Which parallels and meridians delimit Africa?

Which places in Africa mark the borders of the continent

If you are a World map on which the meridians and the parallels are marked, you can easily find out which places they are.

1. On the map you can clearly see which countries extend the furthest in the four cardinal directions. You can now find the corresponding locations using the respective national maps of the countries.
2. As the northernmost point of the mainland, you will find Cape Blanc in Tunisia. The Galite Islands off the coast is even further north.
3. In the south you will find Cape Agulhas in South Africa, a barrier island that is further south you will not be able to discover.
4. Now turn to the west. On the continent, you will encounter Cabo Verde in Senegal. But there are still the Cape Verde Islands, which are further to the west. Santo Antao on Cape Verde is the westernmost point that still belongs to Africa.
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5. In the east is the Ras Hafun in Somalia resp. - if you also want to add the islands - Mauritius.

Now you know the places that lie on the circles of latitude and meridians that border Africa. However, it is difficult to estimate the coordinates accurately from these maps.

Find out the parallels and meridians that delimit the continent

There is cardshelping them find the coordinates. Due to the format, however, these are less suitable for finding the corresponding locations that delimit the continent.

1. Select the zoom factor so that you can see the borders of Africa.
2. Move the marker roughly where Cape Blanc is. Zoom in on the map to align the marker precisely with the northernmost point. The associated coordinates are displayed. It is 37 ° 20 ′ 28 ″ N.
3. Slide the marker to the Galite Islands and you will get 37 ° 32 ′ N.
4. Now you have to zoom out again in order to move the marker to the westernmost point. After zooming in again, you get 17 ° 31 ′ 13 ″ W for Cabo Verde and 25 ° 10 ′ W for Santo Antao.
5. Now it's best to go south. You need to zoom out again and then zoom in. You will now find out 34 ° 50 ′ 0 ″ S.
6. Using this method, you get 51 ° 16 ′ E for Ras Hafun and 58 ° E for Mauritius.

The latitudes 37 ° 20 ′ 28 ″ N and 34 ° 50 ′ S therefore delimit continental Africa, with the islands the continent extends from 37 ° 32 ′ N to 34 ° 50 ′ S. The land mass ranges from meridians 17 ° 31 ′ 13 ″ W to 51 ° 16 ′ E, with the islands from 25 ° 10 ′ W to 58 ° E.