## TL;DR

Africa (30.37 million km²) is the 2nd largest continent. 54 countries, ~1.5 billion people. Features: Sahara (largest hot desert), Nile (longest river), Great Rift Valley, Victoria Falls, Serengeti, Congo Basin. Most diverse continent by language (2,000+ languages). Fastest growing population — projected 2.5 billion by 2050.

## Core Explanation

Nile: flows north through 11 countries, lifeblood of Egypt for 5,000+ years. Congo Basin: second-largest rainforest. Great Rift Valley: tectonic plate divergence — will eventually split Africa (millions of years). Mount Kilimanjaro (Tanzania): highest African peak (5,895m). Victoria Falls (Zambia/Zimbabwe): largest curtain of falling water. Sahara: expanding south (Sahel region affected).

## Further Reading

- [The Geography of Sub-Saharan Africa (Samuel Aryeetey-Attoh)](https://www.pearson.com/en-us/subject-catalog/p/the-geography-of-sub-saharan-africa/P200000010264)