Geographical location of the East African plateau. Plains in Africa. East African Plateau: exploration in the 19th century
, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi). Heights 500–1500 m, mountains in the west Rwenzori (peak Margherita , 5109 m), massif Virunga . To the south are flat-topped mountains Mitumba (3305 m). On the NE. plateaus volcanic cones Elgon (4221 m), Kenya (5199 m), Meru (4566 m), Kilimanjaro (5895 m); in the center Crater Highlands with caldera Ngorongoro . A large uplift of the ancient African platform, broken by a system of faults called the East African Rift System. It is composed of ancient crystalline and young volcanic rocks. Characterized by high seismicity and modern volcanism. Deposits of coal, fluorite, polymetallic ores and rare metals; placers precious stones, diamondiferous Mwadui kimberlite pipe. The largest rivers in Africa originate on the plateau: Nile , Congo , Zambezi . A series of large lakes ( Victoria , Edward, Tanganyika , Rudolf and etc.); modern glaciers on the volcanoes of Kilimanjaro, Kenya and in the Rwenzori massif. The climate is equatorial and subequatorial, seasonally humid, hot. Savannah woodlands and shrubs predominate. The mountains are humid rainforests, subalpine and alpine meadows. National parks Virunga, Serengeti and a number of others. Explored by Europeans in the second half of the 19th century. (D.-H. Speke, R.-F. Burton, D.-O. Grant, D. Livingston, G.-M. Stanley, etc.).
Dictionary of modern geographical names. - Ekaterinburg: U-Factoria. Under the general editorship of academician. V. M. Kotlyakova. 2006 .
East African plateau
in Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi. Extent from north to south is approx. 1750 km, latitude. OK. 1400 km. Located between the Ethiopian Highlands and the north. edge of the lake Nyasa. In the west and south it is limited by mountains and depressions, in the east by coastal plains Indian Ocean. Broken by a system of faults that make up part East African Rift. Most of the plateau is composed of crystalline and metamorphic rocks of the Precambrian; there are covers of Quaternary lavas and tuffs. Characterized by high seismicity and modern volcanism. Deposits of coal, polymetallic ores, precious and semi-precious stones, diamonds. High Plains from Wed. high from 500 to 1500 m, above which the remnant mountains rise. To the west are the Rwenzori Mountains with Peak Margherita (5109 m), Virunga with more than 400 small and 8 large volcanoes. Of these, Nyamlagira (3058 m) and Nyiragongo (3470 m) are active. To the south are the flat-topped Mitumba Mountains (3305 m). On the north-east the cones of the extinct volcanoes Elgon (4221 m) and Kenya (5199 m), and in the center - the Crater Highlands with the giant Ngorongoro caldera (fauna and flora reserve). The largest volcanic massif with the active Meru volcano (4566 m) and the main peak of Africa - the extinct volcano Kilimanjaro (5895 m). A number of large and small lakes (Victoria, Edward, Tanganyika, Rudolf, etc.). Modern glaciers on the Kilimanjaro and Kenya volcanoes and in the Rwenzori massif. The climate is equatorial and subequatorial, seasonally humid, hot. Annual precipitation is up to 2000–3000 mm or more, and the deep valleys are dry. The largest rivers in Africa – the Nile, Congo, and Zambezi – originate on the plateau. Subequatorial forests, savanna woodlands and shrubs predominate. In the mountains there are subalpine and alpine meadows. National Virunga, Serengeti, and many smaller parks; numerous nature reserves.
Geography. Modern illustrated encyclopedia. - M.: Rosman. Edited by prof. A. P. Gorkina. 2006 .
See what the “East African Plateau” is in other dictionaries:
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The East African Plateau is located on both sides of the equator, between the Congo Basin in the west and the Indian Ocean in the east, Eastern Sudan, the Ethiopian Highlands, the Somali Peninsula in the north and the lower reaches of the Zambezi in the south and covers the area from 5° N. w. to 17° south w.
The plateau is a mobile, tectonically active part of the African Plate. The greatest rift system and the greatest heights of the continent are concentrated here. It is composed of Precambrian crystalline rocks, among which granites are widespread. The ancient foundation is covered in places by Paleozoic and Mesozoic, mainly continental sediments.
The plateau remained an elevated area for a long time. In the Cenozoic, enormous tectonic faults and rifts arose. They continue the grabens of the Red Sea and the Ethiopian Highlands and branch south of Lake Rudolf, forming the western, central and eastern fault systems. Rifts are expressed in relief as narrow depressions with steep stepped slopes; along their edges rise tall mountain ranges(Rwenzori massif, volcanoes Kilimanjaro, Kenya, Elgon, etc.). Volcanic activity along the faults has not ended to this day. Areas not affected by faults have the appearance of a typical peneplain with island mountains. The plateau also contains extensive basins (Lake Victoria).
Western fault system runs along the western edge of the plateau and includes deep grabens,
occupied by the Albert Nile River valley, lakes Albert (Mobutu-Sese-Seko), Edward, Kivu, Tanganyika. From Lake Tanganyika it stretches through the depression with endorheic Lake Rukwa, the tectonic basin of Lake Nyasa, the valley of the Shire River and downstream Zambezi. Fault tectonics is especially evident here. This is one of the most seismic zones of the continent and an arena of modern volcanism.
The grabens of Lakes Albert and Lake Edward are separated by the Rwenzori horst massif, the highest peak in Africa (5119 m) after Kilimanjaro (5895 m) and Kenya (5199 m). The massif is composed of gneisses, crystalline schists and intrusions of basic rocks, has glacial forms of Quaternary and modern glaciation(karas, cirques, trough valleys, terminal moraines), giving an alpine character to the relief of its peaks.
Located between the grabens of lakes Eduard and Kivu Virunga volcanic region(seven volcanoes). Here besides active volcanoes New volcanic cones are also formed. Ancient lavas cover the tectonic trough between the depressions of lakes Kivu and Tanganyika.
Underwater volcanic eruptions occur at the bottom of lakes Kivu and Nyasa
Adjacent to the northern segment of the western fault system from the east is Lake Plateau(Uganda plateau), located between lakes Edward, Albert, Victoria and the White Nile basin. The plateau has an undulating surface, is composed mainly of crystalline rocks and reaches a height of 1000 to 1500 m. The central part of the plateau is swampy
186 Africa. Regional overview
plain with Lake Kyoga. The plateau ends with stepped slopes towards the East Sudanese Basin, and in the east it joins the volcanic plateau of Kenya.
Central fault system serves as a continuation of the Ethiopian graben, running in a meridional direction from Lake Rudolf in the north to Lake Nyasa in the south, where it meets the western fault system.
In the northern part of the central faults, within the volcanic plateau of Kenya, the volcanic relief is especially pronounced. The extinct volcanoes Kilimanjaro, Kenya, Elgon and a group of giant craters rise along tectonic cracks, the edges of which are covered with basalts and tuffs. Among the group of giant craters stands out the Ngorongoro volcano with a huge caldera.
Between the western and central fault systems, on the one hand, and lakes Victoria and Nyasa, on the other, there is Unyamwezi plateau. It is composed of granites and is very swampy. To the east are the Nyasa and Masai plateaus. These are peneplains on a granite base, broken by faults and crowned with rounded crystalline outlier peaks.
Eastern fault system is represented predominantly by one-sided faults. They limit with ledges from the west a narrow coastal lowland, composed mainly of permeable Tertiary sandstones and limestones.
The climate of the East African Plateau is subequatorial, hot, variable-humid, with a clearly defined climatic zone on high mountain ranges. Only in the vicinity of Lake Victoria, on the Lake Plateau, does it approach the equatorial
rial both in terms of the amount and regime of precipitation, and in the even course of temperatures, which, however, due to the high altitude of the area, are 3-5 ° C lower than the average monthly temperatures of the equatorial strip in the Congo Basin.
Within the plateau, trade winds and equatorial monsoons dominate. During the winter months of the Northern Hemisphere, the northeast trade wind, without changing its direction, is drawn into a pressure depression over the Kalahari. Passing over the ocean from Southeast Asia to Africa, it is moistened and produces a small amount of precipitation, mainly orographic. In summer Northern Hemisphere the south trade wind (southeast wind) intensifies; crossing the equator, it takes on the character of a southwest monsoon. The main wet period is also associated with them; most precipitation falls on the windward slopes of the mountains.
High temperatures are observed only at low altitudes, especially along the Indian Ocean coast. In Dar es Salaam, for example, the average temperature of the warmest month (January) is +28 °C, the coldest month (August) is +23 °C. It becomes cooler with height, although the annual cycle remains uniform. In the mountains at an altitude of more than 2000 m, the temperature is below 0 ° C, snow falls above 3500 m, and on the highest massifs - Rwenzori, Kilimanjaro and Kenya - there are small glaciers.
The moisture content of different parts of the East African Plateau varies. High mountain ranges receive the greatest amount of precipitation (up to 2000-3000 mm or more). From 1000 mm to 1500 mm of precipitation falls in the north-west and south-west of the country, as well as on the Indian coast
East African plateau 187
ocean south of 4° S. sh., where the mountainous meridional coast delays moist winds from the Indian Ocean. In the rest of the plateau, 750-1000 mm of precipitation falls per year, decreasing in the extreme northeast and in closed depressions to 500 mm or less. Kenya is the driest region of the plateau, with a long rainless period of 7 to 9 months.
For territories located between 5° N. w. and 5° S. sh., is characterized by an equatorial precipitation regime, with two rainy seasons (March-May and November-December), separated by two periods of relative decrease. To the south they merge into one rainy season (from October-November to March-April), followed by a dry period.
The East African Plateau occupies a watershed - a position between the basins of the Atlantic, Indian and Mediterranean Sea. In the north-west of the region, the Nile originates, the system of which includes lakes Victoria, Kyoga, Albert and Edward. Lakes Tanganyika and Kivu belong to the Congo river system; Lake Nyasa drains into the Zambezi. In the central part of the plateau there are endorheic lakes (Rudolph, Ruk-va, Baringo, etc.). In terms of size, depth, influence on flow and climate, the lakes of the plateau are comparable to the Great Lakes of North America.
Tectonic fragmentation of the plateau, diversity of relief and climatic conditions determine the diversity and variety of landscapes. Inland areas are dominated by typical savannas with fairly large tracts of woodlands and shrubs that shed their leaves during the dry season. The vegetation consists of cereals, acacias, mimosas, baobabs, tama-
risks, milkweed, etc. Red-brown soils are developed under typical savannas and open forests on the plains, black tropical soils are developed in poorly drained relief depressions, and young brown tropical soils are found on basic volcanic rocks.
In the arid northeastern regions (Kenya plateau, north of 2°-3° N latitude), desert savannas and thickets of thorny shrubs of xerophytic acacias, leafless for most of the year, are developed on red-brown soils, sometimes turning into semi-desert. Similar and more arid landscapes are characteristic of the deep depressions of the central fault system, where drainless lakes are half-filled with sand, covered with a crust of salts, and surrounded by salt marshes with halophytic vegetation.
The northern part of the coastal lowland off the coast of the Indian Ocean also has sparse, semi-desert vegetation. In the southern part of the lowlands, semi-deserts give way to savannas, red-brown soils give way to red ones; Mixed deciduous-evergreen forests appear along rivers and on the windward slopes of mountains. There are mangroves along the coast.
In heavily moist areas
widespread humid equatorial
forests on red-yellow soils and
mixed deciduous-evergreen-
new ones - on red soils. They are mostly cut down and replaced by secondary formations - wet tall grass savannas. Evergreen and mixed forests are found mainly in the west (Lacustrine Plateau), where they meet the hylaea of the Congo Basin, as well as on the windward moist slopes of the high mountain ranges.
188 Africa. Regional overview
The East African Plateau is located southwest of the Horn of Africa - the Somali Peninsula, south of the Ethiopian Highlands. The relief of this vast territory is highly dissected. Here the highest mountain peaks are adjacent to deep depressions Great Rift Valley. accompanied by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Almost the entire territory is located in the subequatorial climate zone.
East African Plateau: exploration in the 19th century
The elevated part of the continent has been poorly studied for many centuries. Although the Kilimanjaro massif was put on maps by Ptolemy (2nd-3rd century AD). Snowy conditions reported mountain peak near the equator, sailors and traders in the Middle Ages. Colonial fragmentation made systematic exploration of the area difficult.
Initially, part of the territory where the highest peaks of Africa are located belonged to Great Britain. There is a version that in 1889, Queen Victoria of England gave the German Emperor Wilhelm II (her nephew) the largest dormant volcano Africa - Kilimanjaro. Until 1918, another name for its cone was used in Europe - “Kaiser Wilhelm Peak”. The scientific elite showed interest in studying this area in the last decades of the 19th century, when the German Hans Mayer climbed Kibo. Since then, the flow of scientists and tourists who want to see giant volcanoes, picturesque lakes, and unusual corners of nature has not dried up. In Tanzania, Kenya and other East African countries, income-generating tourism is developing.
Geological structure of East Africa
Unlike Asia and America, there are no extended ridges in this part of the world, which is explained by geological history and the most elevated above the level of the World Ocean, fragmented and mobile block is the East African Plateau. The height of most of the territory is from 500 to 1500 m. The foundation is composed of ancient crystalline and metamorphic rocks, their age is more than 2 billion years. At the base there is a Precambrian platform, a fragment of the proto-continent Gondwana. A sedimentary cover formed on the surface. During the Cenozoic era, significant movements of the earth’s crust took place here, and at the last stage of mountain building, the world’s largest zone of faults and uplifts arose.
The absolute height of the East African Plateau is more than 1000 m. The entire territory is characterized by high seismicity, earthquakes occur, and modern volcanic activity is observed. The total length of the most significant tectonic disturbances on the planet from north to south is more than 6,000 km. The faults run from Western Asia along the bottom of the Red Sea. In Africa, they begin in the northeast with the Danakil depression, and end in the south near the mouth of the river. Zambezi.
Geographical position
The high plain - the East African Plateau - on the map occupies a vast area of the continent, which is crossed in the northern part by the equator. To the west is the Congo Basin.
In the savannas there are towering buildings of termites, snakes, lizards, and land turtles are often found. In the north of Tanzania lies a vast volcanic highland and the world-famous Ngorongoro crater (caldara) with a diameter of 22 km. At its bottom there is Lake Magadi, the savannas of the same name biosphere reserve. In this part of the mainland (west of the Ngorongoro Crater Highlands) there is the Olduvai Gorge, where the remains of an ancient man who lived 2 million years ago, the skeletons of animals he killed, primitive stone axes and scrapers were found.
The volcanoes and savannas of Africa attract a large number of tourists from all over the world. The largest flow of arrivals occurs between June and September. To study and preserve the diversity of nature and organize ecotourism, large national parks and reserves have been created on the territory of the East African Plateau.
in which countries is the East African plateau located? Thanks in advance and got the best answer
Answer from Alexander[guru]
East African plateau
extends between the Ethiopian Highlands in the north and north. the tip of the lake Nyasa in the south for 1,750 km, between the Congo Basin in the west and the coastal plains of the Indian Ocean in the east for 1,400 km (Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi). Heights 500–1500 m, in the west of Mount Rwenzori (Margherita Peak, 5109 m), Virunga massif. To the south are the flat-topped Mitumba Mountains (3305 m). On the NE. plateaus volcanic cones Elgon (4221 m), Kenya (5199 m), Meru (4566 m), Kilimanjaro (5895 m); in the center is the Crater Highlands with the Ngorongoro caldera. A large uplift of the ancient African platform, broken by a system of faults called the East African Rift System. It is composed of ancient crystalline and young volcanic rocks. Characterized by high seismicity and modern volcanism. Deposits of coal, fluorite, polymetallic ores and rare metals; placers of precious stones, diamond-bearing kimberlite pipe Mwadui. The largest rivers in Africa originate on the plateau: the Nile, Congo, Zambezi. A series of large lakes (Victoria, Edward, Tanganyika, Rudolph, etc.); modern glaciers on the volcanoes of Kilimanjaro, Kenya and in the Rwenzori massif. The climate is equatorial and subequatorial, seasonally humid, hot. Savannah woodlands and shrubs predominate. In the mountains there are tropical rainforests, subalpine and alpine meadows. National parks Virunga, Serengeti and several others. Explored by Europeans in the second half of the 19th century. (D. -H. Speke, R. -F. Burton, D. -O. Grant, D. Livingston, G. -M. Stanley, etc.).
Answer from Yoi faggot[newbie]
Ethiopia
Answer from Sewerka[guru]
The East African Plateau is a plateau in Africa, located in the southeast of the continent, in the eastern part of Central Africa. In the north of the plateau are the Meru volcano, Mount Kenya and Kilimanjaro volcano, as well as Africa's largest Lake Victoria. The plateau is heavily fragmented by the East African Rift Valley and is limited to its southern part. In the center is the Crater Highlands with the Ngorongoro caldera. On the plateau are the sources of the largest rivers in Africa: the Nile, Congo, Zambezi.
Answer from 3 answers[guru]
Hello! Here is a selection of topics with answers to your question: in which countries is the East African plateau located? ATP in advance
Africa is the second largest continent after Eurasia. Area 29.2 million km2 (with islands 30.3 million km2, about 1/5 of the land area of the globe). Population 328 million people. (1967).
Main features of orography
The relief of A. is dominated by plains, plateaus and plateaus, lying at an altitude of 200-500 m above sea level (39% of the area) and 500-1000 m above sea level (28.1% of the area). Lowlands occupy only 9.8% of the area, mainly along the coastal margins. By average height above sea level (750 m) Africa is second only to Antarctica and Eurasia.
Almost the entire A. to the north of the equator is occupied by the plains and plateaus of the Sahara and Sudan, among which in the center of the Sahara rise the Ahaggar and Tibesti highlands (Emi-Kusi, height 3415 m), in Sudan - the Darfur plateau (Marra, 3088 m). To the north-west The Atlas Mountains rise above the Sahara plains (the city of Toubkal, 4165 m), and the Etbay ridge stretches to the east along the Red Sea (the city of Oda, 2259 m). The plains of Sudan from the south are framed by the North Guinea Upland (Bintimani, 1948 m) and the Azande plateau; from the east, the Ethiopian Highlands rise above them (Ras Dashan, 4620 m). It drops steeply to the Afar depression, where the deepest depression of Afar is located (Lake Assal, 150 m). Behind the Azande plateau lies the Congo depression, bounded on the west by the South Guinea Upland, on the south by the Lunda-Katanga plateau, and on the east by the East African plateau, on which the most high peaks A. - Mount Kilimanjaro (5895 m), Mount Rwenzori (5109 m).
Southern Africa is occupied by the high Kalahari plains, framed from the west by the plateaus of Namaqualand, Damaraland, Kaoko, and from the east by the Drakensberg Mountains (Thabana-Ntlenyana, 3482 m). The mid-altitude Cape Mountains stretch along the southern edge of the mainland.
The predominance of leveled relief on the mainland is due to its platform structure. In the northwestern part of Africa, with a deep foundation and widespread development of the sedimentary cover, heights of less than 1000 m predominate (Low Africa); in the southwest of Africa, where the ancient foundation is raised and exposed in many places, the heights of St. 1000 m (High A.). The troughs and protrusions of the African Platform correspond to large depressions (Kalahari, Congo, Chad, etc.) and uplifts separating and bordering them. The eastern edge of Africa is the most elevated and fragmented within the activated section of the platform (Ethiopian Highlands, East African Plateau), where the a complex system East African faults.
In elevated areas of High A. largest area occupy the basement plains and basement block mountains framing the depressions of the Vostochny grabens. A. (including Rwenzori) and Katanga. In Low Africa, basement ridges and massifs extend along the coast of the Gulf of Guinea and protrude into the Sahara (in the Lhaggar and Tibesti highlands, and the Etbai ridge). Lava plateaus and cones are widespread in the Ethiopian Highlands and East. A. (Kilimanjaro, Kenya, etc.), crown the peaks of Ahaggar and Tibesti, are found in Sudan (Marra), Cameroon (Cameroon Volcano, Adamawa Mountains), overlap the Drakensberg Mountains in Lesotho. Stratified denudation plains and plateaus occupy most of the area in Low Africa (Sahara, Sudan); in High A. they are confined to the deposits of the Karoo syneclise and make up the Drakensberg Mountains, the Veld plateau adjacent to them from the west and lying to the south of the river. Orange Top. Karoo. Accumulative plains are found mainly in Low Africa: in the middle reaches of the Niger, in the Chadian and White Nile basins, in the Congo basin; in High Africa they occupy the Kalahari depression. The folded block mountains include the Cape Mountains and the interior regions of the Atlas. The northern ridges of the Atlas are the only young folded mountains in Africa of Neogene-Paleogene age.
The relief of Africa is dominated by surfaces of the Neogene cycle of denudation and accumulation, dissected by the modern Congo cycle. Above them rise the remains of the predominant surfaces, worked out by more ancient cycles (up to the Gondwanan cycle).
Geological map
Geological structure and minerals.
Almost all of A., except Atlas Mountains to the north-west and the Cape Mountains in the extreme south, is an ancient platform that also includes the Arabian Peninsula and about. Madagascar with Seychelles. The foundation of this African-Arabian platform, composed of Precambrian rocks, for the most part folded and metamorphosed, appears in many regions of Africa - from the Anti-Atlas to the north-west. and Zap. Arabia in the north-east to the Transvaal in the south. The basement contains rocks of all age divisions of the Precambrian - from the Lower Archean (more than 3 billion years old) to the upper Proterozoic. The consolidation of most of Africa was completed by the middle of the Proterozoic (1.9-1.7 billion years ago); in the late Proterozoic, only peripheral (Mauritian-Senegalese, Arabian) and some internal (Ugarta-Atakor, Western Congo, Namaqualand-Kibar) geosynclinal systems developed, and by the beginning of the Paleozoic the entire area of the modern platform was already stabilized (according to the latest data, sediments shown on the geological map south of the Sahara as Cambrian, turned out to be Upper Proterozoic). In areas of early consolidation, deposits of the late, and in some places even early or middle Proterozoic (Transvaal, Zimbabwe and some others massifs) already belong to the platform cover. The rocks of the Early Precambrian basement are represented by various crystalline schists, gneisses, metamorphosed volcanic formations, and in large areas replaced by granites. They are subject to deposits of iron ores of sedimentary-metamorphic origin, gold (in connection with granites), and chromites (in ultrabasic rocks). Large clusters gold and uranium ores are known in the coarse rocks of the base of the sedimentary cover in the south of Africa. Younger, weakly metamorphosed rocks of the Upper Proterozoic of intraplatform folded zones (Katanga, Zambia, Southwestern Africa, etc.) contain deposits of tin, tungsten (in granites or near them ), copper, lead, zinc and uranium ores.
The Phanerozoic sedimentary cover is developed on top of the Precambrian basement mainly in the western and central parts of North Africa (Saharan plate), in large depressions of Equatorial and South Africa (Congo, Okavango, Kalahari, Karoo), in the Mozambique trough east coast and between the mainland and the island. Madagascar, also in the strip Atlantic coast from Mauritania to Angola. Marine Early and Middle Paleozoic folded sediments are distributed mainly in the region of the Sahara Plate, where they host large deposits of oil and gas (Algeria, Libya), as well as in the Atlas and Cape geosynclines. The formations of the Upper Paleozoic and Triassic are almost everywhere continental; in Equatorial and Southern Africa they begin with glacial deposits (upper Carboniferous - lower Permian) - witnesses of the cover glaciation of a significant part of the continent - and continue with Lower Permian coal-bearing deposits, with which the main coal resources of Africa are associated (South Africa, Southern Rhodesia, etc.). In Northern Africa, the Middle Carboniferous is carboniferous, above which red-colored continents and lagoonal sediments (in the Triassic with large strata of salts and gypsum) are common.
The beginning of the Jurassic included powerful volcanic eruptions and intrusions of basic (basaltic) magma, most common in Southern Africa, but also found in Western Northern Africa. During the Jurassic and Early Cretaceous, most of Africa experienced uplift; continental sediments accumulated in the internal depressions; At the end of the Jurassic - the beginning of the Cretaceous, the introduction of alkaline granites and carbonatites with deposits of rare elements (niobium, tantalum, etc.) took place, as well as the formation kimberlite pipes, with which diamond deposits are associated - primary and redeposited in younger sediments and placers (South Africa, Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo, countries north coast Gulf of Guinea). The formation of the modern contours of the continent dates back to the same time (end of the Jurassic - beginning of the Cretaceous), associated with the subsidence of the bottom of the Indian and Atlantic Oceans and the formation of a system of perioceanic troughs containing significant deposits of oil and gas (Nigeria, Gabon, Angola, etc.). Madagascar separated from the continent at the end of the Paleozoic. At the same time, intensive subsidence of the modern coast of Tunisia and Libya occurred with the formation of oil deposits in Cretaceous and Eocene deposits. In the middle and end of the Cretaceous, a significant transgression engulfed the Sahara Plate: sea straits arose that connected the Mediterranean Sea with the Gulf of Guinea and existed until the middle of the Eocene.
From the end of the Eocene - beginning of the Oligocene, Africa (mainly the eastern and southern regions) experienced intense uplift, accompanied by the formation mountainous terrain, the emergence of the East African fault zone and graben-rifts of the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, Ethiopia, lakes Rudolph, Albert, Rukwa, Tanganyika, Nyasa, etc. An outbreak of volcanic activity dates back to the same time, continuing in certain areas in the modern era (Kenya, Kilimanjaro, volcanoes of the Virungi region). Uplifts and volcanic activity also occurred in the Ahaggar and Tibesti highlands of the Sahara, Cameroon (Volcano Cameroon) and in some areas of the Atlantic coast (Cape Verde).
At the end of the Miocene, the folded structure of the Atlas Mountains arose; in the Pliocene, its central part sank along faults into the Alboran depression of the Mediterranean Sea.
A. has large reserves of iron ores (total reserves are estimated at approximately 16-23 billion tons), manganese ores (about 400 million tons), chromites (500-700 million tons), bauxites (3.3 billion tons), copper (reliable and probable reserves of about 48 million tons), cobalt (0.5 million tons), phosphorites (26 billion tons), tin, antimony, lithium, uranium, asbestos, gold (A. provides about 80% of the total production of capitalist and developing countries), platinum and platinum group metals (about 60% of production), diamonds (98% of production). After World War II, large reserves of oil (total reserves are estimated at 5.6 billion tons) and natural gas were discovered in Algeria (mainly in Algeria, Libya, and Nigeria).
Tectonic map