The extreme points of Africa are the points that are farther north, south, east or west than any other location on
the continent
Continental Europe or mainland Europe is the contiguous continent of Europe, excluding its surrounding islands. It can also be referred to ambiguously as the European continent, – which can conversely mean the whole of Europe – and, by ...
.
Latitude and longitude
Geographic coordinates expressed in
WGS 84
The World Geodetic System (WGS) is a standard used in cartography, geodesy, and satellite navigation including GPS. The current version, WGS 84, defines an Earth-centered, Earth-fixed coordinate system and a geodetic datum, and also descri ...
.
Africa
:Africa
* Northernmost point —
Iles des Chiens,
Tunisia
)
, image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa
, image_map2 =
, capital = Tunis
, largest_city = capital
, ...
(37°32'N)
*
Southernmost point —
Cape Agulhas
Cape Agulhas (; pt, Cabo das Agulhas , "Cape of the Needles") is a rocky headland in Western Cape, South Africa.
It is the geographic southern tip of the African continent and the beginning of the dividing line between the Atlantic and Indian ...
,
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
(34°51'15"S). If the
Prince Edward Islands
The Prince Edward Islands are two small uninhabited islands in the sub-Antarctic Indian Ocean that are part of South Africa. The islands are named Marion Island (named after Marc-Joseph Marion du Fresne, 1724–1772) and Prince Edward Island ...
are included in Africa, then
Marion Island
The Prince Edward Islands are two small uninhabited islands in the sub-Antarctic Indian Ocean that are part of South Africa. The islands are named Marion Island (named after Marc-Joseph Marion du Fresne, 1724–1772) and Prince Edward Island ...
is the southernmost point at 46°54'S.
* Westernmost point —
Santo Antão,
Cape Verde
, national_anthem = ()
, official_languages = Portuguese
, national_languages = Cape Verdean Creole
, capital = Praia
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, demonym ...
Islands (25°25'W)
* Easternmost point —
Rodrigues
Rodrigues (french: Île Rodrigues, link=yes ; Creole: ) is a autonomous outer island of the Republic of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean, about east of Mauritius. It is part of the Mascarene Islands, which include Mauritius and Réunion. Rodr ...
,
Mauritius
Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label=Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It incl ...
(63°30'E)
:Africa (mainland)
![Pointe des Almadies - Senegal](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0d/Pointe_des_Almadies_-_Senegal.jpg)
*Northernmost point —
Ras ben Sakka
Ras ben Sakka (Arabic for "Cape Ben Sakka"), the tip of Cape Angela in northern Tunisia, is the northernmost point of the African continent.
It is located from Bizerte and to the northeast of Ichkeul Lake World Heritage Site.
It is located ...
(Ra's al Abyad) (Cape Blanc),
Tunisia
)
, image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa
, image_map2 =
, capital = Tunis
, largest_city = capital
, ...
*
Southernmost point —
Cape Agulhas
Cape Agulhas (; pt, Cabo das Agulhas , "Cape of the Needles") is a rocky headland in Western Cape, South Africa.
It is the geographic southern tip of the African continent and the beginning of the dividing line between the Atlantic and Indian ...
,
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
*Westernmost point —
Pointe des Almadies
Pointe des Almadies or Point Almadies ( " bark canoe point") is the westernmost point on the continent of Africa and of the Afro-Eurasian landmass, lying at 17.5 degrees west of the Greenwich meridian, 8 degrees further west than Cabo da Roca, main ...
,
Cap Vert
Cap-Vert, or the Cape Verde Peninsula, is a peninsula in Senegal and the westernmost point of the continent of Africa and of the Afro-Eurasia mainland. Portuguese explorers called it Cabo Verde or "Green Cape". The Cape Verde islands, further ...
Peninsula,
Ngor, Dakar
Ngor (honorable) is a commune d'arrondissement of the city of Dakar, Senegal. As of 2013 it had a population of 17,383. The westernmost point of the African continent is located there. Ngor is one of the four original Lebou villages of the Cap-Ve ...
,
Senegal
Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...
(17°33'22"W)
*Easternmost point —
Ras Hafun
Ras Hafun ( so, Ras Xaafuun, ar, رأس حـافـون, it, Capo Hafun), also known as Cape Hafun, is a promontory in the northeastern Bari region of Somalia. Jutting out into the Guardafui Channel, it constitutes the easternmost point in Afri ...
(Raas Xaafuun),
Somalia
Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...
(51°27'52"E)
:Africa (centre)
* The African geographical centre is close to
Epena
Epena is a village of 2000 people, and seat of Epena District in the Likouala Department of northeastern Republic of the Congo.
It is on the Likouala-aux-Herbes river, just east of the Lake Télé Community Reserve.
Notable residents
*Aminata ...
,
* The African
pole of inaccessibility
A pole of inaccessibility with respect to a geographical criterion of inaccessibility marks a location that is the most challenging to reach according to that criterion. Often it refers to the most distant point from the coastline, implying a ...
is close to the border of
Central African Republic
The Central African Republic (CAR; ; , RCA; , or , ) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to the north, Sudan to the northeast, South Sudan to the southeast, the DR Congo to the south, the Republic of th ...
,
South Sudan
South Sudan (; din, Paguot Thudän), officially the Republic of South Sudan ( din, Paankɔc Cuëny Thudän), is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia, Sudan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the C ...
and
Congo, near the town of
Obo
Obo is the capital of Haut-Mbomou, one of the 14 Prefectures of the Central African Republic, prefectures of the Central African Republic. It is close to the Pole of inaccessibility#Africa, African Pole of Inaccessibility.
Poste Airport is loca ...
.
Elevation
The highest point in Africa is
Mount Kilimanjaro
Mount Kilimanjaro () is a dormant volcano in Tanzania. It has three volcanic cones: Kibo, Mawenzi, and Shira. It is the highest mountain in Africa and the highest free-standing mountain above sea level in the world: above sea level and ab ...
,
in
Tanzania
Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...
. The lowest point is
Lake Asal, below sea level, in
Djibouti
Djibouti, ar, جيبوتي ', french: link=no, Djibouti, so, Jabuuti officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Somalia to the south, Ethiopia to the southwest, Eritrea in the north, and the Red ...
.
See also
*
Geography of Africa
Africa is a continent comprising 63 political territories, representing the largest of the great southward projections from the main mass of Earth's surface. Within its regular outline, it comprises an area of , excluding adjacent islands. Its hi ...
*
Extreme points of the Earth
This article lists extreme locations on Earth that hold geographical records or are otherwise known for their geophysical or meteorological superlatives. All of these locations are Earth-wide extremes; extremes of individual continents or coun ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Extreme Points Of Africa
Geography of Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...