Geography of Africa Packet

Besides these 5 bodies of water, the rest of Africa is surrounded by oceans. The Atlantic Ocean is to the left of Africa, and the Indian Ocean is to the right.

There is a large desert in Africa called the Sahara Desert. It covers about 25% of the continent. The Sahara Desert is the biggest and hottest desert in the entire world. The dunes in this desert can get very high, with some dunes being over 700 feet high!

Early explorers knew about Northern Africa and the people who lived there. However, the Sahara Desert made it very difficult for these explorers to travel through it. Since explorers couldn’t get deeper into Africa, it remained a mystery. Because of this, Africa was often called “the dark continent.”

Another major landform located in Africa is a river called the Nile River. It is the longest river in the entire world. The river starts at Lake Victoria, and travels 4,000 miles northward through Egypt. This river would become very important for early civilizations because people were able to use it for irrigation. In fact, the earliest humans were believed to have lived in Africa. This is why there is a part of Africa known as the Cradle of Humankind.

Around the equator there is a rainforest. This area is home to half of Africa’s animal species. Unfortunately, humans are destroying the rainforest for many reasons. The trees in the rainforest are being cut for lumber. Some areas are being destroyed by slash and burn farming. This is when large areas of trees are cut down and burnt in order to create fields for farming. Building roads and growing cities are also destroying the rainforest. In fact, about 90% of the rainforest is gone. To the north and south of the rainforest there is less rain. These areas are referred to as plains and are home to animals like giraffes, zebras, and lions.

East Africa has many mountains, and in these mountain areas are many lakes. Lake Victoria, which is where the Nile gets its water, is the second largest freshwater lake in the world. Mount Kilimanjaro is the highest point in Africa at over 3 ½ miles high. Off the eastern coast of Africa is the island of Madagascar. It is the 4^th largest island in the world. This island is home to Lemurs, which are relatives of monkeys, and can only be found on Madagascar and the smaller islands near it.