In 1855 explorer David Livingstone, the son of a Scottish mill worker, helped to open the eyes of the world to the land beyond “The Smoke That Thunders”-the imposing wonder that Livingstone later called Victoria Falls in honor of Queen Victoria of England. Until the late 19th century, this land remained remote to foreigners who plundered Africa for gold, ivory, and slaves. To the west and south is the mighty Zambezi River. To the northeast of the territory now called Zambia lies the Great Rift Valley. Its unusual border, a legacy of the colonial era, marks out an area of more than a quarter of a million square miles -larger than the state of Texas, U.S.A. Some have said that this country resembles a huge, lopsided butterfly that settled on a map. Where the tropical rain forest of the Congo Basin rises to meet the gently undulating savanna that is the central African plateau, there nestles Zambia. ![]() And deep in its folds lie vast reserves of gold, copper, and precious stones. Threading through it are many rivers, such as the Nile, the Niger, the Congo, and the Zambezi. From the white sands of the Mediterranean Coast, past the golden Sahara, through the emerald forests, to the windswept, white coastline of the Cape of Good Hope, the continent embraces a tenth of the world’s population. ![]() Africa is like a vast embroidered garment.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |