Africa - Origin Of Africa, Continental Drift, General Features, East African Rift System, Human Evolution
world life
Africa is the world's second largest continent. From the perspective of geologists and paleontologists (scientists studying ancient life forms), Africa also takes center stage in the physical history and development of life on Earth. Africa possesses the world's richest and most concentrated deposits of minerals such as gold, diamonds, uranium, chromium, cobalt, and platinum. It is also the cradle of human evolution and the birthplace of many other animal and plant species, and has the earliest evidence of reptiles, dinosaurs, and mammals.
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Present-day Africa, occupying one-fifth of Earth's land surface, is the central remnant of the ancient southern supercontinent called Gondwanaland, a landmass once made up of South America, Australia, Antarctica, India, and Africa. This massive supercontinent broke apart between 195 million and 135 million years ago, cleaved by the same geological forces that continue to transform Earth�…
Considering its vast size, Africa has few extensive mountain ranges and fewer high peaks than any other continent. The major ranges are the Atlas Mountains along the northwest coast and the Cape ranges in South Africa. Lowland plains are also less common than on other continents. Geologists characterize Africa's topography as an assemblage of swells and basins. Swells are rock strata warped…
The most distinctive and dramatic geological feature in Africa is undoubtedly the East African rift system. The rift opened up in the Tertiary period, approximately 65 million years ago, shortly after the dinosaurs became extinct. The same tectonic forces that formed the rift valley and which threaten to eventually split East Africa from the rest of the continent have caused the northeast drifting…
It was in the great African rift valley that hominids, or human ancestors, arose. Hominid fossils of the genus Australopithicus dating 3-4 million years ago have been unearthed in Ethiopia and Tanzania. And the remains of a more direct ancestor of man, Homo erectus, who was using fire 500,000 years ago, have been found in Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania as well as in Morocco, Algeria, and Chad. Paleonto…
Present-day volcanic activity in Africa is centered in and around the East African rift valley. Volcanos are found in Tanzania at Oldoinyo Lengai and in the Virunga range on the Zaire-Uganda border at Nyamlagira and Nyiragongo. But there is also volcanism in West Africa. Mount Cameroon (13,350 ft; 4,005 m) along with smaller volcanos in its vicinity, stand on the bend of Africa's West Coast…
The only folded mountains in Africa are found at the northern and southern reaches of the continent. Folded mountains result from the deformation and uplift of the earth's crust, followed by deep erosion. Over millions of years this process built ranges like the Atlas Mountains, which stretch from Morocco to Algeria and Tunisia. Geologically, the Atlas Mountains are the southern tangent of …
For a continent of its size Africa has very few islands lying off its coast. The major Mediterranean islands of Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily, Crete, and Cyprus owe their origins to the events that formed Europe's Alps, and are a part of the Eurasian plate, not Africa. Islands lying off Africa's Atlantic Coast like the Canaries, Azores, and even the Cape Verde Islands near North Africa a…
The Silurian was followed by the Devonian, Mississippian, and Pennsylvanian periods (408-286 million years ago), the time interval when insects, reptiles, amphibians, and forests first appeared. A continental collision between Africa (Gondwanaland) and the North American plate formed a super-supercontinent (Pangaea) and raised the ancient Mauritanide mountain chain which once stretched from Morocc…
Africa has the world's richest concentration of minerals and gems. In South Africa, the Bushveld Complex, one of the largest masses of igneous rock on Earth, contains major deposits of strategic metals such as platinum, chromium, and vanadium—metals that are indispensable in tool making and high tech industrial processes. The Bushveld complex is about 2 billion years old. Another spe…
Africa, like other continents, has been subjected to gyrating swings in climate during the Quartenary period of the last 2 million years. These climatic changes have had dramatic affects on landforms and vegetation. Some of these cyclical changes may have been driven by cosmic or astronomical phenomena including asteroid and comet collisions. But the impact of humankind upon the African environmen…
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User Comments
over 2 years ago
It is refreshing to read a website that acknowledges that Africa is the cradle of civilization. The hatred of blacks is so strong that scientist would rather come up with false stories than to acknowledge that fact. Also, I am a b eliever in creation as opposed to evolution (the man evolving from ape theory). Do not send me tons of e-mail. Thank you