The African Surface or African Erosion Surface is a land
surface formed by erosion covering large swathes of Africa.
[Burke & Gunnell 2008, pp. 6–7.] The type area of the surface lies in
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
where the surface was first identified as such by
Lester Charles King in the mid-20th century.
[Burke & Gunnell 2008, pp. 13–14.]
The term was coined by King for certain high surfaces in
southern Africa
Southern Africa is the southernmost region of Africa. No definition is agreed upon, but some groupings include the United Nations geoscheme for Africa, United Nations geoscheme, the intergovernmental Southern African Development Community, and ...
. Over the years he redefined it various times leaving some confusion not on its reality but on the matter of its precise meaning and extent.
[Burke & Gunnell 2008, pp. 15-16.] In 2008 the term was redefined as a composite surface.[ According to the 2008 study the African Surface is made up by etchplains formed between 70 and 40 million years ago. In this sense the existence of parts of the African Surface at different elevations is the result of continental-scale warping due to endogenic forces.]Ethiopian
Ethiopians are the native inhabitants of Ethiopia, as well as the global diaspora of Ethiopia. Ethiopians constitute several component ethnic groups, many of which are closely related to ethnic groups in neighboring Eritrea and other parts of ...
, Cameroon
Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...
, Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...
, the Central African Atlantic Swell and the Central African Rise. Subdued regions include the Congo Basin
The Congo Basin () is the sedimentary basin of the Congo River. The Congo Basin is located in Central Africa, in a region known as west equatorial Africa. The Congo Basin region is sometimes known simply as the Congo. It contains some of the larg ...
where the African Surface lies about above sea level and the Turkana Gap.[ In the interior of Western Africa the so-called Bauxitic Surface has been identified as equivalent to the African Surface.]
See also
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References
;Bibliography
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Planation surfaces
Geography of Africa
Geology of Africa
Plains of Africa
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