Central africa composition. Central Africa, general information about the region of the African continent. Seas and oceans

The main characteristic of this region can be called its area, because Africa is recognized as the second largest continent of the Earth. Its area is about 29.2 km. sq., and if we take into account the islands that lie off its coast, then the area will be approximately 30 million km. sq.

Historically, there was no single name for this continent initially. In ancient times, part of the territory was called Ethiopia, and the other part - Libya.

General characteristics of the geographical location

The continent of Africa is washed from different sides by two oceans and two seas. The east is washed by the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean, the west by the Atlantic Ocean, and the Mediterranean Sea adjoins the north.

The population of Africa is 933 million, 55 countries are located on its territory, most of which, unfortunately, are recognized as the poorest states on Earth. African countries include three monarchies, the federal republic of Nigeria and the republics.

The mainland of Africa is characterized by weak vertical and horizontal dissection. Geographical position Africa is special, since the mainland is located symmetrically to the equator.

The mainland is located between two tropics: the extreme northern point is 37 ° 20 "" N. latitude. - Cape Engel, southernmost point 34 ° 5 "" S. sh. - Cape Agulhas.

Only the southern and northern margins are partially located in subtropical latitudes. It is unique that most of the mainland is located in a hot zone, the territory of which is constantly heated by the Sun.

The coastlines of Africa are poorly indented, so few harbors and bays have formed along the coast.

Position features

The configuration of the African continent should be singled out as a feature of its geographical position. The manifestation of the zonality of African landscapes is definitely unevenly distributed land area south and north of the equator.

The peculiarity lies in the fact that the northern part is much wider than the southern half of the mainland. For example, the width of the southern part is about 3000 km, and the distance from the western point of Cape Verde to the eastern point of Ras Hafun is 7.5 thousand km.

Attention should be paid to the features of the bays of the mainland. The largest is the Gulf of Guinea. The Gulf of Aden washes the large peninsula of Somalia from the north.

This bay is located in the Mediterranean Sea, like the Gulf of Sidra. And the Gulf of Mozambique in the Indian Ocean separates the largest island of Madagascar from the mainland.

Also in this ocean are islands such as Zanzibar, Pemba, Mafia, the Socotra archipelago. The world-famous Canary Islands are located in the Atlantic Ocean and are not far from Africa, like Madeira and Cape Verde.

And in the Gulf of Guinea are the small islands of Fernando Po and Principe.

Due to the extraordinary configuration of the mainland, the location of natural zones is not the same, but they pass into each other. Zones of subequatorial forests are replaced by tropical deserts, which, in turn, are replaced by subtropical natural zones.

Africa is a part of the world that occupies one fifth of the land on planet Earth. There are 60 states on the territory of Africa, but only 55 of them are universally recognized, the remaining 5 are self-proclaimed. Each of the states belongs to a particular region. Traditionally, five sub-regions are distinguished in Africa: four on the cardinal points (east, south, west, north) and one - central.

Central Africa

The Central African region occupies a continental area of ​​7.3 million square kilometers. km in an area rich in natural gifts. Geographically, the countries of Central Africa are separated from the rest of the sub-regions by the East African Continental Rift from the east; watershed between the rivers Congo - Kwanza and - Kubangu - from the south. The west of the region is washed by the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Guinea; the northern border of the region coincides with the state border of the Republic of Chad. The countries of Central Africa are located in the equatorial and subequatorial humid and hot.

The richest region in water resources: the abounding Congo River, small rivers Ogowe, Sanaga, Kwanza, Kwilu and others. The vegetation is represented by dense forests in the center of the region and small strips of savannas in the north and south.

The Central African region includes nine countries: Congo, Angola, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Chad, Cameroon, Sao Tome and Principe, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon. Interestingly, two states with the same name have a different shape state structure. Sao Tome and Principe is located on an island in the Atlantic Ocean.

Cameroon, whose coordinates are close to the West African region, is sometimes ranked among the countries of West Africa.

Uniqueness of Central Africa

Active European penetration into the territory of tropical Central Africa began in the 18th century, when the desire of Europeans to possess new territories was especially great. The study of equatorial Africa was facilitated by the discovery of the mouth of the Congo River, along which navigable trips deep into the continent were made. There is very little information about the ancient peoples who inhabited the places where the modern countries of Central Africa are located. Their descendants are known - the Hausa, Yoruba, Athara, Bantu, Oromo peoples. The predominant indigenous race of this territory is the Negroid. In the tropics of the Uele and Congo basin, a special race lives - the pygmies.

Brief descriptions of some states

The Central African Republic is a country located in a territory that has long been unknown to Europeans due to its location in the depths of the mainland. The deciphering of ancient Egyptian inscriptions testifies to the existence of small people in the area, presumably pygmies. The land of the Central African Republic remembers the times of slavery, which ended only in the middle of the 20th century. Now it is a republic with more than five million people. There are several large national parks in the country, where giraffes, hippos, forest elephants, ostriches, several hundred species of birds and other animals live.

Africa's largest country is Democratic Republic Congo. The population of the Congo is about 77 million people. It is also one of the richest states in terms of natural resources. The selva of the Republic is so extensive that it makes up about 6% of the world's wet forests.

The People's Republic of the Congo is located in western Africa, bordering the Atlantic Ocean. The coastline is approximately 170 km. A significant part of the territory is occupied by the Congo depression - a swampy area. The toponym "Congo" (which means "hunters") is very common on the African continent: two states of the Congo, the Congo River, the people and language of the Congo, and other lesser-known points on the map of Africa are named so.

Country with interesting history- Angola, for many centuries sent ships with slaves to South America. Modern Angola is a major exporter of fruits, sugar cane and coffee.

The territory of Cameroon has an exceptional relief: almost the entire country is located on the highlands. Here is Cameroon - an active volcano and the highest point of the country.

Far from the largest is one of the most developed and wealthy countries in Africa. The nature of the country - lagoons and estuaries - is beautiful and poetic.

Chad is the northernmost country in Central Africa. The nature of this state is very different from the nature that other countries of Central Africa have. There are no forests here, on the plains of the country there are sandy deserts and savannahs.

Central Africa is one of the regions Africa , spread out in the equatorial and subequatorial strip. It covers the wide valley of the Congo River, in the western part it adjoins the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Guinea, in the north it includes the Azande plateau, in the south - the Lunda plateau and the adjacent plateaus of Angola. The eastern boundary of Central Africa is the East African Rift System.

The basis of the relief of Central Africa is a spacious flat basin of the Congo River, which occupies the entire center of the region. In the north, the Congo Basin is surrounded by the Banda Upland and the South Guinea Upland, from the west by Lunda-Katanga, and from the south by the Angola Plateau. By and large, the relief of Central Africa has a calm character, without any sharp fluctuations in altitude. The exception is the northwestern outskirts of the region, where fragmented and rugged relief prevails, it is there, in the place of a large tectonic fault, that the highest (4070 m) active volcano in the world, Cameroon, is located.

The climate in the countries of Central Africa is equatorial and subequatorial. It's pretty hot and humid here. The region owes the formation of such a humid climate to the air masses of the Atlantic Ocean. The air temperature throughout the year is high all the time, the only cool place is the hills. Average temperatures in the Congo Valley during the warmest month range from +25 to +28 degrees, and in the coldest from +23 to +25 0 С. winter time the temperature sometimes drops to +15 0 C. Central Africa is one of the few regions of the continent where a decent amount of precipitation falls per year: in the equatorial zone they average 1500--2000 mm or more, in the coastal zone of the Gulf of Guinea - up to 3000 mm , and in some places even more. It is in Central Africa that the wettest place on the mainland is located - the slopes of the Cameroon volcano

The main form of government is a republic

Dualistic Monarchy

Vital level centrally- African population remained one of the lowest in Africa.

In Central Africa, the most numerous are such peoples: Yoruba, Oromo, Athara, Hausa, Bantu. In rural areas, where approximately 56% of the population lives, the official language of the country, French, is poorly understood. Most of the people speak Sango, the language of a small group of Ubangi people living on the Ubangi River. But every nation has its own language.

In particular, in the north and northeast of the country, one can hear Arabic and the Hausa language. Came from the north Muslim faith practiced by about 15% of the population. Christian churches carry out a lot of missionary work in the country, so that at present approximately 50% of the population professes Christianity.

In the capital of Bangui is the residence of the Catholic Archbishop of the Central African Republic. Most of the population adheres to animistic religions, according to which rituals of fertility and burial are observed, as well as totem cults of ancestors.

There are also oil resources that are discovered in the coastal zones of Angola. Such deposits are significant, estimated at 10 million tons per year for each country. There are also sources of natural gas.

Significant reserves in central Africa and minerals:

metal ores;

copper ores;

manganese;

Zaire has an area that supplies 70% of all industrial diamonds worldwide.

Agriculture provides 55% of GDP. Sorghum (42.8 thousand tons) and millet are grown in the north of the country, corn (110 thousand tons), cassava (563 thousand tons), yams (350 thousand tons) and rice (29.7 thousand tons) are grown in the south. . T). Bananas and coffee are grown. The main commercial crops are cotton and coffee. Cultivate cassava, millet, sorghum, rice, peanuts. Hevea collection. Harvesting valuable timber. Livestock. River fishing.

Industry in the Central African Republic is engaged in the processing of agricultural raw materials. There are oil mills, sawmills, cotton-cleaning factories, etc. In the north, diamonds are mined, but their reserves are depleted. In the southern regions there are small gold mines.

Industry provides 20% of GDP. Diamond and gold mining is underway, but gold mining is declining. Near Bakuma there is a deposit of uranium ore, but it is not being developed. The manufacturing industry is mainly represented by food and beverage enterprises. light industry industry - food, beer, clothing, building materials. Electricity generation 102 million kWh (1995).

Republic with its rich fauna and colorful folklore The Janga Sanga National Park, where you can meet the pygmies and trust the guides from their environment, well aware of the habits of wild animals, can offer places to stay and opportunities for ecotourism. Outside the reserves, big game hunters, who outnumber ecotourists, are offered safaris for wild animals that are not legally protected.

The colonialists left a backward economy to the Central African countries, only in Zaire and Zambia there was non-ferrous metallurgy. Behind last years independence, a full cycle of production has been created here, from the extraction of ores to the smelting of high-quality metals. The harvesting of tropical timber (Gabon, Congo, Equatorial Guinea) is also of great export importance. Agriculture specializes in the cultivation of coffee and cocoa, pyrethrum (ethereal), tea, tobacco and rubber, cotton and peanuts, bananas and fruits.

Africa is a part of the world with an area of ​​\u200b\u200bwith islands of 30.3 million km 2, this is the second place after Eurasia, 6% of the entire surface of our planet and 20% of the land.

Geographical position

Africa is located in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres (most), a small part in the Southern and Western. Like all large fragments of the ancient mainland Gondwana, it has a massive outline, large peninsulas and deep bays are absent. The length of the continent from north to south is 8 thousand km, from west to east - 7.5 thousand km. In the north it is washed by the waters of the Mediterranean Sea, in the northeast by the Red Sea, in the southeast by the Indian Ocean, in the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Africa is separated from Asia by the Suez Canal, from Europe by the Strait of Gibraltar.

Main geographical features

Africa lies on an ancient platform, which determines its flat surface, which in some places is dissected by deep river valleys. On the coast of the mainland there are few lowlands, the northwest is the location of the Atlas Mountains, the northern part, almost completely occupied by the Sahara desert, is the Ahaggar and Tibetsi highlands, the east is the Ethiopian highlands, the southeast is the East African plateau, the extreme south is the Cape and Draconian mountains The highest point in Africa is Mount Kilimanjaro (5895 m, Masai plateau), the lowest is 157 meters below sea level in Lake Assal. Along the Red Sea, in the Ethiopian Highlands and to the mouth of the Zambezi River, the world's largest fault stretches earth's crust, which is characterized by frequent seismic activity.

Rivers flow through Africa: Congo (Central Africa), Niger (West Africa), Limpopo, Orange, Zambezi (South Africa), as well as one of the deepest and longest rivers in the world - the Nile (6852 km), flowing from south to north (its sources are on the East African plateau, and it flows, forming a delta, into the Mediterranean Sea). The rivers are characterized by high water only in the equatorial zone, due to the fallout there a large number precipitation, most of them are characterized by a high flow rate, have many rapids and waterfalls. In lithospheric faults filled with water, lakes were formed - Nyasa, Tanganyika, the largest freshwater lake in Africa and the second largest after Lake Superior (North America) - Victoria (its area is 68.8 thousand km 2, length 337 km, max depth - 83 m), the largest salty drainless lake is Chad (its area is 1.35 thousand km 2, located on the southern outskirts of the largest desert in the world, the Sahara).

Due to the location of Africa between two tropical belts, it is characterized by high total solar radiation, which gives the right to call Africa the hottest continent on Earth (the most heat on our planet was registered in 1922 in El-Azizia (Libya) - +58 C 0 in the shade).

On the territory of Africa, such natural zones are distinguished as evergreen equatorial forests (the coast of the Gulf of Guinea, the Congo depression), in the north and south turning into mixed deciduous-evergreen forests, then there is a natural zone of savannahs and light forests, extending to Sudan, East and South Africa, to Sevre and southern Africa savannas are replaced by semi-deserts and deserts (Sahara, Kalahari, Namib). In the southeastern part of Africa there is a small zone of mixed coniferous-deciduous forests, on the slopes of the Atlas Mountains - a zone of hard-leaved evergreen forests and shrubs. The natural zones of mountains and plateaus are subject to the laws of altitudinal zonation.

African countries

The territory of Africa is divided among 62 countries, 54 are independent, sovereign states, 10 are dependent territories belonging to Spain, Portugal, Great Britain and France, the rest are unrecognized, self-proclaimed states - Galmudug, Puntland, Somaliland, the Saharan Arab Democratic Republic (SADR). For a long time, the countries of Asia were foreign colonies of various European states and only by the middle of the last century gained independence. Africa is divided into five regions based on geographic location: North, Central, West, East and South Africa.

List of African countries

Nature

Mountains and plains of Africa

Most of the African continent is a plain. There are mountain systems, uplands and plateaus. They are presented:

• the Atlas Mountains in the northwestern part of the continent;
• the Tibesti and Ahaggar uplands in the Sahara Desert;
• Ethiopian highlands in the eastern part of the mainland;
• Dragon Mountains in the south.

The highest point in the country is Mount Kilimanjaro, with a height of 5,895 m, belonging to the East African Plateau in the southeastern part of the mainland ...

Deserts and savannas

The largest desert zone of the African continent is located in the northern part. This is the Sahara Desert. On the southwestern side of the continent is another smaller desert, the Namib, and from it, inland to the east, is the Kalahari Desert.

The territory of the savanna occupies the main part of Central Africa. In terms of area, it is much larger than the northern and southern parts of the mainland. The territory is characterized by the presence of pastures typical for savannahs, low shrubs and trees. The height of grassy vegetation varies depending on the amount of precipitation. It can be almost desert savannas or tall grasses, with grass cover from 1 to 5 m in height...

Rivers

On the territory of the African continent is the longest river in the world - the Nile. Its direction of flow is from south to north.

In the list of major water systems of the mainland, Limpopo, Zambezi and the Orange River, as well as the Congo, which flows through the territory of Central Africa.

On the Zambezi River is the famous Victoria Falls, 120 meters high and 1,800 meters wide...

lakes

The list of large lakes of the African continent includes Lake Victoria, which is the second largest freshwater reservoir in the world. Its depth reaches 80 m, and its area is 68,000 square kilometers. Two more large lakes of the continent: Tanganyika and Nyasa. They are located in the faults of the lithospheric plates.

There is Lake Chad in Africa, which is one of the world's largest endorheic relict lakes that have no connection with the oceans ...

Seas and oceans

The African continent is washed by the waters of two oceans at once: the Indian and the Atlantic. Also off its coast are the Red and Mediterranean Seas. From the Atlantic Ocean in the southwestern part of the water form the deep Gulf of Guinea.

Despite the location of the African continent, coastal waters are cool. This is influenced by the cold currents of the Atlantic Ocean: the Canary in the north and the Bengal in the southwest. From the side indian ocean currents are warm. The largest are Mozambique, in the northern waters, and Needle, in the southern ...

Forests of Africa

Forests from the entire territory of the African continent make up a little more than a quarter. Here are subtropical forests growing on the slopes of the Atlas Mountains and the valleys of the ridge. Here you can find holm oak, pistachio, strawberry tree, etc. High in the mountains grow coniferous plants, represented by Aleppo pine, Atlas cedar, juniper and other tree species.

Closer to the coast there are forests of cork oak, in the tropical region evergreen equatorial plants are common, for example, mahogany, sandalwood, ebony, etc...

Nature, plants and animals of Africa

The vegetation of the equatorial forests is diverse, there are about 1000 species of various tree species: ficus, ceiba, wine tree, olive palm, wine palm, banana palm, tree ferns, sandalwood, mahogany, rubber trees, Liberian coffee tree, etc. . It is home to many species of animals, rodents, birds and insects living right on the trees. On earth live: bush pigs, leopards, African deer - a relative of the okapi giraffe, large apes - gorillas ...

40% of the territory of Africa is occupied by savannahs, which are huge steppe areas covered with forbs, low, thorny shrubs, milkweed, and stand-alone trees (tree-like acacias, baobabs).

Here there is the largest accumulation of such large animals as: rhinoceros, giraffe, elephant, hippopotamus, zebra, buffalo, hyena, lion, leopard, cheetah, jackal, crocodile, hyena dog. The most numerous animals of the savannah are such herbivores as: bubal (family of antelopes), giraffe, impala or black-fifth antelope, various types of gazelles (Thomson, Grant), blue wildebeest, and in some places there are rare jumping antelopes - springboks.

The vegetation of deserts and semi-deserts is characterized by poverty and unpretentiousness, these are small thorny shrubs, separately growing bunches of herbs. In the oases, the unique Erg Chebbi date palm grows, as well as plants that are resistant to drought conditions and the formation of salts. In the Namib Desert, unique velvichia and nara plants grow, the fruits of which feed on porcupines, elephants and other animals of the desert.

Of the animals, various species of antelopes and gazelles live here, adapted to the hot climate and capable of traveling great distances in search of food, many species of rodents, snakes, and turtles. Lizards. Among mammals: spotted hyena, common jackal, maned ram, Cape hare, Ethiopian hedgehog, dorcas gazelle, saber-horned antelope, Anubis baboon, wild Nubian donkey, cheetah, jackal, fox, mouflon, there are permanently living and migratory birds.

Climatic conditions

Seasons, weather and climate of African countries

The central part of Africa, through which the equator line passes, is in a low pressure area and receives sufficient moisture, the territories north and south of the equator are in the subequatorial climatic zone, this is a zone of seasonal (monsoonal) moisture and arid desert climate. The extreme north and south are in the subtropical climate zone, the south receives precipitation brought by air masses from the Indian Ocean, the Kalahari Desert is located here, the north receives the minimum amount of precipitation due to the formation of the region high pressure and the peculiarities of the movement of the trade winds, the largest desert in the world is the Sahara, where the amount of precipitation is minimal, in some areas it does not fall at all ...

Resources

African Natural Resources

By reserves water resources Africa is considered one of the least wealthy continents in the world. The average annual volume of water is only enough to meet primary needs, but this does not apply to all regions.

Land resources are represented by large areas with fertile lands. Only 20% of all possible land is cultivated. The reason for this is the lack of the proper volume of water, soil erosion, etc.

The forests of Africa are a source of timber, including species of valuable varieties. The countries in which they grow, the raw materials are exported. Resources are misused and ecosystems are slowly being destroyed.

In the bowels of Africa there are deposits of minerals. Among those sent for export: gold, diamonds, uranium, phosphorus, manganese ores. There are significant reserves of oil and natural gas.

Energy-intensive resources are widely represented on the continent, but they are not used due to the lack of proper investments...

Among the developed industrial sectors of the countries of the African continent, one can note:

• the mining industry that exports minerals and fuels;
• the oil refining industry, distributed mainly in South Africa and North Africa;
• chemical industry specializing in the production of mineral fertilizers;
• as well as the metallurgical and engineering industries.

main products Agriculture are cocoa beans, coffee, corn, rice and wheat. In the tropical regions of Africa, oil palm is grown.

Fishing is poorly developed and accounts for only 1-2% of the total volume of agriculture. The indicators of animal husbandry are also not high, and the reason for this is the infection of livestock with tsetse flies ...

culture

The peoples of Africa: culture and traditions

About 8,000 peoples and ethnic groups live on the territory of 62 African countries, which in total is about 1.1 billion people. Africa is considered the cradle and ancestral home of human civilization, it was here that the remains of ancient primates (hominids) were found, which, according to scientists, are considered the ancestors of people.

Most of the peoples in Africa may number from several thousand people to several hundred living in one or two villages. 90% of the population are representatives of 120 peoples, their number is more than 1 million people, 2/3 of them are peoples with more than 5 million people, 1/3 - peoples with more than 10 million people (this is 50% of the total population of Africa) - Arabs , Hausa, Fulbe, Yoruba, Igbo, Amhara, Oromo, Rwanda, Malagasy, Zulu...

There are two historical and ethnographic provinces: North African (the predominance of the Indo-European race) and Tropical-African (the majority of the population is the Negroid race), it is divided into such areas as:

• West Africa. The peoples speaking the Mande languages ​​(Susu, Maninka, Mende, Wai), Chadic (Hausa), Nilo-Saharan (Songhai, Kanuri, Tubu, Zagawa, Mawa, etc.), Niger-Congo languages ​​(Yoruba, Igbo, Bini, nupe, gbari, igala and idoma, ibibio, efik, kambari, birom and jukun, etc.);
• Equatorial Africa. Inhabited by Buanto-speaking peoples: Duala, Fang, Bubi (Fernandese), Mpongwe, Teke, Mboshi, Ngala, Komo, Mongo, Tetela, Cuba, Kongo, Ambundu, Ovimbundu, Chokwe, Luena, Tonga, Pygmies, etc.;
• South Africa. Rebellious-speaking peoples, and speaking Khoisan languages: Bushmen and Hottentots;
• East Africa. Bantu, Nilotic and Sudanese groups of peoples;
• North East Africa. Peoples speaking Ethio-Semitic (Amhara, Tigre, Tigra.), Cushitic (Oromo, Somalis, Sidamo, Agau, Afar, Konso, etc.) and Omotian languages ​​(Ometo, Gimirra, etc.);
• Madagascar. Malagasy and Creoles.

In the North African province, the main peoples are considered to be Arabs and Berbers, belonging to the South Caucasian minor race, mainly practicing Sunni Islam. There is also an ethno-religious group of Copts, who are direct descendants of the Ancient Egyptians, they are Monophysite Christians.

The geographical area extending in the western part of Africa in the equatorial and subequatorial strip includes a vast flat depression of the Congo, in the west it is adjacent to the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Guinea, in the north it includes the Azande plateau, in the south - the Lunda plateau and the plateaus of Angola continuing it. In the East, the region is bounded by the West Rift branch of the East African Rift System.

The depression of the Congo River has a flat, swampy bottom at an altitude of 300-500 m. The highest mountains are the Adamawa plateau in Cameroon (up to 3008 m) and the Cameroon volcanic massif (up to 4040 m). However, in general, Central Africa is characterized by a calm relief, without much fluctuation. Equatorial Africa, especially the Congo depression, is distinguished by the densest network of full-flowing rivers in Africa, the largest of them is the Congo River (Zaire). The Ogove, Kwanza and other rivers also flow into the Gulf of Guinea. Vast areas are occupied by swamps. In the equatorial climate zone, dense multi-tiered tropical rainforests grow. In the subequatorial belt - gallery forests, savannahs are common in the watershed spaces different types. In the mouths of the rivers flowing into the Gulf of Guinea, mangroves are common.

Lots of parrots, monkeys, leopards, warthogs, giants, snakes.

The Central Africa subregion has an area of ​​6613 thousand km².

Central Africa includes the following countries:

• Gabon (capital Libreville)
• Cameroon (capital of Yaoundé)
• Democratic Republic of the Congo (Kinshasa's capital)
• Republic of the Congo (capital Brazzaville)
• Sao Tome and Principe (capital of Sao Tome)
• Central African Republic (capital of Bangui)
• Chad (capital of N'Djamena)
• Equatorial Guinea (capital of Malabo)

Sometimes it also includes Angola and the overseas territory of Great Britain - the island of St. Helena.

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