PHYSICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE GEOGRAPHY

1. Africa is the hottest and most central division of the Earth. The Equator passes almost through its center.
2. It is remarkable for its high surface, extensive deserts, and hot climate.



Its coasts are low, but the interior consists of high plateaus. Africa is deficient in gulfs, bays, and other indentations of the coast.
Its northern part is directly east of the southern United States.
Its principal mountain chains are near the coast.
Africa is chiefly a great plateau; its rainless or desert region is Sahara, in the north. South of the center, rain is abundant, supplying the Nile, Zambezi, Congo, and other rivers, besides extensive lakes. Sahara is the largest desert in the world. It is nearly as large as the United States. It is a plateau, consisting of vast sandy flats and dry barren rocks.

The principal lakes in Central Africa are Victoria, Albert, Tanganyika, and Tchad.

The historical productions of Africa comprise grain, cotton, sugar, coffee, tobacco, indigo, ivory, ebony, ostrich feathers, palm oil, and tropical fruits.
The wild animals are very numerous; they comprise the lion, elephant, rhinoceros, hippopotamus, leopard, giraffe, zebra, and monkey. The gorilla is found in the Equatorial regions, and the crocodile in the rivers.

The ancient Barbary States of the pirates were once in the north. Today, the lands of the Barbary States are now Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya.

Cattle, horses, and goats are numerous.
Rains are frequent in winter, but seldom seen in summer.
The principal products of Barbary are leather, wool, grain, and olive oil, with dates, olives, and other fruits.
Egypt is in the same latitude as Florida. It has hot summers, mild winters, no snow, and but little rain.
The Valley of the Nile is celebrated for its fertility, due to the annual rise of the river Nile.

In Egypt, the river is enclosed between high banks, through which the water is conducted in narrow channels, and allowed to cover the land, leaving a rich sediment.
The rise of the water caused by the abundant rains on the highlands of Eastern and Central Africa, begins at Cairo in June, and continues until September. "Without the Nile, Egypt would be a desert.

Considerable trade between Europe and India is carried on through Egypt, by way of the canal and railroad which extend from the Mediterranean to the Red Sea.
The oases are fertile places, where springs of water, trees, and grass are found.

The climate is intensely hot, and in the rainy season, large tracts of land in Central Africa are inundated; it is, therefore, very unhealthy in summer.
The climate of Southern Africa is delightful. Cape Good Hope and Cape Hatteras are the same distance from the Equator, one in north, and the other in south, latitude; and when it is midwinter at one, it is midsummer at the other. Important discoveries of diamonds have been made in Southern Africa.

MAPWORK

1. What borders Africa to the north?
2. What borders Africa to the northeast?
3. What borders Africa to the east?
4. What borders Africa to the south?
5. What borders Africa to the west?
6. Find the countries of the northern Africa coast: Tunisia, Western Sahara, Morocco, Egypt, Algeria, and Libya
7. Find the countries of the western Africa coast: Liberia, Sierra Leone, Mauritania, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Senegal, Gambia, Benin, Togo, Ghana, Cote d'Ivorie, Nigeria, Gabon, Namibia, Congo, and Angola.
8. Which two African countries are surrounded by the country of South Africa?
9. Which large island country is just off Africa's southeastern coast?
10. Which countries in Africa touch the Indian Ocean?
11. Which countries in Africa are entirely landlocked?
12. Which countries in Africa touch the Red Sea?
13. Which countries in Africa touch the equator?
14. Between what approximate latitudes and longitudes is the continent of Africa?