812 



AFRICA. 



tains extend along the western limits of Seneganibia and the nonnern border of Guinea, and m 

 general have no great elevation, although some of their summits appear to reach the height of 

 12,000 or 13,000 feet. The Jlbyssinian Mountains^ at some points, are of about the 



same elevation, but their contin- 

 uation across the continent under 

 the name of Mountains of the 

 JMoon is merely conjectural. 

 Along the eastern coast, a con- 

 tinued chain extends from the 

 Abyssinian range to the Ta 

 ble mountain, but of no great 

 height. It seems not improb- 

 able, that the central part of the 

 continent forms one great plateau, 

 of which these littoral chains are 

 merely the steep sides, descend- 

 ing, seaward. 



3. Rivers. We are not ac- 

 quainted with the whole course 

 of the largest rivers of Africa. 

 The sources of the principal 

 branch of the JViZe are yet uncer- 

 tain. The Quorra or J^iger is 

 known to us only in the upper 

 and lower part of its course. The 

 Congo or Zaire is evidently a 

 large river, of which but a small 

 part has been visited, and the 

 Zanibeze or Couama, on the 

 eastern coast, probably traverses 

 extensive regions of the unknown 

 interior. The Orange and Sen- 

 egal are, after these, the principal 

 rivers. 



4. Capes. The most promi- 

 inent capes are Cape Blanc, in 

 Tunis, the most northern point of 

 Africa ; Cape J\fesurata, in Tri- 

 poli ; Cape Spartel, upon the 

 Straits of Gibraltar ; Capes JVun 

 and Boiador, on the coast of Sa- 

 hara ; Cape Vcrd., in Senegam- 

 bia, the most westerly point of 

 this continent ; Capes Mount., 

 JWesurado, and Pahias, on the 

 Guinea coast ; the Cape of Good 

 Hope, in the English Cape Col- 

 ony ; Cape .flgulhas^ the most 



southern point of Africa ; Capes Corrienles and Delgado, in the Portuguese territories, and 

 Cape Guardafui, the eastern extremity of the continent. 



5. Cliinate. With the exception of comparatively narrow tracts on the northern and southern 

 coast, the whole of this continent lies within the torrid zone, and presents the largest mass of land 

 within the tropics on the earth's surface. Africa is, therefore, the hottest region on the face of 

 the globe. The effect of its tropical position is still further heightened by the nature of the 

 soil and the surface ; the vast desert tracts of bare sand and shingle, serve as a great reservoir 

 of parched and heated air, the influence of which is often felt even in the more temperate re- 

 gions of Barbary and the Cape Colony. The khamseen in Barbary and Egypt, and the har- 

 muftan in Guinea, are dry, burning winds from the deserts The low country on (he se^coast, 



Comparative Height of the Mountains of Jlfrica. 



Mauritius, 3,764 feet. 



Cape Verd, 7,890 " 



Cape, 10,200 " 



Canary, Peak of Ten- 



eriffe, 11,890 " 



Atlas, 



Isle of Bourbon, 



Abyssinian, 



Madagascar, 



12,000 feet. 



12,500 " 



14,720 " 



16,500 " 



