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What image comes to mind when one thinks of Africa? For some it is the
popular media portrayed pictures of famine, turbulence and tragic
decline and for others the untamed wilderness in nature publications
that conjure the mystery and enigma of a continent largely unknown. But
how many of us really know Africa; its great ancient civilizations and
its incredibly diverse cultures? Its resilience in the face of
formidable catastrophe? And of the indomitable spirit of its people who
despite the challenges, remain the personification of hope.
 Africa is big, the second largest continent comprising 23% of the
earth's land mass and in all some twelve million square miles. Africa
could hold the land occupied by China, India, Europe, Argentina, New
Zealand and the continental United States! It is bounded by the Atlantic
Ocean on the west, the Indian Ocean and Red Sea on the east, and the
Mediterranean Sea on the north. In the northeastern corner, Africa is
connected with Asia by the Sinai Peninsula
Africa is a land of great diversity. Its geography comprises lush green
forests, vast, grassy plains, barren deserts, tall mountains, and some
of the mightiest rivers on Earth. It stretches 5,000 miles from north to
south and 4,700 miles from east to west. At its highest point, the
perpetually snowcapped Kilimanjaro mountain rises 19,341 ft in Tanzania,
and at its lowest Lake 'Asal lies 502 ft below sea level in Djibouti.
Mt. Nyiragongo in the Virunga Mountains and Cameroon Mountain remain
volcanically active. The Great Rift Valley, formed by the fracturing of
the earth's crust stretches 3,500 miles from the Red Sea to Mozambique
and carries within it the distinctively elongated rift valley lakes. In
the north lies the world's largest desert, the Sahara stretching from
the Atlantic to the Red Sea. The Congo River drains an area of more than
1.6 million square miles and is second only to the Amazon River in terms
of discharge and size of drainage basin. The Nile, at 4,160 miles is the
world's longest river. The climate is equally diverse, from the
Mediterranean in the north and south to the hot equatorial middle and
everything in between. Africa teems with animals, birds, fish and
insects of all shapes and sizes, linked together in an intricate
symbiotic web. Some of the insects have for long been carriers of fatal
diseases like malaria which is one of Africa's leading causes of death.
Much of Africa's delicate environmental balance has seen much harm from
misguided western conservation methods. Environmentalists now argue for
sensitivity to regional and temporal variations, preserving and building
upon local indigenous knowledge.
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