The map above reveals the physical landscape of the African Continent.
Important mountainous areas are the Ethiopian Highlands Eastern Africa,
the Atlas Mountains along the northwestern coast and the Drakensberg Range
along the Southeast African coastline.
Eastern Africa is being torn apart by the process of plate tectonics.
The great African Rift Valley is made obvious by Lake Tanganyika and Lake
Nyasa which occupy its deepest points. Historic rifting opened the
Red Sea and rifted the island of Madagascar free from the main
Drainage patterns reveal Africa's varaiable climate. The Sahara Desert is the
large streamless expanse of Northern Africa. The Nile is the only
major River that successfully crosses the desert. Numerous rivers
drain the central portion of Africa just south of the Sahara.