North Africa

==Geography==
North Africa has three main geographic features: the [[Sahara]] desert in the south, the [[Atlas Mountains]] in the west, and the [[Nile|Nile River]] and delta in the east. The Atlas Mountains extend across much of northern [[Algeria]], [[Morocco]], and [[Tunisia]]. These mountains are part of the [[fold mountains|fold mountain]] system that also runs through much of [[Southern Europe]]. They recede to the south and east, becoming a [[steppe]] landscape before meeting the Sahara desert, which covers more than 75 percent of the region. The tallest peaks are in the [[High Atlas]] range in south-central Morocco, which has many snow-capped peaks.

South of the Atlas Mountains is the dry and barren expanse of the Sahara desert, the largest sand [[desert]] in the world.<ref name="geology.com">{{cite web|url=http://geology.com/records/largest-desert.shtml|title=Largest Desert in the World|access-date=30 December 2011}}</ref> In places the [[desert]] is cut by irregular watercourses called [[wadi]]s—streams that flow only after rainfall but are usually dry. The Sahara's major landforms include [[Erg (landform)|ergs]], large seas of sand that sometimes form into huge [[dune]]s; the [[hammada]], a level rocky [[plateau]] without soil or sand; and the [[Desert pavement#Reg|reg]], a [[desert pavement]]. The Sahara covers the southern part of Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia, and most of Libya. Only two regions of Libya are outside the desert: [[Tripolitania]] in the northwest and [[Cyrenaica]] in the northeast. Most of Egypt is also desert, with the exception of the Nile River and the irrigated land along its banks. The Nile Valley forms a narrow fertile thread that runs along the length of the country.

Sheltered valleys in the Atlas Mountains, the Nile Valley and [[Nile Delta|Delta]], and the Mediterranean coast are the main sources of fertile farming land. A wide variety of valuable crops including cereals, rice and cotton, and woods such as [[Cedrus|cedar]] and [[Quercus suber|cork]], are grown. Typical Mediterranean crops, such as olives, figs, dates and citrus fruits, also thrive in these areas. The Nile Valley is particularly fertile and most of Egypt lives close to the river. Elsewhere, irrigation is essential to improve crop yields on the desert margins.
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