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Documents for "African Physical Geography":
  • Adamawa Massif plateau, c.26,000 sq mi (67,300 sq km), N central Cameroon and E Nigeria, W central Africa. It is sparsely populated, and chiefly used for grazing. Tin is mined there and bauxite mining began in...
  • Agulhas, Cape [Port.,=needles], Western Cape province, South Africa; the southernmost point of Africa. Its name refers to the saw-edged reefs and sunken rocks that run out to sea and make navigation hazardous. A...
  • Albert, Lake or Albert Nyanza , 2,064 sq mi (5,346 sq km), on the Congo (Kinshasa)-Uganda border, E central Africa. The lake is c.100 mi (160 km) long and c.19 mi (30 km) wide, with a maximum depth of 168 ft (51 m). Lying in the Great Rift Valley , 2,030 ft (619 m) above sea level, Lake Albert receives the Semliki River and the Victoria Nile and is drained by the Albert Nile, which becomes the Bahr-el-Jebel when it enters Sudan. Under Mobutu...
  • Arabian Desert or Eastern Desert, c.86,000 sq mi (222,740 sq km), E Egypt, bordered by the Nile valley in the west and the Red Sea and the Gulf of Suez in the east. It extends along most of Egypt's eastern border and merges into...
  • Atbara river, NE Africa, rising in NW Ethiopia and flowing c.500 mi (800 km) to the Nile in Sudan. There are few permanent settlements along its banks. The Atbara's water level is very low, except during...
  • Atlas Mountains system of ranges and plateaus in NW Africa, extending c.1,500 mi (2,410 km) from SW Morocco, through N Algeria, to N Tunisia; Jebel Toubkal (13,671 ft/4,167 m), in SW Morocco, is the highest peak...
  • Awash river, E Ethiopia, rising near Addis Ababa and flowing c.500 mi (800 km) to a swampy lake near the Djibouti border. The Awash Valley is important agriculturally and has hydroelectric plants. A...
  • Bahr-el-Jebel river, 594 mi (956 km) long, section of the White Nile, S Sudan, Africa. The name is usually used for the White Nile between Nimule, where it enters Sudan (as the Albert Nile), and Lake No, where...
  • Bakassi peninsula, c.400 sq mi (1,000 sq km), on the Cameroon-Nigeria border, at the SE end of the Gulf of Guinea. The swampy peninsula and associated small islands are strategically located, controlling...
  • Bangweulu or Bangweolo , lake and swamps, c.3,800 sq mi (9,840 sq km), NE Zambia. The lake is c.50 mi (80 km) long and 25 mi (40 km) wide. Commercial fishing is pursued in the lagoons of the swamps. The swamps are formed...
  • Bassas da India uninhabited atoll, 0.1 sq mi (0.2 sq km), in the S Mozambique Channel, W Indian Ocean, about midway between Madagascar and Mozambique. The atoll's rocky islets, which emerge from a circular reef,...
  • Benin, Bight of northern arm of the Gulf of Guinea, c.550 mi (885 km) wide, W Africa, between Cape Three Points, S Ghana, and the Niger River delta, SW Nigeria. The bight was an important area for slave trading...
  • Benue river, W Africa, chief tributary of the Niger. It flows c.880 mi (1,416 km) W from Cameroon into the Niger River at Lokoja , Nigeria. The Benue, which carries much commercial traffic, is almost entirely navigable by power-driven boats in August and September, the height of the rainy season. Large mineral deposits (tin,...
  • Bié Plateau or Bihé Plateau , highland region, western section of the central plateau of Angola, SW Africa; alt. 5,000 to 6,000 ft (1,520-1,830 m). Its cool climate and ample rainfall make it possible for corn, sisal, peanuts,...
  • Biafra, Bight of eastern bay of the Gulf of Guinea, W Africa. It extends approximately from the Niger River delta, in S Nigeria, to N Gabon. The bight gave its name to the secessionist Republic of Biafra in E Nigeria...
  • Blue Nile Arab. Al Bahr al Azraq, river, c.1,000 mi (1,600 km) long, the chief headstream of the Nile, rising in Lake Tana, NW Ethiopia, at an altitude of c.6,000 ft (1,800 m). It flows generally S from the Lake Tana region, then W...
  • Bomu river, c.500 mi (800 km) long, rising in NE Congo (Kinshasa) and flowing generally westward. It forms part of the Congo-Central African Republic border. The Bomu merges with the Uele to form the...
  • Bon, Cape Ras at Tib , or Ras Addar , peninsula, NE Tunisia, projecting c.50 mi (80 km) into the Mediterranean Sea toward Sicily. Cape Bon, the eastern terminus of the Saharan Atlas Mts., is a hilly, fertile region that supports...
  • Boyoma Falls formerly Stanley Falls, seven cataracts on the Lualaba River, extending c.60 mi (100 km) between Kisangani and Ubundu, N central Congo (Kinshasa), central Africa. The falls have a drop of c.200 ft (60 m) and are...
  • Cameroon, Mount kăm´eroon , active volcano, 13,354 ft (4,070 m) high, in the Cameroon Highlands, W Cameroon; highest point in W Africa. The western side of the mountain receives an average annual rainfall of more than 400...
  • Casamance river, c.200 mi (320 km) long, W Africa. It rises in S Senegal and flows westward, emptying in the Atlantic Ocean. The virtually unnavigable river lies in a region of lush floodplains between the...
  • Chéliff or Sheliff , river, c.420 mi (680 km) long, N Algeria. It rises in the Amour Mts. of the Saharan Atlas and empties into the Mediterranean Sea near Mostaganem. The Chéliff, the longest river in Algeria, is not...
  • Chad, Lake chăd, chäd , N central Africa. It lies mainly in Chad and Cameroon. Some 550 sq mi (1,425 sq km) in area in 2003, the shallow lake has been greatly reduced in size since the 1960s, when it varied seasonally...
  • Chari or Shari , longest river of interior drainage in Africa, c.650 mi (1,050 km) long, rising in the uplands of the Central African Republic, N central Africa. It flows NW across S Chad, past Sarh (Fort...
  • Chotts, Plateau of the [Arab.,=salt lake], plateau region of the Atlas Mts., alt. c.3,500 ft (1,070 m), N Algeria, N Africa. The plateau is c.125 mi (200 km) wide in the west, narrowing in the east to become a series of...
  • Congo or Zaïre , great river of equatorial Africa, c.2,720 mi (4,380 km) long, formed by the waters of the Lualaba River and its tributary, the Luvua River, and flowing generally N and W through Congo (Kinshasa)...
  • Copperbelt mining region, N central Zambia, central Africa. A natural extension of the mineral-rich region of Katanga , the Copperbelt is one of the richest sources of copper in the world. Cobalt, selenium, silver,...
  • Cuanza or Kwanza , river, 600 mi (966 km) long, rising in central Angola and flowing NW and W to the Atlantic. Its lower course, which is navigable for c.160 mi (257 km), was the original route of Portuguese...
  • Cubango Kuvango , or Okavango , river, c.1,000 mi (1,610 km) long, rising in the highlands of central Angola, W central Africa, and flowing southeast, across the Caprivi Strip, Namibia, to the Okavango Delta, N Botswana. It...
  • Cunene or Kunene , river, rising in W central Angola and flowing c.750 mi (1,200 km) S and W to the Atlantic Ocean. Its lower course forms part of Angola's border with Namibia.
  • Djerid, Chott salt lake, c.1,900 sq mi (4,920 sq km), W central Tunisia, N Africa. It is now an extensive salt flat with water only in its lower areas.
  • Drakensberg Range South Africa and Lesotho, extending 700 mi (1,127 km) NE-SW in KwaZulu-Natal, Lesotho, Free State, Limpopo, and Mpumalanga. The Zulu name of the range is Ukhahlamba [barrier of spears]...
  • Edward, Lake or Edward Nyanza 830 sq mi (2,150 sq km), in the Great Rift Valley, central Africa, on the Congo-Uganda border. It lies at an altitude of c.3,000 ft (910 m), is c.50 mi (80 km) long, and has a maximum width of c.30...
  • Elgon, Mount extinct volcano, central Africa, on the Kenya-Uganda border. Its highest peak is Wagagai (14,178 ft/4,321 m). The inhabitants of Mt. Elgon's densely populated lower slopes cultivate arabica...
  • Ethiopian Highlands rugged plateau region of E Africa, covering about two thirds of Ethiopia. It is divided into two massifs by the Great Rift Valley; the Amhara, or Ethiopian Plateau, is the larger of the two. The...
  • Etosha Game Park c.26,000 sq mi (67,300 sq km), NW Namibia; est. 1928. It is one of Africa's largest game reserves and extends inland from the coast beyond the Etosha Pan to the Ovambo Omuramba River. The Omusati,...
  • Europa Island volcanic island, c.11 sq mi (28 sq km), between Madagascar and Mozambique in the Mozambique Channel, W Indian Ocean. A possession of France since 1897, Europa is flat, low-lying, and heavily...
  • Fouta Djallon or Futa Jallon , highland region, c.30,000 sq mi (77,700 sq km), central Guinea, W Africa. Largely a rolling grassland (average alt. c.3,000 ft/910 m), the region is grazed by cattle of the Fulani. The Niger,...
  • Gambia river, c.700 mi (1,130 km) long, rising on the Fouta Djallon, N Guinea, W Africa, and flowing generally northwest through SE Senegal then west, bisecting The Gambia, to the Atlantic Ocean at...
  • Glorioso Islands Fr. Îles Glorieuses, island group, c.2 sq mi (5 sq km), in the Mozambique Channel, W Indian Ocean, 125 mi (200 km) WNW of N Madagascar. A French possession since 1892, they are comprised of two small vegetation-covered...
  • Grain Coast W Africa, former name of a part of the Atlantic coast that is roughly identical with the coast of modern Liberia. In the 15th cent. "grains of paradise," i.e., seeds of the melegueta pepper, became...
  • Great Rift Valley geological fault system of SW Asia and E Africa. It extends c.3,000 mi (4,830 km) from N Syria to central Mozambique. The northernmost extension runs S through Syria and Lebanon, the Jordan valley, the Dead Sea,...
  • Horn of Africa peninsula, NE Africa, opposite the S Arabia Peninsula. Also known as the Somali Peninsula, it encompasses Somalia and E Ethiopia and is the easternmost extension of the continent, separating the...
  • Jos Plateau region, c.3,000 sq mi (7,770 sq km), alt. c.4,200 ft (1,280 m), central Nigeria, W Africa. The plateau, composed mainly of granite, slopes gently to the north and is covered by grasslands; the...
  • Jubba Ital. Giuba, river, c.1,000 mi (1,610 km) long, formed at the Ethiopia-Somalia border, E Africa, by the confluence of the Dawa and Genale rivers, both of which rise in the highlands of S Ethiopia. The Jubba...
  • Kafue river, c.600 mi (970 km) long, rising along the Zambia-Congo border, S central Africa, near Lubumbashi, and meandering through central Zambia to the Zambezi River. It provides water to Zambia's Copperbelt...
  • Kafue National Park c.8,650 sq mi (22,400 sq km), S central Zambia, S Africa; est. 1950. It is a haven for the animal and bird life of a diverse region that includes grasslands, forests, and marshes.
  • Kagera river, c.250 mi (400 km) long, formed on the Rwanda-Tanzania border, E central Africa, by the confluence of the Nyabarongo and Ruvubu rivers. The Kagera's headwaters, which rise in the highlands...
  • Kalahari arid plateau region, c.100,000 sq mi (259,000 sq km), in Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa. The Kalahari, covered largely by reddish sand, lies between the Orange and Zambezi rivers and is...
  • Kariba Dam hydroelectric project, in Kariba Gorge of the Zambezi River, on the Zambia-Zimbabwe border, S central Africa; built 1955-59. One of the world's largest dams, it is 420 ft (128 m) high and 1,900 ft (579 m) long. The Kariba project's generators supply...
  • Karroo or Karoo , the semiarid plateaus of South Africa. The Little Karroo, in Western Cape, is located N of the Langeberg and Outeniqua Ranges and extends c.200 mi (320 km) from east to west at an altitude of 1,000 to 2,000 ft (305-610 m). It is separated from the Great Karroo, in Western Cape and Eastern Cape (c.300 mi/480 km long; alt. 2,000-3,000 ft/610-915 m), by the Swartberg Mts. The Northern Karroo, in Northern Cape, North West and Free State, forms (with the high veld ) the innermost and highest of South Africa's plateau regions. It extends north from the Great Karroo, bounded by Namaqualand on the west and the Komsberg and Roggeveld escarpments on the southwest,...
  • Kasai or Cassai, river, c.1,100 mi (1,800 km) long, rising in central Angola, S central Africa, flowing E, N, and NW through W Congo (Kinshasa) to the Congo River; it forms part of the Angola-Congo border. The...
  • Kenya, Mount or Mount Kirinyaga, extinct volcano, central Kenya, just south of the equator. Its highest peak, Batian, reaches 17,058 ft (5,199 m), making Mt. Kenya the highest mountain in Africa after Kilimanjaro. In the heart of...
  • Kibo peak, Africa: see Kilimanjaro.
  • Kilimanjaro highest mountain of Africa, NE Tanzania. An extinct volcano, it rises in two peaks, Uhuru (Kibo; 19,340 ft/5,895 m, Africa's highest point) and Mawenzi (17,564 ft/5,354 m), which are joined by a...
  • Kivu lake, 1,042 sq mi (2,699 sq km), 55 mi (89 km) long, on the Congo-Rwanda border, E central Africa; highest lake in Africa (4,788 ft/1,459 m). It is drained by the Ruzizi River, which flows S into...
  • Kyoga or Kioga , lake, c.100 mi (160 km) long, formed by the Victoria Nile, S central Uganda, E Africa. It occupies part of the same depression as Lake Victoria, to which it was once joined. The shallow lake has...
  • Libyan Desert northeast part of the Sahara Desert, NE Africa, in SW Egypt, E Libya, and NW Sudan; called the Western Desert in Egypt. It is a region of sand dunes, stony plains, and rocky plateaus. There are few...
  • Limpopo river, c.1,100 mi (1,770 km) long, rising in Limpopo prov., South Africa. It flows in a great arc, first north (forming part of the South Africa-Botswana border), then east (forming the South...
  • Luangwa river, c.500 mi (800 km) long, S Africa. It rises in NE Zambia, near the Malawi border, and joins the Zambezi River. In the river valley lies Luangwa National Park, a former game reserve in NE Zambia. The c.6000 sq mi (15,500 sq km) park has an abundance of wildlife, including elephants, zebras, vervet monkeys, leopards, lions, hippopotamuses, hyenas,...
  • Magadi, Lake c.20 mi (30 km) long and 2 mi (3.2 km) wide, S Kenya, in the Great Rift Valley. Formed and constantly resupplied by volcanic springs, the lake has a thick crust of carbonate of soda. The crust is...
  • Maghreb or Magrib [Arab.,=the West], Arabic term for NW Africa. It is generally applied to all of Morocco , Algeria , and Tunisia but actually pertains only to the area of the three countries between the high ranges of the Atlas Mts. and the Mediterranean Sea. Some writers also