It is especially important for students in the Americas to study the cultures and civilizations of West Africa, because West Africa is the region of Africa where most African Americans trace their ancestry. Also West Africa has a larger population than any of Africa's other regions. In fact West Africa is nearly the size of the continental United States. Africa, the second largest continent in the world, has a variety of geographic features and vegetation zones.
Many people think of Africa as consisting mostly of vast stretches of dry desert.
While the Sahara Desert covers approximately one third of th e continent, it is not the largest vegetation zone. Others believe that the African continent is a huge steaming jungle or rainforest. In fact only a small percentage of Africa, along the Guinea Coast and in the Zaire River Basin, are rainforests. Most of Africa's forests, like the forests of Europe a nd North America, have been cut or burned by humans to create farmland. The largest vegetation zone in Africa is tropical grassland, known as savanna .