Africa has many and varied landforms, including mountains, deserts, savannas, and rivers. It is primarily a hot place, and is surrounded mostly by water. The United States could fit into it three times over. It has been cut off by nature from other people and places. There are four major climate zones in Africa, the largest of which is the desert zone. Most of Africa's people are farmers and herders. Africa is a country of great cities and poor villages. We have not always known quite so much about it. In fact, until recently we knew very little about it, which is why it has been called the Dark Continent.

The landforms in Africa are placed in such a way that it is cut off from the rest of the world. One landform of Africa is the mountains. Mountains play a major role in isolating Africa. The major mountain range of Africa is the Atlas Mountains. These mountains stand in the way of people coming from Europe. Mountains may be good for tourism and run-off, but you can't grow stuff on them. The tallest mountain of Africa, topped with snow even though it is almost directly on the equator, is Mt. Kilimanjaro.

Another landform is the plateau, a raised piece of land. Africa can be seen as basically one big plateau. One very bad thing about plateaus is that they have bad soil. The sides of plateaus are escarpments, or steep cliffs.

Landforms that are usually good for movement are rivers. However, the rivers of Africa are a mixed blessing. You can travel down them for a ways, but you may soon meet a dangerous cataract, or waterfall. The rivers are still very helpful in many ways though. They are a good source of food and can be used for hydroelectric power. They are also used for irrigation of crops and drinking water. A major river of Africa is the Nile. Rivers are still a big advantage, even with cataracts.

Even though they may not sound like landforms, rainforests are indeed important landforms. The definition of a rainforest is a tropical forest with a lot of rain. Rainforests are filled with lush plant growth, some of which may help to cure rare diseases. Some people practice shifting cultivation in the rainforests. People who practice this move around, farming in one place until the nutrients are drained from the soil. Unfortunately, the places in which they plant their crops take twenty to thirty years to fully regain their fertility.

The grasslands of Africa are called savannas. The Afrikaans word for a savanna is "velt". Savannas have scattered trees and are populated by animals such as lions. They are good for grazing and settled farming, and a form of shifting cultivation is practiced on them.

A landform that has virtually no advantage is the desert. The only advantage I can think of is that it could be used as a barrier against advancing forces in a war, because it is so difficult to cross. Deserts are usually hot with little or no water. They have very sparse vegetation, and are sandy with dunes. Crops cannot be grown on them. Sometimes oases can be found in the desert. An oasis is a pond or lake with vegetation. The Sahara Desert, the largest desert in the world, is the size of the United States. Forty percent of Africa is covered by desert. Each year the Sahara Desert grows twenty miles. This process is known as desertification. It is caused by many factors, such as wind, lack of water, and animals eating the vegetation by the edge of the desert.

A one of a kind landform is the Great Rift Valley. It is a long valley with fertile soil in eastern Africa. It is there because two plates are pulling apart. In the distant future it may separate from the rest of Africa.

Many factors influence the climate of Africa. Factors include wind, water currents, elevation of land, and how near the place is to water and the equator. Pollution is also a factor, to some degree.

Africa is generally warm or hot, with very unpredictable rainfall. The equator runs through the middle of Africa. Mountains have snow on them even if they are near the equator because of their high elevation. There are four major climate zones in Africa.

The largest of these is the desert zone. This zone is generally hot, although it may be cold at night . It contains little vegetation and has no or little water. Virtually no one lives in this zone. There are oases in the desert zone, as described in the paragraph on deserts as a landform.

Rain in the tropical wet zone washes nutrients from the soil. This zone has a lot of rain. Its major landform is the rainforest. The tropical wet climate zone is usually near the equator.

Savannas are the major landform in areas of the tropical wet and dry climate zone. There are two seasons in areas of this climate zone, the rainy season and the dry season. Most people live in these areas. The soil isn't too great, and the rain is very unpredictable. The people of this climate zone sometimes experience droughts.

The Mediterranean climate zone is by far the smallest of the four. It is located near the ocean and has adequate rainfall. Summers here are hot and dry while winters are cool with no snow. Soil here is very fertile.

Africa is an interesting and exciting place that I would like to visit someday. As more and more people go there and new advances in technology are made we continue to learn more about Africa.