How did geographic features affect the settlement of Africa?

Settlement by whom? When?

Africa's original inhabitants evolved on this continent.

I bet you mean the colonization and of the part south of the Sahara.

The shortage of easy navigable river access inland and good harbors hindered the settlement by Europeans. They were frequently limited to posts near the sea shore. When they could get inland on the Congo for example the climate was unhealthy.

Maybe compare to the settlement by Europeans of North America where the St. Lawrence and Hudson and Chesapeake Bay and Charleston and the Mississippi .... made it a slam dunk to found cities and migrate inland.

In addition, the Sahara Desert provided a formidable barrier to European settlers coming from the north.

To understand how geographic features affected the settlement of Africa, we can look at different factors such as climate, natural resources, and physical barriers. Here's an explanation of each factor:

1. Climate: Africa's diverse climate played a significant role in settlement patterns. Regions with more hospitable climates, such as the Nile River valley and the grasslands of the Savannah, attracted early settlers due to ample water supply, fertile soils, and suitable conditions for agriculture and grazing.

2. Natural Resources: The availability of natural resources influenced settlement patterns. Areas rich in mineral resources, such as gold in West Africa or salt in the Sahara, attracted trade and economic development, leading to the establishment of settlements near these valuable resources.

3. Physical Barriers: The continent's physical barriers, such as mountains, deserts, and dense forests, posed challenges for settlement. For instance, the Sahara Desert acted as a barrier, limiting human habitation in its arid expanse. Similarly, mountains like the Atlas Mountains in North Africa or the Ethiopian Highlands acted as natural boundaries, affecting migration and settlement patterns.

Overall, the geographic features of Africa shaped the distribution of settlements by influencing accessibility to resources, suitability for agriculture, and acting as either facilitators or barriers to human movement.