Africa is really a wonderfull continent on the map of the world ,see it by reading all this

Africa resembles an upturned soup plate. Much of the continent consists of a high plateau whose sides fall sharply to a narrow, low coastal belt. The plateau varies in elevation between about 1,000 and 8,000 feet (305-2,440 meters), but is not generally mountainous. The main exceptions are mounts Kilimanjaro, Meru, Kenya, and Elgon in the east; the Ruwenzori range between Zaire and Uganda; the Drakensberg range in South Africa; and the Atlas Mountains in the north.

In general, the southern and eastern areas of the continental plateau form a region of land higher than that in the west and north. This difference in elevation has an important effect on settlement. Much of Ethiopia, for example, is above 8,000 feet (2,440 m.), while the highlands of Kenya also form an extensive area above 8,000 feet (2,440 m.). Johannesburg, the gold-mining and financial center of South Africa, has an altitude of close to 6,000 feet (1,830 m.). Most Europeans have settled in the areas of high altitudes, where temperatures are moderate and disease-carrying pests, such as mosquitoes, are rare. Indeed, one African political party in West Africa used to carry an emblem portraying the mosquito as a symbol of the factor that had saved them from the problems brought by white settlers.

The valleys

The most distinctive features of Africa's topography are the rift valleys in the east. These were formed by volcanic activity and faulting in the earth. There are two of them - the western and eastern - joined together rather like a chicken's wishbone. These rifts can be traced from Lake Malawi: the eastern one extends northward up to and including the Red Sea; the western one extends through lakes Tanganyika, Kivu, Edward, and Albert. Most of these lakes have surfaces well above sea level, but their floors fall well below sea level. Lake Tanganyika is one of the deepest lakes in the world, with a depth of 4,708 feet (1,433 m.). Lake Victoria, the third largest lake in the world, lies between the two rift valleys and, in contrast to its neighbors, is very shallow. One of the consequences of this physical phenomenon for the area's inhabitants is that some of the volcanic mountains that line the edges of the rift valleys provide fertile soil that can support comparatively large populations. Another is that the lakes formed in these valleys supply large quantities of fish, the most plentiful source of Africa's protein.

Most of the beaches of Africa are either guarded by surf or backed by shallow, mangrove-forested lagoons. There are few bays offering haven to visiting ships. Many of Africa's rivers cascade over cataracts near the coast. A number of the rivers wind through inland swamps finally to reach the sea, where they form dangerous deltas or obstructing sandbars. Thus the usual methods of penetrating an unknown land were not possible in Africa. European explorers were also stopped by the Sahara. It was not until the mid-19th century that serious contact was made from the outside with the interior peoples of the continent.

"A Stagnant Backwater"

There were not many apparent attractions to induce people from the outside world to try to overcome these natural hazards. Until late in the 19th century the continent was considered by the leading European nations as a stagnant backwater. They thought of Africa as being largely inhabited by peoples who had few of the materials that had drawn Europeans to other lands. There was no evidence of quantities of the gold, silver, and precious jewels that had taken the Spaniards to South and Central America, nor of the fertile land, spices, and hoards of gems that had attracted Europeans to Asia. The slaves that formed the chief export commodity of interest to Europeans were bought on the shores of the continent, captured and sold by Africans themselves. Although gold had been mined in parts of West and Central Africa from ancient times, few outsiders knew of its source. In the west it was exchanged, usually for salt, across the Sahara with North Africans, who then traded it across the Mediterranean to Europe. In the east it was carried from what is now Zimbabwe to the coast, and there traded with Arab or Indian merchants. Copper and iron also followed this trade route from Central Africa. Some of the copper and iron were bought by merchants from Arabia to be sold in India.

New Resources

In the main, the exchange of these valuable materials took place on the shores of Africa. It was not until diamonds and then gold were discovered in South Africa in 1867 and 1884 that the continent attracted hordes of seekers of wealth. At about the same time the marketing of rubber began in the region now known as Zaire. Ivory had been sought in East Africa throughout the century, but this was a luxury trade. Palm oil was also exported from West Africa. Cacao from the Gold Coast, cloves from Zanzibar, and copper from Katanga in present-day Zaire, and the nearby copper belt of northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) also gained some importance. But, with the exception of the minerals, these commodities were never of major importance to the nations that were becoming industrialized. They did lead an increasing number of Europeans into the interior of the African continent, But to the outside world it was the gold and diamonds of South Africa and the copper of present-day Zambia and Zaire that were really important.

Today so much of Africa is still unexplored geologically that many undiscovered valuable materials may lie below the ground, Recently oil has been found in several areas - Libya, Algeria, and Nigeria especially - and has become a profitable export of these countries

Cultivation

For the mass of the African population it is the fertility of the soil that determines where they can live. With few exceptions the soil of the continent is poor. It was once thought that because much of tropical Africa has dense vegetation, fertile land would be revealed once the forest was removed. This theory has been disproved. Tropical soils are of lower quality and more easily destroyed than those of the temperate zones. Once the land is cleared of its wild vegetation the soil quickly degenerates. The balance that results from self-fertilization through the decomposition of leaves and branches and the action of insects is destroyed. Heavy rains wash away the thin layer of topsoil, and serious erosion quickly develops. Moreover, many tropical soils are infertile because they contain a large quantity of laterite, a form of rock that colors the soil red. Laterite is useful for making roads and some buildings, but it makes the soil useless for agriculture.