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Learn more about the wonderful world with the help of a GeoFact of the Day Geography Bee Quiz (↗) like this one! I hope you enjoy these tasty morsels of knowledge. The answers to this quiz are listed below — enjoy and good luck!
1) To aid in the dispersal of dandelion seeds by wind (or when people blow on the dandelion), a feature known as the _______ acts like a “parachute” to keep the seeds afloat.
A — pappus
B — petal
C — stamen
D — husk
2) True or false: EQUATORIAL GUINEA is situated directly on the Equator Line.
3) Once known as Belgian Congo and later as Zaire, this vast country lies east of the smaller REPUBLIC of the CONGO.
A — ANGOLA
B — BENIN
C — DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC of the CONGO (D.R. Congo)
D — DJIBOUTI
ANSWERS
Question 1:
A . . . . . pappus
Question 2:
False . . . . . slightly north of the Equator by about 1 to 2 degrees
Question 3:
C . . . . . Democratic Republic of the Congo
People all across ANGOLA are celebrating their country's Independence Day on Wednesday, November 11th. Angola achieved independence from Portugal in 1975. I hope everyone in Angola will have a happy Independence Day!
The new GeoFact of the Day map of the Republic of ANGOLA is one of the largest and most-detailed maps on this website! If you don't mind, let me know what you think about this map with a comment, and feel free to share your suggestions in regards to future maps! Access the Angola post (↗) to enjoy the newest addition to GeoFact of the Day's mapmaking efforts!
● Diamonds
● Petroleum
● Land mines
● Atlantic coastline
● Babies!
(Angola had the world's second-highest birthrate in the world in 2007.)
Listed in The Africa Book; the MLA citation is below. What are other "trademarks" of this African country? Feel free to share your thoughts with a comment!
Phillips et al. The Africa Book: A Journey through Every
Country in the Continent. Lonely Planet, 2007.
— #AfricaWeek —
The following produce and materials are major exports of ANGOLA: bananas, bauxite, cassava, coffee, cotton, crude oil, diamonds, feldspar, fish, gold, refined petroleum products, sisal, sugarcane, and timber. Sisal was a major crop and export until war and drought decimated the sisal-harvesting industry; however, sisal production might make a comeback in several decades or years. According to the International Monetary Fund (data.imf.org), countries buying and importing most of those exports in 2016 include China, France, India, Italy, Netherlands, Panama, Portugal, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
One of my blog-related missions is to update country posts and other posts from several years ago. The following posts have been updated recently. All links open in a new tab or window.
Angola
Armenia
Athens
Chile
French Guiana
Of course, you are always free to submit a comment on any post for suggestions, complaints, or compliments about the GeoFact of the Day Blog!
Moxico is the largest province in land area, while Luanda province is the smallest. The list below shows the provinces' capitals listed in parentheses and land area (square kilometers) from largest to smallest. The land area figures were found on GeoHive at geohive.com (a now-defunct website).
Moxico (Luena) — 223,023 sq. kilometers
Cuando Cubango (Menongue) — 199,049
Lunda Norte (Lucapa) — 103,760
Malanje (Malanje) — 97,602
Cunene (Ondjiva) — 87,342
Huíla (Lubango) — 79,023
Lunda Sul (Saurimo) — 77,367
Bié (Kuito) — 70,314
Uíge (Uíge) — 58,698
Namibe (Namibe) — 57,091
Cuanza Sul (Sumbe) — 55,600
Zaire (M'Banza Kongo) — 40,130
Benguela (Benguela) — 39,826
Huambo (Huambo) — 34,270
Bengo (Caxito) — 31,371
Cuanza Norte (N'dalatando) — 24,110
Cabinda (Cabinda) — 7,270
Luanda (Luanda, capital of Angola) — 2,417
The shapefiles used to make this map in ArcGIS 10.1 came from the website Global Administrative Areas, located at www.gadm.org. Click the map above to view it larger.
A coastal country east of the Atlantic Ocean in Southern Africa, ANGOLA has a flag featuring two horizontal bands - the top one is red and the bottom is black. The size ratio is 2:3, and there is a yellow design comprised of three parts in the middle. A yellow star, partial cogwheel, and machete combine to form a socialist emblem, which dates back to a guerrilla movement in Angola followed by the governing party known as the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA). Angola's flag emblem resembles the hammer and sickle on the former Soviet Union's flag. For more information about Angola, visit my Angola post!
As of June 8th, 2014, the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ lists over 40 endangered and critically endangered species in ANGOLA, a country in Southern Africa located east of the Atlantic Ocean, south and southeast of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, north of Namibia, and east of Zambia. Of particular concern, there are seven critically endangered species; several of them are endangered in other countries, too. These are the seven species: Hook-Lipped Rhinoceros (Black Rhinoceros), Largetooth Sawfish, Smoothback Angelshark, Spiny Angelfish, the Tristan Albatross seabird, Western Gorilla, and Wide Sawfish.
Species conservation is of course a geography topic because species live in particular geographic areas based on a variety of factors. Therefore, species distribution can be mapped by organizations like the International Union for Conservation of Nature. As of 2014, Angola and several other countries in Southern Africa still have populations — albeit small ones — of these rhinos. The species is officially extinct in Cameroon, western Botswana, and Rwanda.
The countries of ANGOLA and NAMIBIA are located along the Atlantic Ocean coast of Southern Africa, and they protect their coastal land with national parks.
Angola
Located in the southwest corner of Angola, the Iona National Park (Parque Nacional da Iona in Portuguese) is just north of the Cunene River (also called Kunene River) - the horizontal border between Angola and Namibia. Located further north, the other coastal park of Angola is Quiçama National Park (PN da Quiçama). It is south of Angola's capital, Luanda.
Namibia
Skeleton Coast Park is found along the northern half of Namibia's coastline. The Wikipedia page about this area reveals the meaning of the strange name. A whaling industry left bones from whales and seal on the coast. Also, the 'skeletons' of shipwrecks are found along the coast. Lastly, the Namib-Naukluft Park is south of the Skeleton Coast Park. Paralleling the coast, the Namib Desert is part of both parks. Looking at a complete map of Namibia, you would see that most of the country's coastline is protected!
Out of all the countries in Southern Africa, the Kingdom of LESOTHO, MALAWI, and NAMIBIA have the highest percentage of Christians. Anywhere from 80 to 90% of the people in these countries are Christians, while many of the rest believe in indigenous beliefs. There is a small population of believers in other religions. Other Southern African countries with high percentages of Christians include ANGOLA, SOUTH AFRICA, SWAZILAND, and ZAMBIA. Christian missionaries from around the world played a pivotal role in introducing Christianity to Sub-Saharan Africa.
ANGOLA is a mainly Portuguese-speaking country located east of the Atlantic Ocean in southwestern Africa. The largest ethnic group is Ovimbundu, which composes a little less than 40% of Angola's population. A quarter of the total population is of Kimbundu people, and the Bakongo people comprise 13% of Angola. There are also some people of mixed European/African ancestry. Almost half of Angolans adhere to indigenous beliefs, while almost 40% are Roman Catholics and 15% are Protestants. The capital is Luanda, which has around 6,500,000 inhabitants in the metropolitan area. Angola's Independence Day is coming up on November 11th, the date that Angola achieved independence in 1975.
>>> Visit my Angola post to discover more about this country!
Map scale: 1 centimeter = 151 kilometers and 1 inch = 238 miles
The seventh-largest African country with an area of 1,246,701 km² (481,354 mi²), ANGOLA is a Portuguese-speaking country in Southern Africa, formerly colonized by Portugal until 1975. Angola's independence day is celebrated November 11th every year. There are 4 bordering countries: Democratic Republic of the Congo (northeast of Angola), Republic of the Congo (north), Namibia (south), and Zambia (east). Angola also borders the South Atlantic Ocean on the west coast. Cabinda is a tiny exclave north of Angola, separated from the rest of Angola by a strip of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Angola has eighteen provinces (províncias), and you can find more details with my Angola Provinces post ↗ (March 25, 2015). The Angolan Kwanza (Kz) is the national currency (ISO 4217 currency code: AOA).
● ● ● ● ● People and Places ● ● ● ● ● About 29.8 million residents call Angola their home, a stark contrast compared to Namibia's 2.53 million people (2017 estimates). The provinces of Cuando Cubango (southeast) and Moxico (east) are relatively sparsely populated compared to the other provinces. This is hinted by the distribution of major towns and cities depicted on the GeoFact of the Day map above. Comprising almost two-fifths (40%) of the population, Ovimbundu is the largest ethnic group, followed by Kimbundu (25%) and Bakongo (about 13%). About half of Angolans believe in indigenous beliefs, while others are predominantly Roman Catholics and Protestants. Portuguese is the country's official language. Along the Atlantic coast, the capital is Luanda which has a metropolitan population greater than 6,000,000. Other communities include Benguela, Caxito, Luena, M'Banza Kongo, Namibe, Sumbe, and Uíge.
● ● ● ● ● Land Features ● ● ● ● ● Some rivers flow westward into the Atlantic Ocean, including Bengo, Cunene, Cuanza, Dande, and Mbridge rivers. The mighty Congo River flows less than 60 kilometers and 40 miles westward along the northern border of Zaire Province in "main" Angola — not Cabinda, the exclave to the north. Some eastward-flowing rivers — such as Cuando and Luena — are connected to Zambezi River, which empties into the Indian Ocean. Moxico Province in eastern Angola is near the Zambezi River's source, which is in northern Zambia. Unlike the previously-mentioned east rivers, the Cubango (Okavango) River and Cuito River flow to the Okavango Delta in Botswana. This delta is located in an endorheic basin, meaning the rivers do not flow to a sea or ocean. Instead, river water evaporates in the arid Kalahari Desert region.
Cuando Cubango Province's sparse population results in a perfect setting to protect the environment and animals in national parks. Cuando Cubango's three prominent national parks — Longa-Mavinga, Luengué, and Luiana — are tucked near the country's southeastern triangle. Angola's highest point — Morro de Moco (Mount Moco) — stands above western Huambo Province in western Angola at 2,620 meters (8,596 feet). South of Namibe (Moçâmedes) and Tombua in the South Atlantic Ocean lies the country's largest island, (Ilha do) Tigres, which is typically uninhabited by humans. The sandy, desert-like island located west of the Baía dos Tigres (Bay of Tigers) once was a peninsula and village area. Today, the ghost town is visible due to its abandoned architectural ruins, which includes a steepled church and several bygone shops.
This post was updated on January 10th, 2019, the same day that the map above was uploaded to this blog post.
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