The most contrasting and most colorful on our planet is considered to be the African continent. Photos of the nature of this continent are striking in their beauty and colorfulness. If we consider it from a social point of view, then it will be the poorest on Earth.
Continent Africa: photo and general description
The mainland is the second largest in the world. Its area is about 30,000,000 square kilometers. From north to south, the continent of Africa stretches for more than 8 thousand kilometers.
The hottest continent on the planet is washed by the waters of the Atlantic and Indian oceans. It is separated from Europe and Asia by the Mediterranean and Red Seas, respectively. The coastline of Africa is cut slightly. The largest peninsula of the continent is Somalia, and the largest bay is Guinea.
As for the name of the mainland, the researchers still have not been able to come to a consensus. Some associate it with the name of the ancient tribe Avrig. Others claim that the continentAfrica owes its name to the Phoenician root "separate". Obviously, this implies the historical process of the separation of Carthage from its mother country.
Natural Features
The continent of Africa is the hottest on Earth. The reason for this was its geographical position. Africa is located within the equatorial and two tropical climatic zones. Therefore, during the year the mainland receives a huge amount of solar heat.
Africa is also very often referred to as the most deserted continent. It was here that the world's largest desert, the Sahara, was formed with extremely poor and sparse vegetation. The average orographic height of the mainland is approximately 760 meters. And the highest point is 5895 m (Kilimanjaro volcano). The relief of Africa is dominated by plateaus, uplands and plateaus.
The territory of the continent is also rich in many minerals. The local subsoil contains considerable reserves of gold, diamonds, tin, copper and iron ores, phosphorites. Nature did not deprive Africa of black gold either: in the middle of the 20th century, the richest oil and gas deposits were discovered in Nigeria, Libya and Algeria.
Regions of Africa are differently provided with fresh water resources. Thus, the river network is very developed in the central regions of the mainland (the Congo is one of the largest river systems in the world). But in the rest of the continent, there is a rather acute shortage of drinking water.
African continent: countries and populations
Within the Black Continent, according to official data,there are 52 independent countries. The vast majority of them gained independence only after the end of the Second World War and the collapse of the colonial system. Until the middle of the 20th century, there were only four sovereign states in Africa (Egypt, Liberia, Ethiopia and South Africa). It is worth adding that even now there are a number of self-proclaimed, unrecognized or partially recognized states on the mainland.
Africa today is home to over one billion people. Moreover, over the past half century, the number of inhabitants on the mainland has tripled! Africa's population is growing by leaps and bounds, and this is seriously worrying the world community. Moreover, the demographic situation on the mainland is complicated by many acute problems. Among them are poverty and illiteracy of the population, lack of proper medicine, constant conflicts and military clashes.
Regional divisions
The mainland is quite heterogeneous in economic, historical, cultural and other aspects. It is customary for geographers to distinguish five regions within its boundaries: North, West, Central, East and South Africa.
South Africa is the most developed macro-district in socio-economic terms. Only here the service sector employs most of the population. It is in this region that the most prosperous country on the continent, South Africa, is located. The center of Africa, on the contrary, is a benchmark of poverty and social problems.
The countries of North Africa are mainly the states of the Arabworld with appropriate cultural characteristics. Many of them frankly live off oil production.
We should also mention West Africa here. This is the most diverse, most contrasting region on the mainland. The difference (gap) in social or economic performance between countries in this region can be enormous.
In closing
The continent of Africa covers an area of 30 million square meters. km. It is the second largest continent on Earth. About 1 billion people live in this territory and 52 states are located.
Africa is a strikingly contrasting continent. Here, within the same country, you can see savannahs with wildlife, multi-million cities and tribes living in primitive dwellings.
