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Large printable map of Africa

Africa is the second-largest continent, in both land area and population.  It is also the warmest continent, with a broad swath of Africa in the tropics.  Only at the higher elevations, found on Mt. Kilimanjaro and other mountain slopes, can parts of Africa be considered cold.  The Sahara Desert separates the northern part of Africa, which is generally dry, from the southern part, which has wide savannahs, rainforests and other land forms.  The Mediterranean lies between Europe and Africa, which touches the Middle East on its far eastern side.  While the Sahara has been a barrier to commerce, the Mediterranean has historically provided routes to facilitate trade with Europe and the Middle East.  The Nile River in Egypt brought water and fertile soil to an area which was otherwise desert, allowing an early civilization to grow up along the river.

The Congo River flows into the Atlantic, and so does the Niger river. Draw the Nile River (the White Nile and the Blue Nile come together) that flows north into the Mediterranean. Locate Lake Victoria and Mt Kilamanjaro. The Sahara desert cuts clear across Africa, dividing it into two parts, while the Kalahari desert is smaller, and in the south. Victoria Falls “the smoke that thunders” is considered to be the largest waterfall in the world; located in southern Africa on the Zambezi River.

Important cities for your map are Cairo,Egypt; Johannesburg (Ekurhuleni), South Africa; Lagos, Nigeria; Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Africa is the original home of the human species.  From Africa, humans spread through the Middle East into Europe and Asia in successive waves of migration.  Many hominid fossils have been found in the Rift Valley in Eastern Africa.