Part 2

Africa

Africa is the second largest continent in the world. Africa, located between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, is so huge that it could hold nearly four continents the size of Australia. It is the most tropical of the continents because of its position relative to the Equator.(*) But even near the Equator, Africa's highest mountain, Kilimanjaro, is snow-capped all year.

Africa is a land of plains and plateaus, hills and mountains, but it is often referred to as the "plateau continent."

Most of Africa's soils are average or poor. The best soils are those deposited by rivers that have overflowed their banks. These soils are called alluvial soils. The Nile River provides alluvial soil for Egypt and Sudan to grow most of their crops. The Nile is the world's longest river.

The Sahara, the largest desert in the world, stretches all the way across northern Africa.

  * To read more about the Equator, see What is the Equator?