Africa: geographical position and political map
Africa is the second-largest continent after Eurasia; with its islands its area is about 30.3 million km². The equator crosses its middle and the prime meridian passes through its west, so the continent lies in all four hemispheres. It is washed by the Mediterranean in the north, the Red Sea in the north-east, the Indian Ocean in the east and the Atlantic in the west. The Strait of Gibraltar separates it from Europe, and the Suez Canal and Red Sea from Asia; the Suez Canal is one of the most important sea routes between Europe and Asia. The coastline is little indented and islands and peninsulas are few; the largest island is Madagascar. There are now 54 states on the continent (the status of Western Sahara is unresolved). From the Age of Discovery European states made Africa colonies; at the start of the 20th century only Ethiopia and Liberia were independent. In the 1950s independence movements grew, and 1960 is called the “Year of Africa” because 17 states became independent. One of the youngest states is South Sudan, independent since 2011. In colonial times borders were often drawn as straight lines without regard to peoples and natural boundaries; so peoples were split and in some places internal conflicts arise. Africa has 12 large states over 1 million km² (Algeria, DR Congo, Sudan and others) and 16 landlocked states; 6 are island states. Most states are republics, 3 are monarchies. Resources are rich: oil and gas (Nigeria, Algeria, Angola), gold, diamonds, copper, uranium and more. Natural zones: equatorial forests, savanna, semi-desert and desert. In the north is the world’s largest hot desert, the Sahara, and south of it the Sahel; in the Sahel desertification is growing through climate change and overgrazing, and people suffer from drought.
Mark the equator, prime meridian, the Strait of Gibraltar, the Suez Canal, Madagascar, the Sahara and the Sahel on the map and write which hemispheres Africa lies in.