Mind-Blowing Geography Facts About Africa You Never Knew

Mind-Blowing Geography Facts About Africa You Never Knew #geographythroughmaps #history #geography Africa is the only continent that sits in the northern, southern, eastern, and western hemispheres at the same time. The equator and the prime meridian both cross through it. The African continent is slowly moving north. In millions of years, it is predicted to collide with Europe, closing the Mediterranean Sea and creating a new mountain range. The Gambia is the smallest mainland country in Africa. It’s so narrow that, in most places, it’s only about 30 miles wide, and it’s surrounded on all sides by Senegal, except for its coastline. In Ethiopia, the year isn’t 2025, it’s 2018. The country follows its own ancient calendar that’s about seven to eight years behind the Gregorian calendar used by most of the world. Africa is the world’s second-largest continent. It’s bigger than most people realize. You can fit the U.S., China, India, and most of Europe inside Africa, and there would still be space left. Madagascar is the fourth-largest island in the world and also a country. It’s so big that it’s almost the size of Texas and California combined. Africa is the most diverse continent on Earth. Over 2,000 different languages are spoken across Africa far more than anywhere else in the world. In Nigeria alone, there are over 500 native languages spoken by different ethnic groups. The world’s oldest university is in Africa. The University of Al-Karaouine, founded in Morocco in eight fifty-nine AD, is considered the oldest existing university. Africa has the youngest population in the world. The average age on the continent is only about 19 years old, and around 60% of Africa’s population is under the age of 25. Africa’s borders are some of the straightest in the world. If you look at a map, you’ll notice that many African borders are straight lines. That’s because Europeans drew them during colonization without caring about the people living there often splitting tribes and families in half. One of the oldest cities in Africa is over 4,000 years old. Luxor, in Egypt, was founded around thirty-two hundred BC, making it one of the world’s oldest continuously inhabited cities. The oldest human fossils were found in Africa. Archaeologists discovered bones in Ethiopia and Kenya that are over 200,000 years old, showing that modern humans first appeared in Africa. Credits: Tiles ©; Esri; Source: Esri, i-cubed, USDA, USGS, AEX, GeoEye, Getmapping, Aerogrid, IGN, IGP, UPR-EGP, and the GIS User Community