Cape Blanc in
Tunisia is the
northernmost
tip and
Cape Agulhas
in South
Africa the
southernmost
tip of Africa.
Africa is the second largest of the Earth's seven
continents. The southernmost tip of Africa
is Cape Agulhas in South Africa.
Africa
Our home, South Africa,
is the country right at the
bottom of the continent
and we have 53 fellowAfrican states north of
us. Our immediate
neighbours are Namibia,
Botswana, Zimbabwe
and Mozambique, and
we even have two
countries that are
landlocked inside
the borders of
South Africa:
Lesotho and
Swaziland.
Africa has a
population of
more than 680 million
people, of which around
50 million live in South
Africa, and over
2000 languages
are spoken on
the continent.
Lake Victoria is the
largest lake in Africa
and the world's
second-largest
freshwater lake, covering
an area of 69 490 km2.
Mount
Kilimanjaro,
Tanzania is
5895 meters
tall, making it the
tallest mountain
in Africa.
Lake Tanganyika is the
deepest lake in Africa reaching
a depth of 1 436 m.
Victoria Falls is the largest
waterfall at just over 1.7 km
wide and 108 m high. During the
wet season over 500 million litres
of water plummets over the edge
into the Zambezi River and the
spray can be seen from over
48 kilometres away.
The Namib is the world's oldest
desert, and the only desert in
Africa inhabited by elephant,
rhino, giraffe and lion.
The largest
island in
Africa is
Madagascar,
which is
1580 km long
and 570 km
wide. It is
also the fourth
largest island
in the world.
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The
Seychelles
is the
smallest
country,
with an
area
of only
453 km2.
Gambia
is the
smallest
mainland
state,
covering
an area
of
11 300 km2.
South Africa is
the most visited
African country
after Egypt, with
an average of
9 million visitors
per year.
•
In terms of shape,
Africa is the most
compact of all
continents and
comprises the
oldest rocks from
over 600 million
years ago.
•
Africa is as long
as it is broad.
It stretches about
7 500 km from
south to north
and from east
to west.
•
There is evidence
that the first
humanlike
species
originated
in eastern
Africa around five
million years ago.
The 3.18 million
year-old “Lucy”
was unearthed in
Ethiopia in 1974.
•
In the deserts of
Tunisia, you will
find the original,
well-preserved
Star Wars movie
sets and you can
even stay in Luke
Skywalker's
home.
The largest country is Sudan, with
a total area of 2 505 80 km2.
Quick-fire history:
Less than 150 years ago, Africa consisted of
countries, states and kingdoms, in which the
indigenous people lived in
groups according to their cultural
associations. By the early 1880s,
however, Europeans began to
settle in Africa and soon drew
new boundaries that often split
cultural groups and fragmented
the continent. By the 1960s
many African countries began
to gain their
independence
from European
rule, the
last of
which
was
Namibia in
1990. South Africa became
the last African country to
gain majority rule with its
first democratic elections
in 1994.
After
independence,
many African
countries
relocated
their capitals
and re-named
their countries,
lakes and
other features.
Egypt's capital city, Cairo, is the largest city in
Africa with an estimated population of 9.2 million.
The River Nile is at 6 650 km, the
longest river in Africa and the world.
Map
of
Our home
in Africa
•
•
Sudan has
223 pyramids,
which is a lot
more than Egypt
has, but these
pyramids are
not as popular
as those in
Egypt, because
they are
much smaller
and steeper.
The South
Africa Quiz
How much do you know
about your home country?
Take this quick quiz to
find out:
1. South Africa has ____
official languages.
2. The first democratic
elections were held in
__________ (year).
3. The third president
of South Africa, since
1994, is ______ ______.
4. A mountain range
in South Africa that
gets its name from
“Dragon Mountain”
is the _______________
mountains.
5. “The Big Hole” from
which diamonds are
excavated is in
______________.
6. There are two houses
of parliament in
South Africa. One is in
___________ and the
other in ______ ______.
7. A biologically diverse
region of South Africa
that is also one of our
eight world heritage
sites is the _________
__________ Region.
8. The capital city of South
Africa is _____________.
9. ______ ______ is the
name of our national
soccer team.
Score:
1-3 correct:
Oh no! You need to
brush up on your facts!
4-6 correct:
You're pretty good, but
can always learn more!
7-9 correct:
Wow, you're a walking
South Afropedia.
Answers: 11; 1994; Kgalema
Motlanthe; Drakensberg;
Kimberley; Pretoria and Cape
Town; Cape Floral; Pretoria;
Bafana Bafana.
Let's stick to
the facts
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