Africa is the second largest continent in the world after Eurasia, its territory is 29 million km 2 , and this represents approximately 20.4% of the total land mass of the Earth. Most of the features of this continent, such as flora, fauna and climate, are due to its geographical location.
Geographical position
Africa is located in the southern hemisphere and is crossed by the equator. This leads to the fact that the mainland receives a huge amount of sunlight and heat, and this, in turn, explains why Africa is the hottest continent.
The relief of the continent is mostly flat, since it is located on a solid African plate, the collision of which with the Eurasian plate led to the formation of the Atlas Mountains. In the south and east of the continent there are several uplands, two of which - Akhaggar and Tibesti - are in the Sahara. Africa is separated from Asia only by the artificially created Suez Canal.
The highest point of the mainland is the widely known volcano Kilimanjaro, whose height is 5895 meters, and the lowest point is Lake Assal, which is located 157 meters above sea level.
African climate
Any student knows that Africa is the hottest continent on the planet, but not everyone knows why the average temperature here is higher than on other continents. The reason for this is the fact that the equator runs exactly in the middle here. This leads to the fact that Africa is located in the four hottest climatic zones.
Most of the territory is in the subequatorial belt. It is clearly possible to distinguish between rainy and dry seasons, in contrast to the equatorial, which is one of the main reasons that Africa is the hottest continent. This climate zone originates from the Gulf of Guinea and stretches deep into the mainland, to Lake Victoria. It is impossible to distinguish seasons here, because the temperature in this zone is stable. The climate in the tropical and subtropical zones is similar; clear weather and low rainfall are characteristic of these territories.
Internal and external waters
The hottest continent is washed by the Indian Ocean in the northeast and the Atlantic in the west, as well as the Mediterranean and Red Seas in the east and northeast, respectively.
Inland waters of Africa include the Nile, Congo, Niger, Zambezi and other aquatic arteries. The Nile is the second longest river in the world after the Amazon, the length of which is about 6852 km. It originates from the headwaters of the Rukarara River, and ends by flowing into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile Delta provides water for a considerable population of coastal territories for many millennia.
Africa's largest lake is Victoria, which is also the second largest freshwater lake in the world.
Minerals
In the global economy, Africa is known not as the hottest continent on the planet, but as one of the main sources of many minerals. South Africa is the country richest in natural resources, many deposits of various raw materials are concentrated here.
On the territory of South Africa there are deposits of ore, tungsten, chromites and uranium ore. The northern part of the continent is rich in zinc, molybdenum, cobalt and lead, and the western one is rich in coal and oil.
Summing up, it should be noted that the territory of this continent remains not fully developed, and many species of flora and fauna that live in the tropics have not yet been studied. But the resources that are here serve as a weighty argument in order to continue to develop the hottest continent. Africa has been and will remain mysterious and alluring for many adventure lovers and wildlife lovers.