The huge mainland, which is the second largest in the world, is an amazing and mysterious Africa. It is famous for its hot climate, countless islands, which seem to be scattered across the ocean around the continent, and the diversity of pristine nature.
The area of Africa exceeds 30.3 million square meters. km This is 6% of the surface of the planet. Along the perimeter, the mainland is washed by two oceans (Indian and Atlantic) and two seas (Red and Mediterranean).
Africa has more than a billion people living in 55 countries. Mostly they are Arabs. Life expectancy is about 45 years. The most common language is Arabic. The main religions are Christianity and Islam. In the eastern regions of the continent, Buddhism and Hinduism are widespread.
Vegetation
The nature of Africa is an amazing and unique world full of beauty and secrets. The extraordinary vegetation of the continent is striking in its diversity: coniferous forests and dry steppes stretch closer to the north and south, tropical forests at the equator, and along the coast there are solid dense bushes.
In tropical forests, more than 25,000 species of various plants grow. Mountain forests are located in northern Africa. These are mainly deciduous plantations: different types of oaks, Aleppo pines, Spanish fir, satin cedars.
The wildlife of Africa is vividly represented by the savannah. This is a steppe zone, where, in addition to grassy, there is shrubby and ligneous vegetation. Of the cereals, elephant grass is most common. She got this name due to the fact that elephants love to feast on her.
During the rainy season, everything blooms here, the vegetation becomes dense and green. And in the dry period, which often lasts up to six months, the savannah looks like a yellow charred steppe.
The baobab is recognized as a business card, a symbol of the continent. This African giant is not afraid of drought. The fact is that during the rainy season he saturates his trunk with water. The uniqueness of this tree lies in its amazing longevity (5000 years). In addition, this giant blooms only once during its long life.
Nature of north africa
This region stretches a narrow strip in the north of the continent. Most of the Sahara desert is the hottest place on Earth.
Features of the nature of Africa in the north are that few plants survive here. Most of the flora of these places - a variety of palm trees. Oaks, laurels, olive trees and eucalyptus are much less common.
The most common animal in North Africa can safely be called a camel. This part of the mainland is dominated by a subtropical (in some places tropical) climate. The officially recorded maximum temperature in the shade was +58 degrees. In winter, there are even frosts at night.
Climatic conditions
Great diversity in the nature of Africa! In the northern regions, spring is a time of sandstorms. They bring hashmin from the Sahara. Storms can last from one day to a week.
In the countries of North Africa (Egypt, Libya, Mauritania) the weather in the spring is surprisingly constant - if the heat sets in early spring, then it will last until May. The same can be said of cool and windy weather. Finally, the temperature is set in early May. At this time, the thermometer columns are already confidently taking their place at the thirty-degree mark.
Summer is very hot. For example, in Egypt in mid-summer the temperature in the shade reaches fifty degrees. It is much cooler at night than during the day. Daily changes are quite large.
The nature of Africa has a milder climate in Western Sahara. Here the temperature allows more plants to grow (vegetables and crops, fruit trees).
In summer, very high temperatures are observed in Libya (+58). This period accounts for the majority of public holidays in North Africa: June 18 - Day of Liberation from the British, July 23 - Day of Revolution, June 11 - Day of Liberation from American bases.
Autumn in North Africa is the end of the sweltering heat. In September, the temperature does not rise above 40 degrees. Water warms up to 25 degrees. Until October, the temperature continues to drop, and by mid-autumn it varies in different countries from +20 to +30.
At the same time, the saving rainy season begins. The nature of Africa comes to life. The rapid growth of bushes and grass begins. Thick green crowns appear on the trees. Animals, which in summer suffer greatly from unbearable heat, are active. Various representatives of the fauna appear on the surface, which in the summer could be seen only at night or at dusk. Small savage hippos, medium-sized predators, various monkeys, and rodents live in the savannahs. In the deserts you can see snakes, lizards and invertebrates.
Winter in North Africa can be different. For example, in the mountains of Algeria at this time of the year there are frosts. On the coast, the weather is warmer, the air warms up to 12 degrees. In Egypt, winters are very mild. The temperature does not drop below 25 degrees with a small amount of precipitation.
Nature of south africa
The south of the continent is more welcoming and comfortable for the life of plants and animals. Today, over 24,000 flowering species are registered in this area. Almost half of these plants are concentrated on the coastal strip, whose width is about 200 kilometers. This zone is located in the southwest of South Africa. Botanists attribute it to the Cape floristic kingdom. In total, six such associations are distinguished on Earth, and the Cape Kingdom is unique primarily because it occupies only 0.4 percent of the territory of the Black Continent, while others occupy whole parts of the world - America, Australia or Antarctica. However, the Cape Floristic Kingdom is the richest in the world. The vegetation of these places is even more diverse than the flora of tropical forests.
Animal world
The wildlife of Africa is very diverse. About 500 species of birds live here, more than a hundred species of various reptiles, numerous species of insects. But tourists who come here every year from different continents are most attracted to the Big Five - a rhinoceros (black and white), an elephant, a buffalo, a leopard, a lion. These representatives of the African fauna are of great interest to fans of safari. A hunter who has obtained at least one animal from the "five" is the owner of the "big helmet", as the locals say.
Hunting these animals is an expensive undertaking, which is associated with organizational difficulties. Not every safari company can offer such a hunt. To do this, a special permit document issued at the government level must be drawn up.
The fauna of the coastal waters of South Africa is diverse. Here you can see the huge, largest inhabitant of the Earth - the blue whale. The length of his body exceeds 30 meters. A total of eight species of whales are found in these waters .
A huge variety of fish is amazing. A sixth of all species known to science today is represented in the coastal part of South Africa.
Typical representatives of the Sahara fauna are antelopes (addax, oryx), gazelles (dorkas, lady), mountain goat.
Human and nature
The fauna of southern Africa is represented by exotic, rare animals. However, there are problems. The main one is human influence on the nature of Africa. It destroys, destroys unique representatives of nature, prevents them from developing. Illegal shooting, poaching, thoughtless management - all this entails sad consequences.
In fairness, it must be said that human influence on the nature of Africa comes down not only to its destruction. In recent years, African governments have done tremendous work to protect the ecology, flora and fauna of their continent. World-renowned scholars supported by enthusiasts from Africa join this work.
As far back as the 19th century, the Black Continent was considered the mainland of virgin nature. But even in those days, the nature of Africa was already changed by man. The area of forests was significantly reduced, they gave way to arable land and pastures.
However, the greatest damage to the nature of Africa was from European colonialists. Hunting for profit, and often in general for the sake of sports interest, led to a significant extermination of animals. Many species were completely destroyed. This can be said about some varieties of antelopes, zebras. The number of other animals significantly decreased: rhinos, elephants, gorillas.
Europeans barbarously destroyed African forests and exported valuable wood to Europe. Therefore, in some states of the continent (in Nigeria and others), there was a real danger of the disappearance of forests!
The areas occupied by planting oil palm, cocoa plantations, peanuts, etc. In the place where the richest equatorial and variable-moist forests were located, savannas formed. To a large extent, the nature and primary savannahs have been changed. Today there are plowed lands and pastures.
To save the savannahs from the onset of deserts, a 1,500 km long forest strip is created in the Sahara. It will block agricultural land from dry, hot winds. There are several original Sahara watering projects.
Serious changes in environmental conditions became noticeable after the development of certain types of minerals, as well as the rapid development of industry on the continent. As a result of improper farming (grazing, burning, cutting down bushes and trees), deserts are increasingly attacking the savannahs. Over the past 50 years alone, the Sahara has stepped significantly south and increased its territory by 650 thousand square meters. km
In turn, the loss of agricultural land leads to the death of crops and livestock, to starvation of people.
National parks and reserves
Nowadays, people have realized the need to protect all life on Earth. To this end, reserves are created on all continents (special territories that preserve natural complexes in a natural state) and national parks.
Only those people who conduct research work are allowed in the reserves. In contrast, national parks are open to tourists.
Today, the nature of Africa is protected in many countries located on the Black Continent. Protected areas on the mainland occupy vast areas. Most of them are located in East and South Africa. A number of such institutions are world famous. These are the national parks of Kruger, Serengeti. Thanks to the great work of scientists, researchers and ordinary nature lovers, the number of some animal species has been completely restored.
Every year, more than a million tourists who are interested in the wildlife of Africa come to Kruger Park alone, which is located in the northeast of South Africa. This park can rightly be called the birthplace of the "Big Five". The five main species of African animals feel very comfortable. Rhinos and lions, giraffes and hyenas, zebras and numerous antelopes feel no less comfortable in these territories.
The diversity of nature in Africa is widely represented in other national parks in South Africa. Not all countries in the world have such a number of such institutions as South Africa. Now in South Africa, there are up to two dozen national parks and hundreds of natural reserves that are located in different regions of the country.
Predators
Of great interest to researchers and ordinary tourists is the wildlife of Africa. Predators of this continent are not only mammals, but also reptiles, which are no less dangerous. In addition, there are birds of prey and fish.
Lions
African savannas are distinguished by a large number of these predators. The king of animals feels very comfortable on the Black Continent.
The wild nature of Africa is inconceivable without the lion prides - groups of animals that combine males, females and their growing offspring. The family has very clearly defined responsibilities - young lionesses take care of the pride, and strong and large males protect the territory.
The main food of lions are zebras, antelopes. In their absence, predators will not abandon smaller animals, with severe hunger they will not disdain carrion.
I would like to dwell on the relationship of lions with spotted hyena. For a long time it was believed that she was content with the remains after the “royal” meals, that the animal was extremely cowardly, inactive and incapable of independent hunting.
However, recent observations by scientists have shown that this is far from the case. As it turned out, hyenas hunt at night (perhaps that's why little was known about hunting), predators easily kill quite large prey, such as a zebra or an antelope. But the most striking thing is that scientists have proved that hyenas are not afraid of lions, but vice versa! Hearing the voices of hyenas that possessed the prey, the lions immediately rush there to drive them away and pick up the trophy. But it happens that hyenas enter a desperate battle, and then the lions are forced to retire.
Leopards, cheetahs
Many tourists attribute the nature of Africa to the presence of a large number of feline predators. First of all, these are cheetahs and leopards. These beautiful strong cats are a bit alike, but they lead a completely different lifestyle. Now their livestock has decreased significantly.
The main prey of the cheetah are gazelles, the leopard is not such a fastidious hunter, except for small antelopes, he successfully hunts wild pigs - warthogs and baboons. When almost all leopards were destroyed in Africa, warthogs and baboons, having multiplied, became a true disaster for agricultural crops. The leopards had to be protected.