Egypt

Officially, the Arab Republic of Egypt, a state of northeastern Africa with 70 million inhabitants, 84% are Muslims. Almost all Egyptians are concentrated in the river Nile valley, an area of approximately one thirtieth of the country's total area of more than a million of km². Egypt has a Saharian-type climate, in general, and a Mediterranean influence on its northern coast.

The Great Pyramids at Giza

The Great Pyramids at Giza - the pyramids of Cheops, Chephren and Mycerinus were royal tombs, erected after 2780 B.C., in the old Egyptian empire. The Great Pyramid of Cheops (the one in the middle of the photo) is 138 meters high and has more than 6 million tons of stones. It was considered, by the ancient Greeks, as one of the Seven Wonders of the world. The only of the Wonders that survived until our days.

The first records of the Egyptian civilization date from about six thousand years ago. They were fully dependents of the river Nile. This exuberant culture flourish up to 1100 B.C., when Egypt was divided into independent regions. Later, the Egyptians were conquered by the Assyrians (662 B.C.), by the Persians (525 B.C.), by the Greeks (332 B.C.), by the Romans, Arabs, Frenchmen and British, until the country becoming independent in 1922.

Wildlife in Africa

Africa is well known by its wildlife in the savannahs and equatorial forests. There are about 45 species of primates, including chimpanzees and gorillas, more than 60 species of great predators, like lions, leopards, hyenas, wild dogs, foxes and coyotes. These animals are vital for the maintenance of the ecological balance in the areas where they live. They make part of the rich African ecosystem.

Since 1940s, humans are responsible for a considerable reduction in the population of wildlife animals in Africa, directly or indirectly. As a consequence, many species entered in extinguishing process, becoming endangered. In the last few years, the efforts to protect African animals is increasing, but there is still much to be done.

To learn more:

African Wildlife Foundation - www.awf.org

Endangered Species Coalition - www.stopextinction.org

Giraffes in Africa

Giraffes - The tallest of all animals, the giraffe normally reaches 5.5 meters tall. They live in groups in the African savannahs.

African elephants, wildlife in Africa

African elephants - the behavior of the African elephants are mainly motivated for three factors: feeding, social integration with other elephants and avoiding danger. Elephants has a complex social system and communicate among themselves through visual signals, touch and sounds. They eat during about 16 hours and sleep only three or four hours per day.

To learn more:

ElephantVoices - www.elephantvoices.org.

Save The Elephants - www.save-the-elephants.org.

African lion

African lions - Today, its principal habitat is the African savannahs, mainly in Kenya and in Tanzania. Out of Africa, only in India, in the Gir's forest, lions live in its natural habitat. Ten thousand years ago, however, lions used to live in vast regions of Africa, Europe and Asia.

Images of Africa

Africa is the second largest continent of the world and has about 770 million people. It has an incredible diversity in culture and in environment. The continent is recognized as the birthplace of the Homo Sapiens and of historical civilizations.

The African continent has an impressive climate diversity and a strongly contrasting landscape. The northern part of the continent is dominated by the Sahara desert, the largest desert in the world. The central and southern parts has magnificent equatorial forests.

Diversity also happens in the African's cultural life. There is a huge difference between culture and income, when cities, like Cairo or Capetown, are compared with the tribes of Masai Mara, in Kenya.

Victoria Falls - Located in the Zambezi river, in the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe. The Victoria Falls is 108 meters heigh, it is the biggest waterfall of Africa, about two times deeper and two times wider than Niagara Falls. After the Victoria Falls, the waters of Zambezi river go down to the Kariba Lake. The British explorer David Livingstone was the first European to see the Falls, in 1855, and named them after Queen Victoria.

Horn of Africa, in Somalia. This photo, from NASA, shows the arid-to-semiarid landscape in the east of Somalia. The shape of this part of Africa seems like a horn of rhinoceros penetrating the Indian Ocean. In southern and northwestern Somalia there is a relatively dense thorn bush savanna. Northern region have mainly grassy plains. Northeastern Somalia and parts of the northern coastal plain there is a scarce vegetation. More: map, images of Africa►

Sahara Desert

Sahara is a desert plain in the northern part of Africa, covering over 9 million square kilometers, from the Atlantic to the Red Sea. It is responsible for approximately 70% of all barren lands of the world. About one fifth of its surface is formed by extensive sand dune fields.

In the past, about five million years ago, there were forests and great mammals living in some regions of the today's Sahara desert.

Sahara Desert in Africa

Wind-worn Sahara.

The African People

Four fifth of the African territory is situated between the tropics of Capricorn and Cancer. Equator cuts the continent almost in the middle. The African people struggles to make a living in this hot continent.

The quality and cultural diversity of life in the 53 independent countries of Africa, reaches extremes. There are paradises, like Seychelles Islands and Mauritius, with per capita income above 6,000 dollars and paradisiacal beaches. On the other hand, there are inhospitable lands on most part of Mali and Niger.