Africa is a continent located in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. The equator runs from west to east through the following African countries:
Sao Tome and Principe (to be precise, right through the islet of Ilhéu das Rolas), Gabon, Congo-Brazzaville, Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Kenya and Somalia.
Africa is bordered on the north by the Mediterranean Sea, on the northeast by the Suez Canal, the Red Sea and the Sinai peninsula, on the southeast by the Indian Ocean and on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. North of Africa lies Europe, which is separated from the African mainland by the Strait of Gibraltar.
The narrowest distance between Morocco (Africa) and Spain (Europe) is only 14 km. The shortest distance between Africa and the west continent of South America is about 2600 km. The South Pole or Antarctica is located about 4000 km south of Africa. The most northern point of Africa is Ras ben Sakka in Tunisia, the southernmost point is Cape Agulhas in South Africa, the distance between these two places is about 8000 km.
The westernmost point of Africa is Cape Verde, the easternmost point is Ras Hafun in Somalia, a distance of about 7400 km. Africa's total coastline is approximately 26,000 km. Africa is the second largest continent of the earth after Asia (43,820,000 km2) with an area of approximately 30,370,000 km2. In terms of area, Algeria is the largest country in Africa, the Seychelles archipelago the smallest. The smallest country in mainland Africa is the Gambia.
The destination pages contain extensive chapters on the plants and animals of Africa. Popular trips are safaris with the aim of spotting the big five. These are lions, leopards, buffaloes, rhinoceroses and elephants. The vegetation consists of savannas, deserts and rainforests. Special trees and plants are the baobab and the elephant grass.Below are the links to all destinations so far included in Africa: