As this is Africa Month and Africa Day upon us, we focus our attention on what makes this such a majestic continent where we are especially lucky to call it home:

Africa is the world’s second largest, in area, and second-most populous, continent, after Asia. It is home to 147 World Heritage Sites.

The Cradle of Humankind is the birthplace of our original ancestors, where our collective umbilical cord lies buried. All of humanity shares an African heritage. We are one diverse species across the globe, with our roots in Southern Africa.  Add the pyramids of Egypt to the great mosques of Timbuktu, which was the intellectual and spiritual capital in the 15^th and 16^th centuries.

Africa has so many magnificent natural World Heritage sites including Table Mountain, Victoria Falls, the mighty Serengeti, stretching over 30,000 sq kilometers re-nouned for the great wildebeest migrations. Indeed, the wonderous Kruger Park and the many other game reservations, especially in Southern Africa have provided safe havens for some many species which have been wiped out elsewhere. 

Here are some interesting facts: 

1. Sudan used to be the largest country in Africa until it was split into Sudan and South Sudan. Algeria is now the largest African country by geographical area. 

2. There around 2,000 different languages are spoken and each of them has different dialects. Arabic is the language that is most widely spoken in the African continent, followed by English and Swahili and French.

3. The Nile River is the longest river in the world, is approximately 4,258 miles (6,853 kilometers) long and passes flowing northward through 11 countries: Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Ethiopia, Eritrea, South Sudan, Sudan and Egypt. Finally, it all flows into Victoria Lake.

4. Madagascar is the largest island in the African continent, and the 4th largest island in the world. It lies just off the east coast of Africa and is around 1,000 miles long with a width of around 350 miles. 

5. Africa is a home to the largest wildlife immigration on earth.The Serengeti (Tanzania) hosts the world’s largest wildlife migration on Earth with over 1.2 million wildebeest and 750,00 zebras crossing the Mara River in Kenya.

Bonus Fact: 

The world ‘s largest and hottest dessert is in Africa. The Sahara is the world’s largest hot desert and one of the harshest environments on the planet. At 3.6 million square miles (9.4 million square kilometers) it is bigger than the entire USA! The desert touches 11 countries (large sections of Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Western Sahara, Sudan and Tunisia).

Did you know? The endless plains of the Serengeti National Park happen to boost the oldest eco-system on the planet! Startling!

Sources:

http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com

https://www.conservationinstitute.org