Being the second largest continent on the planet, Africa is also considered the hottest continent, since its entire territory is located in the subtropical or tropical zones. However, the climatic zones on the continent are extremely diverse: arid sand deserts and rainforests are found on the continent.
Africa size
The area of the African continent is about 29.2 million square kilometers, but often the area is indicated, adding also the territories of the islands, along with which the area of Africa reaches 30.3 million kilometers.
Since in addition to the continent itself, Africa is also called part of the world, it makes sense to mention several of the largest islands, such as Madagascar, which is the fourth largest island in the world, and the Canary Islands, which belong to Spain.
Africa West to East
The widest part of the continent is located between the two points farthest from each other - Cape Almadi, which is located in Senegal, and Cape Ras Hafun, which is located in Somalia.
Between these two points, the length of Africa from west to east is approximately 7,500 kilometers. Cape Almadi was opened to Europeans by Portuguese navigators led by Danish Diash in 1444, although there is written information that the Phoenicians sailed to it. However, the extent of Africa from west to east can be measured not only in kilometers. To understand the climatic processes taking place on the mainland, it is also important to know that its width is about 69 degrees, if you count on the meridians.
Cape Ras Hafun is notable for its extremely low altitude, which barely exceeds two meters. This situation made him vulnerable to any natural disasters, and in 2004 the fishing village located on the edge of the cape was completely destroyed by powerful tsunami waves. Later, however, the village was restored and today its population reaches 2500 people.
From west to east: climate and nature
The considerable length of Africa from west to east creates all the necessary conditions for the formation of extremely diverse climatic conditions in each of the regions. Geographers distinguish between West, Central and East Africa not only on the basis of natural conditions, but also on historical parameters.
In modern scientific practice, it is customary to attribute West Africa to countries located south of central Sahara, west of the Cameroon mountains and limited to the waters of the Atlantic Ocean in the west.
The countries belonging to this region are rich in natural resources, including oil, but despite this, most of them are extremely poor.
East Africa includes countries located east of the Nile and limited to the waters of the Indian Ocean. The countries of East Africa are much better known to their continent neighbors than Europeans. This is due to the high level of tourism development in the region. Among European tourists, expensive hotels on the ocean and safaris are popular, where you can get to know the rich natural world of this region quite closely.
On the territory of East Africa there are more than two hundred peoples speaking dozens of different languages, which makes this part of the continent one of the most ethnically and culturally diverse regions of the world. Thus, the width of Africa from west to east affects not only the climate, but also the cultural and linguistic diversity, as well as the economies of states belonging to different geographical regions of the continent.