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General Information
Touraco De Crista Vermelha
Palanca Negra is a national icon
NATURAL RESOURCES
WILDLIFE
The factors that determine and characterize two dif-
ferent climatic areas are:
The geographical situation of Angola (intertropical
and subtropical zone of the Southern hemisphere).
The proximity to the sea.
The cold current of Benguela.
The characteristics of the relief.
In the north, the rainy season may last for as long
as seven months, usually from September to April,
with perhaps a brief slackening in January or Febru-
ary. In the south, the rainy season begins later, in
November, and lasts until about February.
Temperatures fall with distance from the Equator
and with altitude and tend to rise closer to the Atlan-
tic Ocean. Thus at Soyo, at the mouth of the Congo
River, the average annual temperature is about
26°C, but it is under 16°C at Huambo on the temper-
ate central plateau. The coolest months are July and
August (in the middle of the dry season), when frost
may sometimes form at higher altitudes.
The coastal strip is tempered by the cool Benguela
current, resulting in a climate similar to coastal Peru
or Baja California. There is a short rainy season last-
ing from February to April.
Summers are usually hot and dry, while winters are
mild. The interior highlands have a mild climate with
a rainy season from November through April fol-
lowed by a cool dry season from May to October.
The far north and Cabinda enjoy rain throughout
much of the year.
Angola has been blessed with very rich natural re-
sources. Besides oil, Angola has numerous valu-
able resources. In fact, few African countries have
The 27-year civil war in Angola has taken a heavy
toll on the country and its people and it has also
nearly wiped out Angola's wildlife, which has been
killed in crossfire, by landmines or deliberately hunt-
ed down by poachers.
However, Angola’s national icon, the Palanca Negra
Gigante (Giant Sable), was rediscovered by Pedro
Vaz Pinto after the civil war and is considered to be
the most beautiful living antelope in the world. This
species can only found in the world in the Miombo
woodlands of Malanje. Identified as critically en-
dangered postwar, the Palanca Negra are showing
signs of cross breeding.
such a favorable natural endowment as Angola. The
country has millions hectares of fertile land, one of
Africa’s largest reserves of water, natural gas and
diamonds.
Natural gas:
Angola has 9,6 trillion cubic feet of nat-
ural gas reserves as of 2010. This makes the coun-
try one of the biggest sub-Saharan African proven
gas reserve holders.
Diamonds:
Angola has extensive diamond re-
serves. The diamond mining industry is an impor-
tant source for foreign revenue for the country. Un-
fortunately, many tragic conflicts that happened in
the past were fuelled by illegal diamond smuggling.
These ‘conflict diamonds’ have played an important
role in the Angolan civil war since the 1980s; the
revolutionary efforts were funded through the sale of
diamonds on the world market.
Furthermore, Angola has a very rich soil. Gold, dia-
monds, quartz, copper are among the many various
minerals that can be found in the inner provinces of
the country. But the country also has the chance of
benefiting from extensive forests and Atlantic fisher-
ies. Due to a lack of irrigation and technical knowl-
edge, agriculture is not yet mechanized.