AFRICA

The continent of Africa is enormuous. It has got an area of more than 30 milion km2 and it covers about on fifth of the world's land mass. Only the continent of Asia is bigger than Africa.

A large part of the continent consists of a high plateau and mountain ranger, including the Atlas an Rwenzori. The highest mountain is Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. Its peak is permanently covered in snow.

The continent has got some of the world's longest rivers, including the Nile, Niger, Zaire and Zambezi. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and flows through Sudan and Egypt to the Mediterranean Sea. In the east of the continent, there are many huge lakes. The largest lake is Lake Victoria, the second biggest lake in the worls.

The smallest country on the continent is Gambia. Sudan is the biggest country, while Madagascar is the larges insland.

The continent has got a wide varety of vegetation. Central Africa, on the equator, has got thick tropical rainforests. North of the rainforests is the worls's largest desert, the Sahara. Between the Sahara and the Mediterranean Sea is the fertile northern coast. A large part of the southern part of Africa is savannah, a dry plain with few trees and bushes; here, elephants, lions and other wild animals wander freely.