A Geographical Jaunt Across Africa Quiz

Answer: Sudan

Up until 2008, a total of 135 pyramids had been discovered in Egypt. In Sudan, approximately 240 Nubian pyramids were constructed at three different locations in Sudan, to serve as tombs for the kings and queens of Napata and Meroë. The Nubian Pyramids situated at Kush differ from the pyramids of Egypt, as they were constructed at a steeper angle than the Egyptian pyramids. Until 300 AD, pyramids were still being built in Sudan.

Answer: Lake Assal

After the Dead Sea, Lake Assal in Djibouti is the second lowest point on earth, at 155 meters below sea level. The lake is a saline lake with its salinity being ten times more than the sea. Because of the high salt content of the lake, ancient caravan routes were established from here, making it an important source of income for Djibouti. Lake Victoria's surface elevation is 1134 meters, whilst Lake Mweru's is 917 meters and Lake Tanganyika's surface elevation is 773 meters.

Answer: Namib Desert

The Namib Desert in Namibia is considered not only Africa's oldest but the world's oldest desert, estimated at being arid between 55 to 80 million years. It also has the highest sand dunes in the world. The Namib, as it is colloquially referred to, covers more than 81,000 square kilometers.

In comparison, the Sahara formed between 2 and 3 million years ago, albeit it is the largest desert in the world. The Kalahari is a semi-arid desert in southwestern Africa, estimated at being approximately 60 million years old.

The Atacama Desert is situated in South America.

Answer: Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda

There are two populations of mountain gorillas of which one is found in the Virunga volcanic mountains of Central Africa, which lie within three National Parks: Mgahinga, in south-west Uganda; Volcanoes, in north-west Rwanda; and Virunga in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The other population is also found in Uganda, in the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Mountain gorillas generally prefer inhabiting forests with very dense vegetation at the bottom but becoming more sparse at higher elevations, and the forests where the mountain gorillas live are often misty, cloudy and cold.

The other countries listed as options in the above all have some form of desert in them, which is not suitable habitat for these animals.

Answer: eSwatini

Radiocarbon dating places the oldest mining activities between 41,000 to 43,000 years old at Ngwenya. In recent times, the mining deposit was mined for iron smelting and iron ore. In olden times, it was mined for haematite ore, which was used to extract red ochre during the Middle Stone Age.

Answer: South Africa and the Democratic Republic of Congo

A megadiverse country is classified as a country which is part of a group of countries that harbor the majority of the Earth's species and high numbers of endemic species. Many of these countries are located, either partially or wholly in tropical or subtropical regions.

Some of the other non-African countries on the list are Australia, Brazil, India, Mexico and the United States, amongst others.

Answer: Democratic Republic of Congo

The Nyiragongo volcano is one of eight volcanoes, situated in the Virunga Mountains, in the eastern part of the DRC. This volcano has erupted 34 times between 1882 and 2002. The 2002 eruption buried 40% of the nearby town, Goma, and rendered approximately 120,000 people homeless.

Answer: Somalia, South Africa, Mozambique and Egypt

Somalia's coastline ranks no. 37 in the world in terms of length, according to the CIA's World Factbook, measuring 3,333km. If you were to include Madagascar's coastline in the question, then this would be the no. 1 country, with a coastline of 4,828km and ranking no. 28 in the world. Both seem relatively short compared to Canada's coastline, which is no. 1 in the world and which measures 202,080km.

Answer: Gabon, Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Kenya and Somalia

Brazil, Colombia and Ecuador are located on the Equator, but are in South America. The option ranging from Egypt to Western Sahara lies on the Tropic of Cancer and the option from Namibia to Mozambique lies on the Tropic of Capricorn.

Answer: Ethiopia and Liberia

Liberia declared its independence from the American Colonization Society on 26 July 1847 and is Africa's oldest democratic republic. It is also the second oldest black republic in the world, after Haiti. With the exception of the occupation during (1936-41) by Italy's military forces, Ethiopia is Africa's oldest independent nation. Mali and Chad were colonized by France, Botswana and Zimbabwe by the United Kingdom, and Namibia and most parts of Tanzania by Germany.