AFRICA, the name given to the tinent lying S. of the Mediterranean; probably derived from the Punic gall., a colony, with reference to thage, a Phcenician colony. Excepting Asia, Africa is the largest grand division of the world, being three times as large as Europe, and containing one-fifth of tho dry land on the globe. On the N. it is bounded by the Mediterranean, which separates it from Europe; on the S., by the Southern Ocean; on the E., by the Isthmus of Suez, the Red Sea, and the Indian Ocean; and on the W. by the Atlantic.
Physical Features. — Its greatest length is nearly 5,000 miles; its breath, about 4,700 miles, and its area about 11,500,000 square miles. Since 1869, by the construction of the Suez canal, Africa has been an island.
Its coast line is reckoned at more than 20,000 miles, and is marked by few indentations, and is generally characterized by narrow strips of low lands. The surface is fairly well defined, as consisting of two divisions, the northern table lands of the Sahara, part of which is below sea-level, and the central and southern plateaus, broken only by the valley of the Zambezi, be. ginning in north Abyssinia and ex tending S. as far as Cape Colony, with an average height of 4,000 feet. In Abyssinia is the main mass of mountains. reaching a maximum height of 15,000 feet. South of the equator are the extinct volcanoes Kilimanjaro (nearly 20,000 feet), and Kenia (18,500 feet), and the Drakenberg mountains of sub tropical Africa (11,000). Other ranges of moutains are the Atlas, in Barbary, and the Kameruns, both reaching a maximum of 12,000 feet in height. On the borders of the Kongo Free State and the British and German spheres of influence, there is a line of active vol canoes, one of which, Mfumbiro, reaches 10,000 feet. In the southern plateaus arc a number of fresh water lakes, Victoria Nyanza, Tanganyika, Bang weolo, and Nyassa. The first of these, which has an area of 30,000 square miles, is the source of the Nile. Lake Tan
ganyika, with an area of 16,000 square miles, is the source of the Kongo. Lake Tchad receives the waters of a basin in the central Sudan. Near Tajara, on the Red Sea, is Assal, a salt lake, 750 feet below sea-level. The Nile is the largest river of Africa (3,766 miles long), but the Kongo, 3,000 miles in length drains the larger area of 1,200,000 square miles. Other important rivers are the Niger; the Zambezi, with its great falls; the Shari, emptying into Lake Tchad, and the Limpopo. The Nile, the Kongo, and the Niger are great navigable rivers in most of their lower courses. The Zambezi and Limpopo, together with the Rovuma, Juba, and a few other coast streams, flow to the Indian Ocean; all the others, together with the Cunene, Koanza, Ogoway, Volta, Gambia, Tensift, Muluya, and Mejerdah, to the Atlantic, either directly or through the Mediterranean. The Makua-Welle is a tributary of the Kongo.
Climate.—The rainfall over most of Africa is very scant, with the exception of the W. equatorial area and parts of the S. and S. E. coasts. It reaches 130 inches annually in Monrovia, and varies from 5 inches to nothing in the Sahara and Somaliland.
Fauna.—The continent is rich in animal life, the most common kinds being antelopes, giraffes, zebras, and quaggas. Elephants, once numerous, have been killed for their tusks, and the species has been well-nigh exterminated. Africa is the home of the lion, and the rhi noceros, hippopotamus, crocodile, and hyena are abundant, as are also monkeys and apes, including the gorilla and the chimpanzee. The birds are remarkable for their brilliant plumage, among which the secretary bird, the sun-birds, parrots and bee-eaters are worthy of notice. The ostrich of south Africa is the largest of living birds. Of the insect world, the most remarkable is the south African tsetse, whose bite is fatal to horses and cattle. White ants are known as a destructive plague.