The topic of the relief of Africa in geography is studied in the 7th grade. The relief of Africa is quite complex, although there are no high mountain ranges and lowlands. Basically, the mainland is dominated by plains, the average height of which is from 200 to 1000 meters (above sea level).

Relief types

The African plains were formed in different ways. Some were formed due to the destruction of the mountains that existed here in the Precambrian era. Others were formed due to the rise of the African platform.

The African-Arabian platform, on which Africa stands, is also a relief-forming for the Arabian Peninsula, Seychelles and Madagascar.

In addition to the plains in Africa, there are also:

  • plateaus ;
  • hollows (the largest are located in the states of Chad and Congo);
  • faults (it is on this continent that the largest fault is located earth's crust- East Africa, from the Red Sea to the mouth of the Zambezi River, through the Ethiopian Highlands).

Fig 1. Map of the relief of Africa

Relief characteristics by regions of Africa

Judging by the height map, all of Africa can be divided into two parts: South and North Africa and East and West Africa. There is one more conditional division: High and Low Africa.

The lower part is wider. It occupies up to 60% of the entire territory of the continent and is geographically located in the north, west and in the central part of the mainland. Peaks up to 1000 meters prevail here.

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High Africa is the south and east of the mainland. The average heights here are 1000 - 1500 meters. Here are the highest point, Kilimanjaro (5895) and slightly inferior to her Rwenzori and Kenya.

Figure 2. Mount Kilimanjaro

If we talk about the characteristics of the reliefs, then they can be briefly represented as follows.

Region

Dominant relief

North Africa

Here it is Mountain chain Atlas (the longest on the mainland - more than 6 thousand km), quite young, formed at the junction of two lithospheric plates(the highest point is Mount Toubkal, Morocco, 4165 meters). This region also contains part of the Ethiopian highlands with maximum peaks of 4 m (the most seismically region, which is sometimes called the "roof of Africa").

East Africa

Most of this region is occupied by the East African Plateau (or the East African Rift Valley). Here are the most high mountains and extinct volcanoes (Kilimanjaro), as well as the most deep lakes continent.

South Africa

In this region, the relief is quite diverse. There are mountains (Cape, Draconian), basins and the South African Plateau.

West Africa

The region is also dominated by mountains (Atlas) and plateaus.

In terms of average height, 750 meters above sea level, Africa ranks third in the world after Antarctica and Eurasia. So, Africa can rightly be considered one of the "highest" continents on the planet.

Relief and minerals of Africa

The minerals of Africa, due to its tectonic structure, are diverse. In addition, the deposits of some of them are the largest in the world.

Since serious tectonic activity took place in Africa at the dawn of its formation, there are a lot of igneous rocks that led to the formation of various ore minerals. These deposits are not deep, especially in South and East Africa, where crystalline rocks lie close to the surface, so that they are mined by open-cast mining.

The largest deposits are located in South Africa:

  • gold;
  • uranium;
  • tin;
  • tungsten;
  • lead;
  • zinc;
  • copper.

North and West Africa is also rich in:

  • coal;
  • salts ( various types and properties);
  • manganese;
  • oil (the coast of the Gulf of Guinea; Algeria, Libya, Nigeria);
  • natural gas;
  • phosphorites;
  • chromites;
  • bosquitoes.

Deposits of cobalt, tin, antimony, lithium, asbestos, gold, platinum and platinoids were discovered here.

The richest country in Africa is South Africa. Almost all types of natural resources are mined here, with the exception of oil, natural gas and bauxites. There is especially a lot of coal in South Africa, and its deposits here are as superficial as possible, so the extraction of this natural resource causes no difficulty.

Africa is not only a continent famous for its original nature and culture, this continent has a rich supply of natural resources. Most of the mainland is located in the equatorial zone, which provides optimal conditions for the growth of forests, which make up 10% of total area forested area of ​​the earth. Wood is the main export commodity.

Another treasury of Africa is the Sahara desert, the bowels of which hide huge reserves fresh water. This continent contains the most major rivers planets that are rightfully called the energy minerals of Africa.

Africa are the main suppliers of resources for black and chemical enterprises for the entire planet. The bowels of Africa are rich in phosphorites, chromites, and titanium. The main reserves of cobalt, copper, manganese), as well as precious minerals and metals (diamonds, gold) the globe focused on this mainland. The minerals of North Africa, which include sedimentary minerals, gas and oil, are of world importance. South and central Africa is valued for igneous minerals - ores of ferrous and non-ferrous metals, as well as diamonds.

Deposits of minerals are due to the formation of the relief of the continent. In the north, there are more lowlands and subsidences, which were flooded by the seas, therefore, coal and manganese ores were formed in the form of precipitation. The east and south of Africa are represented by plateaus and highlands, which historically formed on the site of vertical and horizontal movements of platforms, therefore this part is rich in diamonds, gold, and uranium ores.

This continent has such an unimaginable reserve that the minerals of Africa on the map do not leave one free space, literally every millimeter of the area contains one or another mineral. Africa is famous for its deposits of ores, the formation of which dates back to the time of the birth of the Paleozoic. Currently, this platform is exposed on the equator and the south of the mainland, and therefore, these areas have become the concentration of ore deposits. Thanks to this “exposure” of ancient platforms, copper deposits in South Africa became available to the population of the planet, chromites are being developed in Southern Rhodesia, Nigeria is famous for tin and tungsten, Ghana for manganese, and the island of Madagascar may well provide the entire planet with graphite. But still, Africans thank the Paleozoic for gold deposits. Perhaps, in some areas, Africa lags behind the countries of the West, but in the sphere this continent, represented by South Africa, has long and firmly held the position of a leader.

The Cambrian period of the formation of earth platforms is considered the beginning of the formation of the copper belt, which formed such minerals in Africa as copper, tin, cobalt, lead, tungsten and brought it to a leading position in the world. In terms of development and extraction of the above minerals, Africa ranks second. During this period, deposits of uranium and platinum ores. IN sea ​​depths iron ores were formed, but due to the deposition sea ​​salts, these minerals of Africa are of low grade.

At the junction of the Paleozoic and Mesozoic, the terrestrial platform of the continent experienced a calm period with the absence of movement of the earth's platforms, which allowed the formation of coal deposits, which are especially abundant in South Africa, Rhodesia, Congo and Madagascar.

The Sahara-Sudanian Plain of Africa is the most complex formation in structure, which has undergone faults and outcrops rocks, uplifts and deflections of ancient foundations, is valued by deposits of iron, manganese ores and oil.

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Minerals of South Africa

In the regions of the Equatorial and South Africa the richest deposits of ore minerals in the world are concentrated.

Large chromite deposits are located in Southern Rhodesia, Nigeria is rich in tungsten, and Ghana has reserves of manganese.

The largest graphite deposits in the world are located on the island of Madagascar. However highest value for the economy of South African states has gold mining.

The main gold reserves are located in the Republic of South Africa. Gold ores here were formed in the Cambrian period.

In the extraction of minerals such as copper, lead, cobalt, tungsten and tin, South Africa ranks first in the world.

Also on the territory of this region are the most unique uranium ores, the content of pure uranium in which reaches 0.3%.

Minerals of North Africa

On the territory of North Africa there are deposits of such minerals as zinc, lead, cobalt, molybdenum.

These fossils formed in North Africa at the beginning mesozoic era, during active development African platform.

Also, this region of the African continent is rich in manganese. Oil-bearing sources are located in the Northern Sahara and Morocco.

Phosphorite-bearing zones are located between the Atlas Mountains and Libya. Phosphorites are used in the metallurgical and chemical industries, as well as in the production of agricultural fertilizers.

More than half of the world's phosphorites are mined in the North African phosphorite zone.

Morocco occupies the first place among the countries of the world in the extraction of phosphorites.

Minerals of West Africa

The main wealth of the bowels of West Africa is coal and oil.

Today, there is an active development of new methods of oil production in this region.

The main large deposits are located in the Niger Delta. West Africa is also rich in such minerals as niobium, tantalum and tin, iron ore, and non-ferrous metal ores.

On the territory of the coastal regions of West Africa are located large pools natural gas.

The southern territories are rich in gold ores.

Active mining in West Africa favorably affects the development of industry in this part of the African continent. So over the past decade, non-ferrous metallurgy has reached a high level of development, chemical industry and mechanical engineering.

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Africa has a diverse array of minerals, many of which are some of the richest deposits in the world. There are large reserves of oil, coal, ores of ferrous and especially non-ferrous metals (iron, manganese, copper, zinc, tin, chromiumᴛᴏʙ), rare metals and uranium ores, and in addition boxyᴛᴏʙ. Of the non-metallic minerals, phosphorus and graphite deposits are of the greatest value.

In view of the fact that the ancient foundation of the platform is exposed mainly in Equatorial and South Africa, it is in these areas that all the most important deposits of ore minerals are concentrated. Deposits of copper in the Republic of South Africa, chromium in Southern Rhodesia, tin and tungsten in Nigeria, manganese in Ghana, graphite on the island of Madagascar are associated with the metamorphization of the most ancient Archean and Proterozoic formations.

It is known that Africa has long and steadily retained the leading place among the countries of the capitalist world in gold mining. Its main reserves are concentrated in the thickness of the Proterozoic conglomerate in Republic of South Africa(Johannesburg), and the mines are of particular value. Mineralization processes during the Cambrian period led mainly to the accumulation of polymetallic ores, as well as ores of non-ferrous and rare metals.

Among the areas of Cambrian mineralization, first of all, the so-called Central African copper belt stands out, stretching from the Katanga region (in the southeast of the Congo) through Northern and Southern Rhodesia to East Africa.

Numerous deposits within this belt are mainly epigenetic, characterized by a high metal content and provide the main amount of copper, for the extraction of which Africa ranks second among the capitalist countries. Along with copper, cobalt, lead, tin and tungsten are mined in this zone.

In Katanga, in the Kazolo-Shinkolobwe region, one of the world's most important uranium ore deposits with a very high uranium content (0.3-0.5%) is exploited. The second major area of ​​Cambrian mineralization is concentrated in South Africa, where the formation of a series large deposits occurred in connection with powerful outpourings of the main lavas and intrusions of granite batoliᴛᴏʙ.

Complex processes of contact metamorphism ended with the formation of large deposits of platinum ores, gold, chromium, titanomagnetic ores.

In addition to non-ferrous metal ores, there are iron ore deposits in South Africa. Iron ores generally low-grade; it is believed that most of them were deposited in brackish sea or ocean waters.

It is important to take into account that their accumulation, which began as early as the Precambrian, continued into the Silurian. The main deposits are concentrated in the Pretoria region and in Capland. The third area of ​​concentration of Cambrian polymetallic ores is the Moroccan highlands of the Atlas Mountains, in which the oldest rocks of the entire mountain system.

By the end of the Paleozoic and the beginning of the Mesozoic era, when the African platform experienced a relatively calm tectonic stage of development and thick strata of continental deposits were deposited on its ancient osᴛᴏʙe, the formation of formations containing coals belongs. The coal basins in the Republic of South Africa, Northern and Southern Rhodesia, the Republic of the Congo (with Leopoldville as its capital), Tanganyika and the island of Madagascar are of the greatest industrial importance.

To the north of the equator, during the ϶ᴛόᴛ period, there was an accumulation of iron and manganese ores of sedimentary origin and oil in the continental sandstones of the Sahara. Significantly more favorable conditions for the formation of various minerals were established at the end of the Mesozoic era, when the sea from the Tethys geosyncline region transgressed to the north of Africa and faults began, leading to the isolation of the African block, accompanied by active volcanism and the intrusion of large granite batholiᴛᴏʙ.

The group of areas of platform Africa includes the territory of almost the entire African platform, with the exception of its eastern outskirts - the Abyssinian Highlands, the Somali Peninsula and the East African Plateau.

On this huge area, anteclises and syneclises of the ancient basement repeatedly alternate, and therefore the relief forms characteristic of the outcrops of the ancient basement and areas of development of the sedimentary cover replace each other.

The largest and most ᴄᴫᴏ region of the Sahara-Sudanese plains and plateau in structure and relief occupies the northern part of the platform, from the Atlas Mountains to the North Guinea Upland and the Azande uplift

In this area, the ancient foundation protrudes three times. In the west, it is exposed in the plains of the Karet-Yetti crystalline peneplain (up to 500 m high), in the area of ​​the Ragibat shield

In the center, the ancient foundation was raised in the highlands of Ahaggar and Tibesti and the southern spurs of Ahaggar (Adrar-Iforas and Lir plateau). The uplift occurred along the fault lines of the northwest strike.

Volcanism and volcanic landforms are associated with faults: phonoli peaks of Ahaggar (Mount Tahat 3005 m), basal plateaus and dry volcanoes of the Tibesti (Emi-Kycsu) -3415 m).

On the eastern outskirts of the Sahara, the western wing of the Eritrean crystalline dome rises above the Red Sea by the blocky Etbay Ridge (the highest point of Mount Esh-Shayib 2184m), steeply plunging towards the coast. The areas of outcrops of crystalline rocks and their characteristic landforms are surrounded on all sides by covers of sedimentary deposits that make up low plains and medium-altitude plateaus.

Lowlands occupy a limited area within the region. In front of the Caretietti plains lies the Atlantic accumulative sea plain; a strip of lowland also stretches along the coast of Libya and the UAR. It occupies the zone of subsidence of the edge of the African Platform to the Mediterranean geosynclinal region.

In the RAR, on the lowland, there are several depressions lying below sea level (the depth of Qattara reaches -133 m), worked out by exogenous processes in monoclinal structures.

In front of the Atlas Mountains lies the forward trough of the platform, which is only in the east, near the Gulf of Gabes, expressed in relief as an area of ​​recent subsidence.

The lowest places of the basin are vast saline plains (Schotts) lying below the ocean level (Schott Melgir has a mark of -30 m). Most of the Pre-Atlas trough is made up of sedimentary strata that make up piedmont plateaus dissected by dry valleys. The crystalline peneplain Karet-Yetti is separated from Ahaggar by the low flat plains of El Jof and the stepped plateau Tanezruft.

The El Jof plains occupy most of the Aravan-Tauden syneclise filled with Paleozoic formations; the Tanezruft Plateau constitutes the western link of the ring of kuesᴛᴏʙy ridges (tassili), worked out in monoclinal sedimentary rocks, uplifted along the slopes of Ahaggar and Tibesti.

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Africa. Physico-geographical essay. Minerals

Africa has a diverse array of minerals, many of which are some of the richest deposits in the world.

Deposits of ore minerals - iron, copper, zinc, tin, chromium ores, gold - are confined to the ancient foundation of the platform, composed of igneous and metamorphic rocks.

Their largest deposits are located in the south and east of Africa, where the basement is shallow and the ores are close to the surface. Here, in particular, there are deposits of gold and copper, in terms of which Africa ranks first and second in the world.

Africa is famous for diamonds - the most valuable gemstones.

They are used not only as exquisite decorations, but also as a material unsurpassed in hardness. Half of the world's diamonds are mined in Africa. Their deposits are open on southwest coast and in the center of Africa.

Deposits of non-metallic minerals - coal, oil, natural gas, phosphorites - lie in sedimentary rocks, cover the lowered sections of the platform with a thick cover.

Huge oil fields have been discovered in the north of the Sahara and the coast of the Gulf of Guinea. Rich deposits of phosphorites, from which fertilizers are produced, are concentrated in the north of the mainland. In the sedimentary strata there are also ore minerals formed as a result of the weathering of igneous and metamorphic rocks.

So deposits of iron, copper, manganese ores and gold of sedimentary origin are common in western and southern Africa. The distribution of Africa's minerals continues to be explored.

The processes of mineralization proceeded mainly in the epochs of the most ancient foldings - in the Precambrian and at the beginning of the Paleozoic.

In view of the fact that the ancient foundation of the platform is exposed mainly in Equatorial and South Africa, it is in these areas that all the most important deposits of ore minerals are concentrated.

Deposits of copper in the Republic of South Africa, chromites in Southern Rhodesia, tin and tungsten in Nigeria, manganese in Ghana, and graphite on the island of Madagascar are associated with the metamorphization of the most ancient Archean and Proterozoic formations.

However, gold is the most important among the minerals of the Precambrian.

Among the areas of Cambrian mineralization, first of all, the so-called Central African copper belt stands out, stretching from the Katanga region (in the southeast of the Congo) through Northern and Southern Rhodesia to East Africa. Numerous deposits within this belt are mainly epigenetic, characterized by a high metal content and provide the main amount of copper, for the extraction of which Africa ranks second among the capitalist countries.

Along with copper, cobalt, lead, tin and tungsten are mined in this zone.

In Katanga, in the Kazolo-Shinkolobwe region, one of the world's most important uranium ore deposits with a very high uranium content (0.3-0.5%) is exploited. The second large area of ​​Cambrian mineralization is concentrated in South Africa, where the formation of a number of large deposits occurred in connection with powerful outpourings of basic lavas and intrusions of granite batholiths.

Complex processes of contact metamorphism ended with the formation of large deposits of platinum ores, gold, chromites, titanomagnetite ores.

In addition to non-ferrous metal ores, there are iron ore deposits in South Africa.

Iron ores are generally low grade; it is believed that most of them were deposited in brackish sea or ocean waters. Their accumulation, which began as early as the Precambrian, continued into the Silurian. The main deposits are concentrated in the Pretoria region and in Capland. The third area of ​​concentration of Cambrian polymetallic ores is the Moroccan highlands of the Atlas Mountains, in which the oldest rocks of the entire mountain system are exposed.

The mines of Morocco produce cobalt, molybdenum, zinc and lead.

By the end of the Paleozoic and the beginning of the Mesozoic era, when the African platform experienced a relatively calm tectonic stage of development and thick strata of continental deposits were deposited on its ancient core, the formation of formations containing coals belongs. The coal basins in the Republic of South Africa, Northern and Southern Rhodesia, the Republic of the Congo (with Leopoldville as its capital), Tanganyika and the island of Madagascar are of the greatest industrial importance.

To the north of the equator during this period of time there was an accumulation of iron and manganese ores of sedimentary origin and oil in the continental sandstones of the Sahara.

Significantly more favorable conditions for the formation of various minerals were established at the end of the Mesozoic era, when the sea from the Tethys geosyncline region transgressed to the north of Africa and faults began, leading to the isolation of the African block, accompanied by active volcanism and the intrusion of large granite batholiths.

Minerals of Africa - types, characteristics, structure

Due to the huge size of the ancient central core, the African continent has a much smaller percentage of areas with a wide development of sedimentary formations that are of interest from the point of view of the presence of oil here than any other continent. The only exception in this respect in inner Africa is part of the territory of western Uganda, on the border with the Congo. Here, in the vast graben of Lake Albert, which is a limited fault depression filled with Tertiary deposits, there are oil outcrops among the field of development of much older crystalline rocks.

The remaining areas of any promise are found mainly in the coastal plains that border the continent.

In North Africa, to the west of Egypt, there is an extensive belt of sedimentary deposits with a length of over 3200 km.

In Libya, only the first exploratory studies have been carried out. In Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco, under the auspices of the French government, exploration work is being carried out in the vicinity of areas of oil seeps. Drilling is already in progress.

Three small fields are being developed in Algeria, producing negligible amounts of oil. Oil comes from tertiary deposits. Four fields were discovered in Morocco, the total production of which in 1946 was about 100 barrels per day. The age of oil-bearing sand rocks ranges from Jurassic to Tertiary.

Promising oil production areas in Africa

Along the western coast of Africa, south of Morocco, there are six areas in which exploration should be carried out.

They are located intermittently along the coast at a considerable distance: from French West Africa to Angola.

Minerals of Africa: distribution and main deposits

Accumulations of oil here are possible mainly in the Cretaceous and Tertiary deposits. In Nigeria, where promising areas for the development of sedimentary formations extend far into the interior of the continent, in Equatorial Africa and in Angola, exploratory drilling was carried out, but the work did not give positive results.

The extensive Karoo basin in the Union of South Africa, in the south of the continent, is filled with thick strata of freshwater sediments of the Gondwanan formations (age from Permo-Carboniferous to Triassic).

Exploratory drilling for oil, carried out in part by the government of the Union of South Africa, did not give positive results, so from the point of view of the presence of industrial accumulations of oil, this area should be considered unpromising.

Although no oil has been found in the Gondwana formations, there are thick coal-bearing strata and associated deposits of oil shale, from which oil is obtained by distillation.

These shales are currently mined on a small scale at Ermelo, located about 130 km southeast of Johannesburg. Similar deposits are found in the Gondwana suites in the Congo.

As a result of the search for east coast Africa, two areas were identified that are promising for oil, associated mainly with Mesozoic and Tertiary deposits.

The first area covers most of southern Mozambique, and the second covers part of Tangayinka, Kenya, Ethiopia, former Italian Somalia and British Somalia. Although industrial oil has not been found in any of these vast basins, US companies are currently searching intensively in Mozambique and Ethiopia. There are also some possibilities for oil in Eritrea, further north on the Red Sea coast.

In the west of Madagascar, sedimentary strata of age from Permian to Tertiary are developed.

The tar sands and oil outcrops available here draw attention to this area as promising for oil. The shallow drilling carried out intermittently by the government for many years, however, did not produce any significant results.

Africa has a diverse array of minerals, many of which are some of the richest deposits in the world. There are large reserves of oil, coal, ores of ferrous and especially non-ferrous metals (iron, manganese, copper, zinc, tin, chromites), rare metals and uranium ores, as well as bauxites. Of the non-metallic minerals, the deposits of phosphorites and graphite are of the greatest value.

The processes of mineralization proceeded mainly in the epochs of the most ancient foldings - in the Precambrian and at the beginning of the Paleozoic. In view of the fact that the ancient foundation of the platform is exposed mainly in Equatorial and South Africa, it is in these areas that all the most important deposits of ore minerals are concentrated. Deposits of copper in the Republic of South Africa, chromites in Southern Rhodesia, tin and tungsten in Nigeria, manganese in Ghana, and graphite on the island of Madagascar are associated with the metamorphization of the most ancient Archean and Proterozoic formations. However, gold is the most important among the minerals of the Precambrian.

It is known that Africa has long and steadily retained the first place among the countries of the capitalist world in gold mining. Its main reserves are concentrated in the thickness of the Proterozoic conglomerates in the Republic of South Africa (Johannesburg), and the mines are of particular value. Mineralization processes during the Cambrian period led mainly to the accumulation of polymetallic ores, as well as ores of non-ferrous and rare metals.

Among the areas of Cambrian mineralization, first of all, the so-called Central African copper belt stands out, stretching from the Katanga region (in the southeast of the Congo) through Northern and Southern Rhodesia to East Africa. Numerous deposits within this belt are mainly epigenetic, characterized by a high metal content and provide the main amount of copper, for the extraction of which Africa ranks second among the capitalist countries. Along with copper, cobalt, lead, tin and tungsten are mined in this zone.

In Katanga, in the Kazolo-Shinkolobwe region, one of the world's most important uranium ore deposits with a very high uranium content (0.3-0.5%) is exploited. The second large area of ​​Cambrian mineralization is concentrated in South Africa, where the formation of a number of large deposits occurred in connection with powerful outpourings of basic lavas and intrusions of granite batholiths. Complex processes of contact metamorphism ended with the formation of large deposits of platinum ores, gold, chromites, titanomagnetite ores.

In addition to non-ferrous metal ores, there are iron ore deposits in South Africa. Iron ores are generally low grade; it is believed that most of them were deposited in brackish sea or ocean waters. Their accumulation, which began as early as the Precambrian, continued into the Silurian. The main deposits are concentrated in the Pretoria region and in Capland. The third area of ​​concentration of Cambrian polymetallic ores is the Moroccan highlands of the Atlas Mountains, in which the oldest rocks of the entire mountain system are exposed.

The mines of Morocco produce cobalt, molybdenum, zinc and lead. By the end of the Paleozoic and the beginning of the Mesozoic era, when the African platform experienced a relatively calm tectonic stage of development and thick strata of continental deposits were deposited on its ancient core, the formation of formations containing coals belongs. The coal basins in the Republic of South Africa, Northern and Southern Rhodesia, the Republic of the Congo (with Leopoldville as its capital), Tanganyika and the island of Madagascar are of the greatest industrial importance.

To the north of the equator during this period of time there was an accumulation of iron and manganese ores of sedimentary origin and oil in the continental sandstones of the Sahara. Significantly more favorable conditions for the formation of various minerals were established at the end of the Mesozoic era, when the sea from the Tethys geosyncline region transgressed to the north of Africa and faults began, leading to the separation of the African block, accompanied by active volcanism and the intrusion of large granite batholiths.

The group of areas of platform Africa includes the territory of almost the entire African platform, with the exception of its eastern outskirts - the Abyssinian Highlands, the Somali Peninsula and the East African Plateau. On this huge area, anteclises and syneclises of the ancient basement repeatedly alternate, and therefore the relief forms characteristic of the outcrops of the ancient basement and areas of development of the sedimentary cover replace each other.

The largest and most complex in structure and relief region of the Sahara-Sudanese plains and plateaus occupies the northern part of the platform, from the Atlas Mountains to the North Guinean Upland and the Azande Rise. In this area, the ancient foundation protrudes three times. In the west, it is exposed in the plains of the Karet-Yetti crystalline peneplain (up to 500 m high), in the region of the Ragibat Shield. In the center, the ancient foundation was raised in the highlands of Ahaggar and Tibesti and the southern spurs of Ahaggar (Adrar-Iforas and Lir plateau). The uplift occurred along the fault lines of the northwest strike.

Volcanism and volcanic landforms are associated with faults - phonolitic peaks of Ahaggar (Mount Tahat 3005 m), basalt plateaus and extinct volcanoes Tibesti (Emi-Kycsu) -3415 m). On the eastern outskirts of the Sahara, the western wing of the Eritrean crystalline dome rises above the Red Sea by the blocky Etbay Ridge (the highest point of Mount Esh-Shayib 2184m), steeply plunging towards the coast. The areas of outcrops of crystalline rocks and their characteristic landforms are surrounded on all sides by covers of sedimentary deposits that make up low plains and medium-altitude plateaus. Lowlands occupy a limited area within the region. In front of the Caretietti plains lies the Atlantic accumulative sea plain; a strip of lowland also stretches along the coast of Libya and the UAR. It occupies the zone of subsidence of the edge of the African Platform to the Mediterranean geosynclinal region. In the RAR, on the lowland, there are several depressions lying below sea level (the depth of Qattara reaches -133 m), worked out by exogenous processes in monoclinal structures.

In front of the Atlas Mountains lies the forward trough of the platform, which is only in the east, near the Gulf of Gabes, expressed in relief as an area of ​​recent subsidence. The lowest places of the basin are vast saline plains (Schotts) lying below the ocean level (Schott Melgir has a mark of -30 m). Most of the Pre-Atlas trough is made up of sedimentary strata that make up piedmont plateaus dissected by dry valleys. The crystalline peneplain of Karet-Yetti is separated from Ahaggar by the low stratified plains of El Jof and the stepped plateau of Tanezruft. The El Jof plains occupy most of the Aravan-Tauden syneclise filled with Paleozoic formations; the Tanezruft Plateau constitutes the western link of the ring of cuest ridges (tassili), worked out in monoclinal sedimentary rocks uplifted along the slopes of Ahaggar and Tibe


And South Africa. The comparison takes place according to the following points: a) part of the mainland b) landforms c) heights d) what rocks it is composed of e) the predominant minerals 1. What differences in the structure of the African platform affected the relief of North and West Africa, as well as East and South Africa ? 2. What parts of the mainland are the most elevated and why? 3. Which Africa...

Arise in the process of metamorphism of rocks that did not represent industrial value before, due to rearrangement mineral matter. Represented mainly by non-metallic minerals. Metamorphic deposits of marbles, quartzites, jasper, andalusite, staurolite, graphite and others are known. Magmatogenic deposits Magmatogenic deposits (deep and...

1.1 2. PROTECTION OF MINERAL RESOURCES 2.1 Main directions for rational use and protection of subsoil Subsoil protection is understood as scientifically based rational and careful use of minerals, their maximum complete, technically accessible and economically feasible extraction, waste disposal, and elimination of damage caused to natural landscapes. Basic...

The predominant industry is crop production. There are two areas in the structure of crop production: the production of food crops for local consumption and the production of export crops. Crops consumed in Africa include: millet, sorghum, rice, wheat, corn, cassava, yams and sweet potatoes. The main crops of the African continent are millet and sorghum, ...