8.1 Physical Geography of Africa

Notes

Africa is the second-largest continent, crossed by the equator and mostly made of high plateaus with narrow coastal plains.

• The Sahara is the world's largest hot desert. The Sahel is the semi-dry belt on its southern edge. The Kalahari and Namib deserts lie in the southwest.
• The Nile is the longest river in Africa (flowing north to the Mediterranean). The Congo has the greatest flow, the Niger crosses West Africa and the Zambezi includes Victoria Falls.
• The Great Rift Valley in East Africa is where plates are slowly pulling apart. Lake Victoria is Africa's largest lake. Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania is Africa's highest peak.
• The Atlas Mountains are in the northwest; the Drakensberg are in the southeast. Madagascar is a large island off the east coast.