 Where In The World?
Where in the World is THE Central African Republic?
Its time to get out your globe! You need to know about the imaginary lines on globes and maps. These lines are called lines of latitude and longitude, and they tell a pilot or ships captain exactly where in the world a certain place is located. Basically, latitude lines (also called parallels) are the horizontal lines on your map. Lines of longitude (also called meridians) are the vertical lines that run from the North Pole to the South Pole. This mapping system is written in degrees and uses the symbol . Get ready to travel the world!
Find longitude 21 E and latitude 7 N, and you will find the Central African Republic, located in the center of Africa. It is a landlocked country, which means that it is surrounded only by land, no bodies of water. It is
bordered by Cameroon to the west, Chad to the north, Sudan to the east and the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo to the south.
December 1 is Republic Day and is the country's national
holiday. The country's constitution was also ratified in December, on December 5, 2004. The Central African Republic used to be the called Ubangi-Shari or the
Central African Empire. It was a French colony but gained independence from France in 1960. Since then, there have been a lot of problems with the government, which has mostly been ruled by the military. The official language of the country is French, but the national language is Sangho, and many tribal languages also exist.
Although the national resources of the Central African Republic include things like diamonds and gold, the country is very poor. Because of disease, such as AIDS, the average person lives only to about 43 years of age.
The country has a tropical climate. The winters are hot and dry. The summers are hot and wet. The country was once considered one of the last great wildlife refuges, but poaching (illegal hunting) of animals has become common. Many of the native animals, such as the chimpanzee, gorilla, cheetah and African elephant, are now endangered or vulnerable.
Sources: The World Factbook prepared by the Central Intelligence Agency; Animalinfo.org.
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