Where is the Black Continent located? How is mainland Africa located relative to other continents on the planet? What is the difference between the nature of the hottest continent of the Earth? The answers to all these questions - look in our article!
Where and how is mainland Africa located?
Africa is perhaps the most amazing and contrasting part of our planet. It contains many secrets and interesting things that excite the minds and imagination of many scientists and travelers. What makes this continent special? And how is mainland Africa located relative to other continents? Let's try to answer these questions.
The geographical position of the most sultry continent of the Earth is much in what can be called unique. So, this is the only continent on the planet that is "cut" by the equator almost in the middle. All its extreme points are approximately at the same distance from this conditional line.
Africa is the second mainland in the world in size (total area is about 30 million square kilometers). In its northern part, it is wider, and with the advance to the south it is noticeably narrowing.
How is mainland Africa located relative to other continents? This continent, based on the features of its location, is assigned to the group of southern continents of the planet. It was once part of Gondwana, the supercontinent of the Southern Hemisphere of the Earth. The northern "neighbor" of Africa is Eurasia. Europe is separated from it by the Mediterranean Sea, and Asia by Red.
The western extremities of the mainland are washed by the waters of the Atlantic, and the eastern ones by the Indian Ocean.
The main features of African nature: 7 amazing facts
Scientists believe that the word "Africa" comes from the name of one of the tribes - "Afrigi". Its representatives once lived in the north of the continent. Later, this name somehow miraculously became a geographical toponym denoting the whole mainland.
An amazing but characteristic feature of Africa is the "mirror image" of its nature. Since the mainland is almost in the middle cut by the equator, the natural zones located to the north of it mirror the zones that are located south of the equator. Thus, moving from Cape Town to Cairo, the traveler will be able to see each of the natural areas of Africa twice. No continent of the planet is no longer endowed with such an unusual feature.
To get to know Africa better, here are seven more amazing geographical facts about this continent:
- Africa is the only continent located in all hemispheres of the Earth;
- it is here that the largest desert in the world - the Sahara;
- the continent leads the world in diamond reserves and production;
- on the hottest continent of the planet there are even ski resorts (in Morocco);
- Africa has the richest species-rich lake in the world;
- here is the fastest disappearing lake of the planet - Lake Chad;
- the vast Sahara desert continues to grow; it increases by half a mile monthly.
Finally…
Now, after reading this article, you will know how mainland Africa is located relative to other continents of the Earth. This is the only continent in the world that is located in all four hemispheres of the planet. Moreover, it is dissected by the equator approximately in the middle, which determines the “mirroring” of its natural zones.