Interactive Map of Africa

The map of Africa shows that the continent comprises a vast, rolling plateau, extending from the Atlas Mountains to the Cape of Good Hope.

Africa has a history of human habitation that begins with the oldest known ancestors of man, its cultural wealth easily matching its natural attractions.

The second largest of the Earth's seven continents, It contains more countries than any of the other continents, a total of 52 to be exact, covering a land area of about 30,330,000 sq km (11,699,000 sq miles), which makes up about 22 per cent of the world's total land area.

INTERACTIVE MAP
GEOGRAPHICAL FEATURES
PHYSICAL MAP
GEOGRAPHICAL HIGHLIGHTS

Interactive map of Africa,...

The interactive possibilities of this map are quite stunning. Put the curser of your mouse on any spot on the map you like to explore and follow the instructions underneath the map.

You will be able to zoom in on the major towns and cities as close as street level. If you then click on the map button in the right hand top corner, you will see a streetmap of the town or city you zoomed into.

Tips for navigating the map.

The three buttons at the right-hand top corner of the map allow you to view either the geographical map, the satellite picture or a combination of both.

The button cluster in the left hand top corner will enable you to zoom in or out. On the map you can use the PLUS (+) key to Zoom In for more detail, or the MINUS (-) key to Zoom Out for a bigger picture of the region in relation to the rest of South Africa.

Alternatively, put the curser on a spot on the map you want to explore and double click with the right hand mouse button again and again, keeping the curser on the same spot.

You will also be able to move the map left and right and up and down by clicking the left-hand mouse button and moving the cursor on the map.

Click on the refresh button of your browser to return to the original map.

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Geographical features,...

The African continent comprises a vast, rolling plateau, extending from the Atlas Mountains to the Cape of Good Hope. Just 10 percent of Africa’s land area lies at less then 500 ft above sea level, compared with 54 percent of Europe and 25 percent of North America. Only in the extreme south and north have great folded mountain ranges been build up.

Elsewhere in the continent differences in elevation have been caused either by the faulting which produced the Rift Valley, or by the creation of the enormous river basins, notably those of the Congo, the Niger, the Nile, the Volta and the Zambezi, which are prominent features of the geography of Africa.

At its margins the plateau gives way via steep escarpments to the narrow coastal plain that surrounds the continent. All the great rivers of Africa, except the Niger-Benue and the Zambezi-Shire systems, plunge in falls or rapids over the escarpments, making effective navigation inland from the sea impossible.

Political map of Africa

political Map of Africa

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Physical map of Africa,…

The World map and Africa continent map below show how and where Africa is situated between the other continents. According to experts on ancient history, Africa and South America where split apart by tectonic forces during the break up of the so called super-continent Gondwanaland over 150 million years ago in the Precambrian period.

In more recent times during the Tertiary period, the same forces caused the Arabian peninsula and the island of Madagascar to split off from Africa, creating the Rift Valley and triggering eruptions of the East African volcanoes, the Mount Kenya and the Mount Kilimanjaro.

Africa continent map - satellite view

World map - satellite view

World map - satellite view

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Geographical highlights,…

The map of Africa would not be complete without some interesting facts and figures that are part of the geography of Africa.

Largest country,... The republic of Sudan is the largest country of the African continent. Sudan covers a total land area of 2,505,800 sq km (967,490 sq miles).

Smallestcountry,... The smallest country in Africa are the Seychelles with a total land area of 453 sq km. Gambia is the smallest of the mainland African states, covering an area of 11,300 sq km (4,363 sq miles).

Largest city,... Egypt’s capital city Cairo is the largest city in Africa with an estimated population of 9.2 million people.

Highest point,... Highest point on the continent is the perpetually snow-capped top of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania with a height of 5,963 m (19,340 ft)

Lowest point.... The lowest point in Africa is Lake ‘Asal at 153 m (502 ft) below sea level in Djibouti.

Northernmost tip.... The northernmost tip of the continent is Cape Blanc (Ra’s al Abyad) in Tunesia.

Southernmost tip.... The southernmost tip of Africa is Cape Agulhas in South Africa.

Largest lake.... Lake Victoria is the largest lake on the African continent. It is also the world’s second-largest freshwater lake,…. lying 1,130 m (3,720 ft) above sea level,…. covering an area of 69,490 sq km (26,830 sq miles). Its greatest known depth is 82 m (270 ft). Lake Victoria acts as a boundary between Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya.

Deepest lake.... Lake Tanganyika is the deepest lake in Africa,…. reaching its greatest depth at 1,436 m (4,710 ft),…. making it the second deepest freshwater lake in the world after lake Baikal.

Longest river.... The River Nile, which drains north-eastern Africa,…. is at 6,650 km (4,132 miles) the longest river in Africa and in the world. It is formed from the Blue Nile,…. which originates at Lake Tana in Ethiopia,…. and the White Nile, which originates at Lake Victoria.

The Great Africa Rift Valley.... The Rift Valley extends more than 4,830 km (3,000 miles) from Syria in the Middle East,…. to Mozambique in south-eastern Africa. The width of the valley ranges from a few km to more than 160 km (100 miles). In eastern Africa the valley splits into two branches,…. the Eastern Rift and the Western Rift. The fault in which the Rift sits is still moving.

Lake Malawi.... Lake Malawi contains the largest number of fish species of any lake in the world. It is estimated at over 500 species from ten families,…. including 30% of all known cichlid species.

Namib desert.... The Namib is the world’s oldest desert,…. and the only desert in Africa inhabited by elephant, rhino, giraffe and lion.

Fish River Canyon - Namibia.... With a depth of 550 m and a length of approximately 160 km,…. the Fish River Canyon in Namibia is the second largest canyon in the world,…. before the Grand Canyon in America.

Sahara desert.... The Sahara is the world’s second largest desert,…. second to Antarctica. It covers 9,000,000 sq km (3,500,000 sq miles),…. and is 2.5 million years old.