AFRICA. 



The rivers of Africa are : on the west, the Niger, 

 Joliba, or Quorra for it goes by these and other 

 names in different parts of its course which rises 

 in the Kong Mountains of Guinea, about 9 25' N. 

 lat., 9 45' W. long, and flows first north, then 

 north-east, and at last south into the Gulf of 

 Guinea its length is estimated at 2500 miles, 

 and its navigability has been ascertained for a 

 distance of 800 miles, but its banks are very 

 pestilential ; the Chadda, or Benue" ; the Senegal 

 and Gambia, which enter the Atlantic near Cape 

 Verde ; the Congo, now identified with the Lualaba 

 and Chambeze, in Central Africa ; the Coanza ; 

 and the Orange River, forming the north bound- 

 ary of Cape Colony. On the east, the Limpopo, 

 falling into Delagoa Bay ; and the Zambesi, rich 

 in affluents, which falls into the Mozambique Chan- 

 nel. On the north-east, the Nile, which enters 

 the Mediterranean by various branches, and is 

 formed in Nubia by the junction of two streams 

 the Bahr-el-Azrek, or Blue River, rising in Abys- 

 sinia, and the Bahr-el-Abiad, or White River, 

 which comes from the interior of equatorial Africa. 

 The last tributary of the Nile is the Atbara, or 

 Black River, from Abyssinia. Recent explora- 

 tions have increased our knowledge of many of 

 these rivers. Major Pinto, in his journey across 

 Africa, 1878-9, found the Cubango rising to 

 the west of Bine" on the west coast, and proved 

 that it is not, as was long supposed, a tributary of 

 the Zambesi, but that it loses itself in an enor- 

 mous basin called the Makarikari in the Bamang- 

 wato country. The source of the Niger was 

 determined by two clerks in the employment of 

 a French merchant in Sierra Leone in July 1879. 

 M. de Brazza, in 1875-8, traced the Ogowe* close 

 to its source, about i 45' S. 



Lakes. The peculiar physical conformation of 

 Africa, by which the water is thrown inwards on 

 the central regions by the surrounding border 

 mountain-ranges, makes it rich in lakes. In 

 Northern Central Africa, between lat. 12 and 14 

 north, is Lake Tchad, which is of a triangular 

 shape, and is about 180 miles long, and 100 broad. 

 The other known principal African lakes are 

 N'gami, in the south, which drains the country 

 between the Orange and Zambesi rivers ; Nyassa, 

 between lat. 14 25' and 10 55' south, being 210 

 miles long, and having an average breadth of 26 

 miles ; Tanganyika, the southern end of which is 

 in lat. 8 42' south, and which is 360 geographical 

 miles long; Bangweolo, whose southern end is in lat. 

 1 2 south; Moero, 60 miles long, with exceptionally 

 magnificent scenery ; Kamolondo ; Lincoln ; the 

 great Victoria N'yanza, whose southern point is in 

 lat 2 44' south, and which is 220 miles long, and 

 220 broad; the Albert N'yanza, about the equator, 

 300 miles long, and 90 broad ; and the Dembea, 

 or Tzana, in Abyssinia, through which the Blue 

 Nile flows, about 65 miles long, and 30 broad, and 

 situated 6000 feet above the sea-level. The aggre- 

 gate area of the lakes of Central Africa has been 

 estimated at not less than 100,000 square miles, 

 and the lake scenery is often extremely beautiful 

 and impressive. 



CLIMATE BOTANY AND ZOOLOGY. 



The climate is wholly that of the torrid zone, 

 with the exception of a belt on the north and 

 the extreme southern projection. 



The vegetation of Africa, without raising any 

 question as to what may have been introduced 

 from other continents, is decidedly less varied, and 

 more unique, than that of Europe or Asia. Along 

 the Mediterranean sea-board it greatly resembles 

 that of Southern Europe. In Upper Egypt, 

 Nubia, and Abyssinia, the characteristic plants 

 are gum-yielding acacias, the cassia or senna- 

 shrub, coffee, ginger, turmeric, cardamoms, the 

 lotus or jujub, and the nelumbium or water-lily. 

 Cape Colony is distinguished for its heaths, 

 euphorbias, aloes, cactuses, thorn-apple, mimosa, 

 and other prickly shrubs ; and yields also luxuri- 

 antly such plants as have been introduced by the 

 colonists. In the other known parts of the con- 

 tinent, the vegetation is strictly tropical, and 

 often peculiar. Here flourish palms and dates, 

 the banyan, gigantic adansonia, the dragon-tree, 

 banana, papaw, tamarind, anona, sugar-cane, 

 cotton-tree, cassava, tallow-tree, maize, manioc, 

 yam, ground-nut, melon, pine-apple, and other 

 forms native to warm regions ; while in the 

 islands are cultivated chiefly the vine, orange, 

 melon, coffee, and sugar-cane. 



The Fauna, as might be expected from the 

 insulated nature of the continent, is in many in- 

 stances peculiar, several of its forms being found in 

 no other region. Among the more characteristic 

 may be mentioned numerous apes and monkeys ; 

 the lion, panther, leopard, and other felinas ; the 

 hyena, jackal, racoon, &c. ; numerous species of 

 antelopes and gazelles in the south ; the buffalo, 

 camel, dromedary, and giraffe ; the horse, zebra, 

 quagga ; the elephant, rhinoceros, hippopotamus, 

 and masked-boar ; seals, dolphins, and other 

 cetacea. Of birds the ostrich, bustard, and 

 guinea-fowl ; the parrot family in great abundance ; 

 the flamingo, pelican, secretary-bird, and crane ; 

 the cuckoo, swallow, nightingale, and quail, which 

 are only summer visitants in Europe. Of reptiles 

 crocodiles, alligators, monitors, &c. ; serpents 

 in great variety, many of which are poisonous ; 

 lizards and chameleons ; and various species of 

 turtle. 



POPULATION. 



The population of the whole continent is vaguely 

 estimated at above 200 millions. The most char- 

 acteristic races are those of the Negro group, 

 occupying the central, western, and southern 

 parts of the continent. The inhabitants of the 

 north-east and north borders are believed to be 

 allied to the Semitic peoples of Asia (see 

 ANTHROPOLOGY). In the settlements belong- 

 ing to European kingdoms, more or less of a 

 foreign element has been introduced. The 

 foreign powers having possessions in Africa 

 are Britain, occupying Cape Colony, which 

 was taken from the Dutch in 1806 ; the Maur- 

 itius, with the minor islet-groups of Amirante 

 and Seychelles, taken from the French in 

 1810 ; the islets of St Helena and Ascension ; 

 and the settlements of Sierra Leone and Cape 

 Coast : France, possessing the island of Bourbon, 

 the settlement of Senegambia, the somewhat 

 expensive colony of Algeria, and since 1881, 

 Tunis : Portugal, occupying some settlements 

 on the Mozambique coast, the coast of South 

 Guinea, the Cape Verde Islands, Madeira, and the 

 Azores : Spain, to which belong the Canaries, and 

 the forts or districts of Ceuta and Melilah, near 



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