GEOGRAPHY, TRAVEL, ARCHITECTURE 



Africa (af're-kah ), the second largest of the 

 continents of the OKI World lies nearly due 

 south of Europe and southwest of Asia. It is of 

 a compact form, being nearly equal at its ex- 

 treme points in length and breadth. The north 

 section of the continent, however, has an average 

 breadth of nearly double the south. This great 

 change of form arises mostly from the greater 

 projection of the upper part toward the west, and 

 the transition on this side from the broad to the 

 narrow section is effected suddenly by an inward 

 turn of the west coast, which faces south for 

 nearly 20 of longitude, forming the Gulf of 



. the greatest indentation of the coast. 

 Africa is united to Asia at its northeast extremity 

 by the Isthmus of Suez, now crossed by a great 

 ship canal. From this point the coast runs in a 

 westerly and somewhat northerly direction to 

 tlit> Strait of Gibraltar, the point of greatest prox- 

 imity to Europe. This north coast forms the 

 south shore of the Mediterranean Sea, and brings 

 all the north countries of Africa into close prox- 

 imity with the European and Asiatic countries 

 lyim: contiguous to that great ocean highway, 

 which formed the chief medium of communi- 

 cation between the principal divisions of the 

 ancient world. 



'II ie center of Africa possesses an exuberant 

 tropical vegetation. The open pastoral belt at 

 the extremities of the tropics is distinguished by 

 a rich and varied flora. A special characteristic 

 ot the vegetation of the south extremity of Africa 

 is the remarkable variety, size, and beauty of 



tths, some of which j;row to twelve or fif- 

 teen feet in the fertile parts of Nubia. 



The fauna of Africa is extensive and varied, 

 and numerous species of mammals are peculiar 

 to the continent. According to a common view 

 of tin- geographical distribution of animals, the 

 north of Africa belongs to the Mediterranean 

 sub-region, while the rest of the continent forms 

 the Ethiopian region. Africa possesses numer- 

 ous species of the order q uadrumana (apes and j 

 monkeys), most of which are jx'culiar to it. 

 They abound especially in the tropics. The 

 : kable are the chimpaii/.ee and the 

 p>rilla. The lion is the typical carnivore of 

 Africa. Latterly he ha- been driven from th" 

 coast wttl.-mi-nt- to the int.-rior. \\liere 



kiiiLT of the forest. There are three varie- 



lion . i i 



: and panther rank ne\| to the lion am<>tii; 

 carnivora. Hyenas of more than one 

 and jackals, are found all over Airi.-a. 11. 

 phants in large herds abound in the 



tropical regions, and their tusks form 

 a principal article ot OOmmi I --HC are 



phants. The elepl; mt is not a dome-tie animal 

 in Africa as it is in Asia. The rh 

 is found, likr the elephant, in Middle and South- 

 ern Afriea. Hippopotami abound in n 

 the large rivers nnd the lakes. The zebra and 

 quagga used to abound in Central and Southern 



Africa, but the latter is said to be now entirely 

 extinct. Of antelopes, the most numerous and 

 characteristic of the ruminating animals of Africa, 

 at least fifty species are considered peculiar to 

 this continent, of which twenty-three used to 

 occur in Cape Colony. The giraffe is found in 

 the interior, and is exclusively an African ani- 

 mal. Several species of wild buffaloes have 

 been found in the interior, and the buffalo has 

 been naturalized in the north. The camel, com- 

 mon in the north as a beast of burden, has no 

 doubt been introduced from Asia. The horse 

 and the ass are natives of Barbary. The cattle 

 of Abyssinia and Bornu have horns of immense 

 size, but extremely light. In Barbary ami the 

 Cape of Good Hope the sheep are broad-tailed; 

 in Egypt and Nubia they are long-legged and 

 short-tailed. Goats are in some parts more 

 numerous than sheep. The ibex breed extends 

 to Abyssinia. Dogs are numerous, but cats 

 rare, in Egypt and Barbary. 



There is a marked distinction between the 

 races in the north and east of the great desert 

 and those in the central Sudan and the : 

 Africa and the south. The main elements of 

 the population of North Africa, including Egypt 

 and Abyssinia, are Hamitic and Semitic, but m 

 the north the Hamite Berbers are mingled with 

 peoples of the same race as those of prehistoric 

 Southern Europe, and other types of various 

 origins, and in the east and southeast with the 

 peoples of the negro type. The Semitic Arabs 

 are found all over the north region, and even in 

 the Western Sahara and Central Sudan, and far 

 down the east coast, as traders. The Somalis 

 and Gallas are mainly Hamitic. In the Central 

 Sudan and the whole of the country between the 

 desert and the Gulf of Guinea the population is 

 pure negro people of the black, flat- or broad- 

 DOeed, thick-lipped type, with narrow heads. 

 woolly hair, high chee'k-bones. nnd prognathous 

 jaws! Scattered among them are peopi, 

 probably Hamitic stock. Nearly the whole of 

 the narrow south section of Africa is inhabited 

 by what are known as the Bantu races, of which 

 the Zulu or Kaffir mav be taken as the tvj>e. 

 The languages of the Bantu peoples are all of 

 the same structure, even though th.- phyMial 

 type vary, some resembling the true neirro, and 

 others ha vine prominent noses and com pa rat ively 

 thin lip-. I he Bushmen of South Africa are of 

 a different tyi>c from the Bantu, probably the 

 remains of an aboriginal population, while the 

 Hottentots ;ire apparently a mixture of B, 

 and Ivitlir-. Scattered OVef Central 

 mainly in the West : _;my tribes. 



who are generally supposed to be the remains 

 of an aboriginal population. The bulk of the 

 inhabitants of Madagascar Malay a Mini- 



ties. The total population is estimated at about 

 150.000,000, 



ICAL DIVIRIONS. Only two independent 



ist in Afri'-a. \l-y- mia and 



Liberia. With these two exceptions, the whole 



