal. The ground there is lava rock and only a little sand that the wind brought there. That is why there are not a lot of plants there.