Africa, the second-largest continent<span>, is bounded by the Mediterranean Sea, the Red Sea, the Indian Ocean, and the Atlantic Ocean. It is divided in half almost equally by the </span>Equator. The continent includes the islands of Cape Verde, Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles, and Comoros.
<span>Africa’s </span>physical geography<span>, </span>environment<span> and </span>resource<span>s, and </span>human geography<span> can be considered separately.</span>
<span>The origin of the name “Africa” is greatly disputed by </span>scholar<span>s. Most believe it stems from words used by the Phoenicians, Greeks, and Romans. Important words include the Egyptian word </span>Afru-ika<span>, meaning “Motherland”; the Greek word </span>aphrike<span>, meaning “without cold”; and the Latin word </span>aprica, meaning “sunny.”
<span>Today, Africa is home to more countries than any other continent in the world. These countries are: Morocco, Western Sahara (Morocco), Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Sudan, Chad, Niger, Mali, Mauritania, Senegal, The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon, Central Africa Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Angola, Namibia, Botswana, South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Eritrea and the island countries of Cape Verde, Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles, and Comoros.</span>
A fallow field is land that a farmer plows but does not cultivate for one or more seasons to allow the field to become more fertile again.