Africa

Africa is the world’s second-largest continent, extending from the Mediterranean Sea to the Cape of Good Hope. It includes diverse landscapes, climates, societies, and histories.

Sahara: The world’s largest hot desert, spanning much of North Africa. This vast desert divides North Africa from much of the continent farther south.
Homo sapiens: The living species of human, originating in Africa and now distributed worldwide. Fossils and genetic evidence place the species’ origins on this continent.
African Union: A continental organization of African states founded in 2002 to promote unity and cooperation. It represents a continent-wide effort to coordinate African states.
Scramble for Africa: The late nineteenth-century partition and colonization of most of Africa by European powers. It imposed colonial boundaries that continue to shape the continent’s political geography.
Nile: A major river system flowing north through northeastern Africa into the Mediterranean Sea. Its valley and delta have supported dense settlement across northeastern Africa.
Lucy (Australopithecus afarensis): A partial Australopithecus afarensis skeleton discovered in Ethiopia in 1974. Her discovery made eastern Africa central to popular understanding of human evolution.
African Union member states: The sovereign states that belong to the African Union. Their borders and governments make up the continent’s present-day political map.
Berlin Conference: The 1884–1885 meeting at which European powers set rules for claiming territory in Africa. Its agreements accelerated European partition without African representation.
Congo Basin: The lowland basin drained by the Congo River, containing extensive tropical rainforest. Its rainforest and river network define a major region of central Africa.
Olduvai Gorge: An archaeological site in Tanzania with a long record of early human life. Its fossils and tools document key stages of human evolution in Africa.

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