U GEOGRAPHY. 



The Equatorial current continues its course on both sides of the equator, and 

 at a degree of kititude corresponding to about 20° west of Greenwich, sepa- 

 rates into a northern and west-south-western branch, of which the latter again 

 bifurcates. The Guinea current already mentioned is only part of the great 

 North African current which passes southwards along the western end of the 

 Desert of Sahara. The South Atlantic connecting current carries the waters 

 of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans into the Indian Ocean ; little, however, is 

 known of its extent and direction. 



Very little is known of the Mountains of Africa. The following are the 

 principal, as far as ascertained : 



I. The Atlas, in the western part of North Africa. The most western 

 part is the High Atlas, v/hich, in Morocco, attains an elevation of 15,000 feet, 

 and is covered with perpetual snow ; the eastern and northern part along the 

 Mediterranean is called the Lesser Atlas, the most southern part the Great 

 Atlas. Eastern continuations are the Ghariano and Soudah Mountains. 

 East of the great Gulf of Sidra, the Plateu of Barca elevates itself to a 

 height of some 1600 feet. The left bank of the Nile is occupied by the 

 Libyan chain. 



II. In Middle Africa we find the Abyssinian Alps, not far from the Red 

 Sea, and sometimes called tha Samen Mountains ; to the south these are con- 

 nected with the Mountains of the Moon (Dschebel el Kamar). and the Bara- 

 kat Mountains. 



III. In South Africa the mountains of the Cape are conspicuous for their 

 elevation, and consist of three parallel ranges. The first, Lange Kloof, runs 

 parallel to the coast ; the second is the Zwart Berg ; and the third is the 

 Nieuweveldt's Gebirge, the highest of all (over 10,000 feet). 



The principal Capes are : 1. On the north coast : Capes Spartel, Bugarona, 

 Farina, Bon, Rasat. 2. On the west coast : Capes Cantin, Ger, Nun, Boja- 

 dore, Laguedo, Blanco, Mirik, A^erde (w^esternmost point of Africa), Roxo, 

 Verga, Sierra Leone, Mesurado, Palmas, Three Points, Coast Castle, St. Paul, 

 Formosa, St. John, Lopez, Gonsalvo, Padron. 3. On the southern coast : 

 Cape of Good Hope, Aiguilles, Infanta, St. Franciscus, Recife, Morgan. 

 4. On the east coast : Corrientes, Delgado, Guardafui (the easternmost point 

 of Africa). 



Among the innumerable plains of Africa, by far the most extensive even in 

 the world, is the Great Desert of Sahara, 2500 miles long, and 800 broad, 

 containing 2,000,000 square miles of area. The fertile spots, like islands, 

 which are distributed through the Desert, are called Oases ; the largest of 

 these is the Oasis of Fezzan. The eastern part of Sahara is called the Liby- 

 an Desert, separated from the Nubian Desert by the river Nile ; the western 

 portion, which is the true Sahara, contains but few oases. 



The Rivers of Africa are : 



I. Those emptying into the Mediterranean. The most important of these 

 is the Nile, formed by the junction of the Blue River (Bahr el Azrek) and 

 the White River (Bahr el Abiad). It is 2700 statute miles long, and 

 empties into the sea by two arms (formerly by seven) forming the Delta of 

 the Nile. From August to October of each year, it rises from twenty 

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