Straits and bays. Straits and bays Large straits of Africa

Africa is the second largest continent on Earth. Together with the islands belonging to it, it occupies an area of ​​30,284 thousand km2, the area of ​​the mainland without islands is 29,200 thousand km2. The mainland has a special geographical location: almost in the middle it is crossed by the equator, i.e. Africa is located almost symmetrically in the northern and southern hemispheres. Most of the continent is located in the eastern hemisphere, and less - in the western.

Extreme points of the mainland:

1. Northern () - Cape Ras - Engela (37° 20" N)
2. South () – Cape Agulhas (34° 51" S)
3. Zapadna () – Cape Almadi (17° 33" W)
4. Eastern () – Cape Ras – Hafun (51° 24" E)

The length of the continent from north to south is 8000 km, from west to east – 7500 km.

The continent is washed by the waters of two oceans: from the west - , from the east - . Western and south coast The mainland, washed by the Atlantic Ocean, forms the only large bay here - the Gulf of Guinea. In the extreme northeast, this gulf is divided into two independent gulfs - Biafra. Most of the bay has significant depths - up to 4 thousand m. And closer to the coast there are banks (banks are the shallow part of the bottom formed as a result of the death of benthic organisms and developed in the inner parts of the shelves), as well as numerous volcanic islands: Annobon, Sao Tome and Fernando Po (Bioko). All these islands are of volcanic origin, but they are mountainous and have very fertile soils - Andosols. Together with large Cameroon on the continent, they form the so-called lineage. All of these volcanic massifs are associated with the strike of transform faults that cut the Mid-Atlantic Ridge from west to east. All these islands are composed of young alkali-basaltic volcanics. In addition, there are islands of mainland origin in the Gulf of Guinea. These are the Greater and Lesser Elobey, the island of Corisco, Horatio, Tinosa Pequena and Tinosa Grande.

As you move north, the length of the continent increases greatly, and as you move south, it decreases.
Off the northwestern coast of Africa in the Atlantic Ocean there are also islands of volcanic origin associated with the spread of MOR transform faults here. These are islands such as: Madeira, and islands Cape Verde. The Cape Verde Islands are divided into two groups:

Leeward (Sotaventu) and Windward (Barlaventu). The Cape Verde Islands are very interesting and amazing. Most of Cape Verde Island is occupied by dry, gravelly highlands, called the “Moon Landscape”. It was here that the Americans filmed a film about how they conquered.

A number of small volcanic islands There are also far from the coastal zone. These are: Ascension, St. Helena, Tristan - yes - Cunha, Bouvet.

In the northern and southern parts Cold currents pass through the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa. In the north there is the Canary Current, which brings water with a temperature of 15–16° to the shores of the mainland. U southwest coast The cold Bengal Current passes through Africa. The water temperature there is especially low (6 – 9° at the surface) due to the rise of cold deep waters - this process is called upwelling. Both cold currents have a significant impact on climatic conditions western edges of Africa in. In the Atlantic Ocean, the coastal part of Africa is very unstable - the depths come very close to the coast. A not wide strip of continental shallows is limited by sharp ledges that immediately lead to depths of up to 2000 - 3000 m. Only in the south at 20° S. The underwater Whale Ridge approaches the shores of the mainland.

The eastern and southern coasts of Africa are washed by the Indian Ocean. Here, not far from the coast, there are islands of coral origin - Mafia and Pemba. Mainland ones include -, Seychelles and Socotra. They are classified as volcanic. South of the equator, warm currents pass off the coast of Africa. Mozabique in the north and Cape Agulhas in the south. These two currents are formed from the South Trade Wind Current and cause winter temperatures off the coast of southeast Africa to rise to 20°C or more. The monsoon Somali Current penetrates to the north of the equator, bringing relatively cold waters from the southern hemisphere in the summer of the northern hemisphere, and in winter changing its direction to the south and carrying relatively warm waters from the north.

The northern shores of Africa were quite well known to the peoples of Ancient and Phenicia. Information about the nature and population of the continent accumulated and passed from the Egyptians and Phoenicians to the Greeks and Romans, from the Arabs to the Europeans.

For European geography, the real study of Africa is related to. At the beginning of the 15th century. who were looking for a sea route to, a path was laid along the western shores of the mainland and a way out was found Indian Ocean. In 1497-98, a caravan of ships led by Vasco da Gama, on the way to India, circumnavigated the continent and left the Atlantic Ocean into the Indian Ocean. Thus, the search for a sea route from Europe to India was completed. From the 16th century European traders began to export slaves to .

At the end of the 18th and early XIX V. They began to show increased interest in the exploration of Africa. Various goals led travelers on the road - not so much scientific as military-strategic and colonial. Among the explorers of Africa, the most famous are the British traveler D. Livingston (1813-1873), the Shatlander M. Park (1771-1806), the German G. Barth (1821-1865), the American G. Stanley (1841-1904), etc. They They studied the interior of the continent, penetrating there along rivers, looking for their sources, describing the lakes, generous nature and population of the continent.

Africa is the largest of the three continents of the “southern group”. It is separated from Europe, connected in the northern eastern part by the Isthmus of Suez (which is crossed by the Suez Canal), 130 km wide. But, due to the fact that the Sinai Peninsula belongs politically, it is often classified as Africa. Africa stretches over 8,000 km from north to south, and 7,400 km from west to east. Length coastline is 26,000 km. Most big country Africa is Sudan, and the smallest is (an archipelago in the east of the mainland). The smallest mainland country is .

The structure of the continent's surface is quite uniform. Plains and plateaus with heights from 200 to 1000 m predominate; there are few lowlands. The most extensive plateaus are East African and South African. Elevated areas alternate with basins, the most extensive of which are the Kalahara basin, etc. Highest point– (5895 m), the lowest is Lake Asal (-150 m). The average height is 600 m above sea level.

The relief features are associated with the history of the development of the continent. At the heart of the continent lies the ancient African Arabian Plate - part of the fractured Gandwana. The platform was formed by archaea and praterazoa and over 2-3 billion years acquired greater stability. Only the Atlas Mountains in the north and the Cape in the south were created by later movements of the earth's crust. The huge African hills experienced uplift and subsidence, while the northern part of the continent sank more often than it rose, and was flooded with seas. The crystalline foundation of the platform is covered by sedimentary rocks and only comes to the surface in the center and on the coast of the Gulf of Guinea. Relief of the Eastern and South Africa was formed differently - the uplift of the earth's crust predominated, giant faults, horsts and grabens were formed. Actively developed volcanic activity. There are many lava plains here, grabens are occupied by lakes. Volcanic eruptions still occur today. The rift belt is home to volcanoes, including Mount Kilimanjaro.

Africa is the hottest continent on the planet. On most of it average temperature any month above +20 ° C, which is explained by the location of most of the continent between the tropics, where the sun stands high above throughout the year, and twice a year it is at its zenith. The seasons of the year differ more from each other in terms of the conditions of the holiday. Features are determined by circulation, on which the amount of precipitation and its pattern largely depend. A belt is formed over the equatorial part of the continent, and high pressure belts are formed in tropical latitudes. These belts move following the zenital position of the sun and determine the movement of equatorial, tropical and temperate air masses over the continent. Almost the entire continent is under the influence of constant winds - trade winds. The northeast trade winds that come from land bring almost no moisture, while the southeast trade winds carry it from the Indian Ocean. In subtropical latitudes during the winter months, precipitation falls from moderate air masses dominated by westerly air transport from the Atlantic Ocean. Relief also influences the distribution of precipitation. The steep and high shores of the continent make it difficult for humid winds to penetrate from the ocean into the interior of the continent. More precipitation falls on the windward slopes of the mountains. On the slopes of Mount Cameroon, their number reaches 10,000 mm per year. The driest areas are located not only inside the mainland, but also in its Pryakian parts. So, west coast The continent in tropical latitudes is washed by cold currents. The air above them becomes colder than in the upper layers, and its flow is difficult. Apart from dew and precipitation there is almost no precipitation here. On the mainland there are equatorial, two subequatorial, two tropical and two subtropical. Within some of them there are differences that are determined by the amount of precipitation and its regime.

“Geography “Africa” 7th grade” - Natural areas Africa. David Livingston. Inland waters of Africa. Africa is the hottest continent on the planet. Giant trees have roots to support them. Chimpanzee. Compose an SMS for your family “If you knew.....” Compose a poem on the topic “Africa”. The Drakensberg Mountains rise in southeast Africa. Baobab is a symbol of the savannahs of Africa.

"History of Africa" ​​- Studies of the Phoenicians. 1. Physico-geographical location 2. History of discovery and research. Mungo Park. Africa is the oldest continent in the world. Africa is washed by the waters of three oceans: the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian. Read my letters and you will know everything about Africa! Africa is a continent predominance of plains and high temperatures.

"Africa Exploration" - African Studies. m. Ben Sekka. Africa. Exploring Africa. Mozambique Channel. m. Ras Hafun. m. Almadi. Atlantic Ocean. m.Igolny. Red Sea. Fgp africa. Indian Ocean. Gulf of Guinea. Image of Africa. Mediterranean Sea. Geographical location.

“Countries of Africa” - Coffee yield. Rice. Population. The number of domestic animals is distributed extremely unevenly across the region. Agriculture, however, is the most important source of export earnings for most countries in the region. Benin (cotton - Western, Northern and Southern. Since ancient times, in some areas of Africa, a special variety of rice has been grown - upland.

"Game "Africa"" - Lake Chad. Savannah animals. Mainland. Date palm. Source of the Nile. Antelope. Game "Africa". Lake Victoria. Cassava. African experts. Namib Desert. Giant. Large African predator. Which slope of the Drakensberg Mountains receives more rainfall? Peninsula of Somalia. Zambezi River. Large animal. Amazing plant.