Africa

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World map showing where Africa is

Africa is very big and is the second largest continent and makes up little over a fifth of the world's land, and is surrounded by large areas of water. It is made up of 61 countries, and 14% of the world's population live there. It is thought to be the continent where the first humans lived.

It is separated:

from Europe, to the north, by the Mediterranean Sea;
from Asia, to the east, by the Suez Canal and Red Sea;
from Australia, to the east, by the Indian Ocean; and
from the Americas, to the west, by the Atlantic Ocean.

1 Geography
2 References
3 Other websites

[change] Geography

Most of the people who live in Africa are poor and live in rural conditions.^[1]

[change] North or Saharan Africa

This picture shows where vegetation is most common in February and August (before and after the summer)

Much of North Africa is dry and warm, as it is dominated by the Sahara Desert and does not receive a monsoon season. In Saharan Africa there are few rivers or other water sources for the people. The reason it is so warm and dry is because the continent is very wide - this means it is far away from the ocean, which brings rain and wind. Underground water sources, such as springs are very important in the desert. These often form oases. An oasis is an area of vegetation (plant life) surrounded by desert.

Countries that are in the North, but are not part of the Sahara desert, are still affected by the very dry wind from the desert.

The reason Africa is so warm is that it lies between the two tropics:

These are very warm areas of the earth, and at the centre of the tropics is the equator (represented by the red line on the right). These lines do not really exist, they are used by people to show where the sun's rays are most powerful.

This oasis, in Libya, has lots of plants growing around it.

In the extreme north, the climate is cooler and similar to the climate of European Mediterranean countries.

[change] South or Sub-Saharan Africa

This section is about the south of the African continent, and not the country South Africa.

Southern Africa has more rainfall than the North. Across the southern coastline, there are less mountainous areas. This makes it easier for wind to blow clouds, and because of this, rainfall, over the land. Southern Africa is not as wide as northern Africa either. In southern Africa there are some areas of tropical rainforest.

The green land shows the rainforest.

[change] Animals

Africa has a lot of wildlife. There are many types of animals there. Some are cheetahs, elephants, lions, snakes, giraffes, and a lot more. Over 2,000 types of fish live in African lakes and rivers.