Northern Africa
North Africa
or
Northern Africa
is the northernmost region of the Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes seven countries or territories;
Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Sudan,Tunisia, and Western Sahara. Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Libya and often Mauritania and Western Sahara are the Maghreb or Maghrib, while Egypt and Sudan are referred to as the Nile Valley of which most of its waters come from The Highlands of Ethiopia in East Africa.
Egypt is a transcontinental country by virtue of the Sinai Peninsula, which is in Asia.
North Africa also includes a number of Spanish possessions, Ceuta and Melilla (tiny Spanish exclaves or islets off the coast of Morocco). The Canary Islands and the Portuguese Madeira Islands, in the North Atlantic Ocean northwest of the African mainland, are sometimes included in considerations of the region.
The distinction between North Africa and much of Sub-Saharan Africa is historically and ecologically significant because of the effective barrier created by the Sahara desert for much of modern history. From 3500 B.C., following the abrupt desertification of the Sahara due to a shift in the Earth's orbit, this barrier has culturally separated the North from the rest of the continent. As the seafaring civilizations of the Phoenicians, Greeks,Romans, Muslims and others facilitated communication and migration across the Mediterranean, the cultures of North Africa became much more closely tied to Southwestern Asia and Europe than Sub-Saharan Africa.
The Islamic influence in the area is also significant, and North Africa is a major part of the Arab world.
Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Sudan,Tunisia, and Western Sahara. Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Libya and often Mauritania and Western Sahara are the Maghreb or Maghrib, while Egypt and Sudan are referred to as the Nile Valley of which most of its waters come from The Highlands of Ethiopia in East Africa.
Egypt is a transcontinental country by virtue of the Sinai Peninsula, which is in Asia.
North Africa also includes a number of Spanish possessions, Ceuta and Melilla (tiny Spanish exclaves or islets off the coast of Morocco). The Canary Islands and the Portuguese Madeira Islands, in the North Atlantic Ocean northwest of the African mainland, are sometimes included in considerations of the region.
The distinction between North Africa and much of Sub-Saharan Africa is historically and ecologically significant because of the effective barrier created by the Sahara desert for much of modern history. From 3500 B.C., following the abrupt desertification of the Sahara due to a shift in the Earth's orbit, this barrier has culturally separated the North from the rest of the continent. As the seafaring civilizations of the Phoenicians, Greeks,Romans, Muslims and others facilitated communication and migration across the Mediterranean, the cultures of North Africa became much more closely tied to Southwestern Asia and Europe than Sub-Saharan Africa.
The Islamic influence in the area is also significant, and North Africa is a major part of the Arab world.
( some photos were taken from the net )
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