North Africa

North Africa or more correctly Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Northern Africa includes the following seven countries or territories:

* The disputed territory of Western Sahara is mostly occupied and administered by Morocco; the Polisario Front claims the territory in militating for the establishment an independent republic, and exercises limited control over rump border territories.

The Spanish plazas de soberanía (exclaves) are on the southern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, surrounded by Morocco on land.

The Spanish Canary Islands and Portuguese Madeira Islands in the North Atlantic Ocean are northwest of the African mainland and sometimes included in this region.

Geographically, Mauritania and more rarely the Azores are sometimes included. There are also other older names for certain locations in North Africa that have been changed since ancient times.

The Maghreb includes Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia and Libya. The disputed territory Western Sahara (under Moroccan control) is generally included on the same basis as Mauritania. North Africa generally is often included in common definitions of the Middle East, as both regions make up the Arab World. In addition, the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt is part of Asia, making Egypt a transcontinental country.

Geography

The Atlas Mountains, which extend across much of Morocco, northern Algeria and Tunisia, are part of the fold mountain system which also runs through much of Southern Europe. They recede to the south and east, becoming a steppe landscape before meeting the Sahara desert which covers more than 90% of the region. The sediments of the Sahara overlie an ancient plateau of crystalline rock, some of which is more than four billion years old.

Sheltered valleys in the Atlas Mountains, the Nile valley and delta, and the Mediterranean coast are the main sources of good farming land. A wide variety of valuable crops including cereals, rice and cotton, and woods such as cedar and cork, are grown. Typical mediterranean crops such as olives, figs, dates and citrus fruits also thrive in these areas. The Nile valley is particularly fertile, and most of Egypt's population lives close to the river. Elsewhere, irrigation is essential to improve crop yields on the desert margins.

Territories and regions

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