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Introduction to Angola
created on:
2001-07-28
A total area of 1,246,700 square kilometers (including Cabinda Province) makes Angola the seventh largest state in Africa, but it is also one of the most lightly populated. The country is bordered to the north and east by Congo (former Zaire), to the east by Zambia, and to the south by Namibia. The 7,270-square-kilometer exclave of Cabinda is separated from the rest of Angola by a strip of the Democratic Republic of Congo (former Zaire).
Angola has three principal natural regions: the coastal lowland characterized by low plains and terraces, hills and mountains rising inland from the coast into a great escarpment and an area of high plains, called the high plateau (planalto), which extends eastward from the escarpment.
The coastal lowland rises from the sea in a series of low terraces. This region varies in width from about 25 kilometers near Benguela to more than 150 kilometers in the Cuanza River Valley just south of Angola's capital, Luanda. The Atlantic Ocean's cold, northwardflowing Benguela Current substantially reduces precipitation along the coast, making the region relatively arid and quite dry even in its northern reaches. The far south is marked by sand dunes, which give way to dry scrub along the middle coast. Portions of the northern coastal plain are covered by thick brush.
The belt of hills and mountains parallels the coast at distances ranging from 20 kilometers to 100 kilometers inland. The Cuanza River divides the zone into two parts. The northern part rises gradually from the coastal zone to an average elevation of 500 meters, with crests as high as 1,000 meters to 1,800 meters. South of the Cuanza River, the hills rise sharply from the coastal lowlands and form a high escarpment, extending from a point east of Luanda and running south through Namibia. The escarpment reaches 2,400 meters at its highest point, southeast of the town of Sumbe, and is steepest in the far south in the Serra da Chela mountain range.
The high plateau lies to the east of the hills and mountains and dominates Angola's terrain. The surface of the plateau is typically flat or rolling, but parts of the Benguela Plateau and the Humpata Highland area of the Huíla Plateau in the south reach heights of 2,500 meters and more.
Angola is a beautiful country with bright and friendly people, but regrettably there are ongoing wars which makes the country most of the time not safe to travel. However, if Angola ever will stabilise, it can become a favoured destination to vistit. For now, make sure you get the latest information before traveling to this country.
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