The African continent is the second largest after the Eurasian continent and the hottest continent of the planet. The reason for this is the geographical location of Africa, the entire territory of which is located in the tropical zone of the Earth. The geography of the continent is unique and interesting, since it stretches from the northern subtropics to the southern ones - and that is not all.
African geography facts
From the north, Africa, whose area covers 6% of the total surface area of the planet, is washed by the Mediterranean Sea, from the northeast - the Red Sea, from the west - the Atlantic Ocean, from the east and south - the Indian Ocean. The climatic zones of the continent are very diverse - they are represented by both dry deserts and moist tropical forests. This is due to the amount of precipitation and periods of precipitation.
The territory of Africa is crossed by several climatic zones and the equator, being the only continent stretching from the northern to the southern climatic zone.
The most northern point of the mainland is Cape Blanco, the most southern is Cape Igolny, and the distance between them is approximately 8000 kilometers. The western and eastern points of Africa are located a little closer - Almadi soap and Hafun cape, which are 7500 kilometers apart. The African continent includes many islands located in the Indian and Atlantic Ocean - for example, the islands of St. Helena, Ascension and Rodriguez Island are the most remote from it. Africa connects the Suez Isthmus with Asia to the Suez Canal. The continent is separated from Europe by the Strait of Gibraltar.
Africa features
Africa is the most “compact” continent, the surface of which is dissected to a rather small extent. In terms of average height above sea level (750 meters), it takes second place after Asia (among the continents). The highest point of the African continent, Kilimanjaro volcano, has a height of 5895 metro, and the coastline of Africa is 30500 kilometers.
The total area of African islands is 1.1 million square kilometers, and the largest gulf of the mainland is the Gulf of Guinea.
Relief features 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, on which there are volcanic cones and outlier peaks. Plains and plateaus are most often found in tectonic depressions of 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 belongs to the ancient Precambrian platform, which is called African.
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