In 1822, Hugh Clapperton, a young naval lieutenant, agreed to go with Walter Oudney and Dixon Denham to try and discover the source of the River Niger in North Africa. They journeyed south cross the Sahara from Tripoli to Lake Chad, the first white men to visit the region. Oudney died at Murner, and the other two separated, Clapperton going …

Herodotus, the Greek historian of the fifth century B.C., tells in his History of an expedition made by Phoenicians at the orders of the Egyptian pharaoh, Necho. He mentions its importance but fails to give the names of any of those who took part. About a century later another expedition set sail under a Phoenician called Hanno, and one of …

The history of writing instruments with which humans have recorded and conveyed thoughts, feelings and grocery lists, is the history of civilisation itself. This is how we know about our ancestors and their lives. The handy sharpened-stone, used for skinning and killing animals was adapted into the first writing instrument. Around 24,000 BC, the cave man started drawing pictures with …

In 1497, Vasco da Gama, a young Portuguese sea captain, was summoned to the court of King Manuel I. The king informed him that, as one of the most notable navigators of his day, he had been chosen to lead an expedition in an attempt to find a sea route from Portugal to the Indies, round the southern tip of …

Because of continental drift, the world’s surface is always changing. About 300 million years ago, there were two continents. One, called Gondwanaland, contained parts of South America, Africa, India, Australia and Antarctica, which were then joined together. The other, called Laurasia, was made up of North America and Eurasia. About 275 million years ago, Gondwanaland and Laurasia collided and joined …

In the South Atlantic Ocean, about half way between Africa and South America, are the British islands of Tristan da Cunha. Their nearest neighbour is St Helena, another British island 2,120km (1,317 miles) away. In 1961, a volcanic eruption forced the Tristan islanders to leave for Britain. But life in crowded Britain lacked appeal and most of them went home …

The Great Rift Valley is the vast geographic depression that runs from the Jordan River Valley in Syria, South-western Asia to Mozambique in eastern Africa. The valley is approximately 6000 km, and its width varies from a few miles to more than one hundred miles. Its elevation varies from 1300 feet below sea level to 6000 feet above sea level. …

Guano is accumulated dung or excrement and remains of seabirds, bats and seals found along certain coastal areas and caves. It’s found mainly on the coastal islands of Peru, Africa, Chile and the West Indies. It contains about 6% phosphorus, 9% nitrogen, 2% potassium and moisture. Guano is found mixed with feathers and bones and used mainly as a fertilizer. …

Teasels are used in the making of woollen cloth. The common teasel grows wild in England and Wales and southern parth of Scotland. It is also found in Europe, Asia and North Africa. The teasel has large prickly flower heads which remain on the dead stems throughout winter. The actual flowers are tiny deep lilac clorets and round the base …

Movements of plates in the top layers of the Earth’s crust create enormous tension, which sometimes makes long cracks, or faults, in rocks. Continuing tugging movements make blocks of land sink down between roughly parallel sets of faults, forming troughs called rift valleys. The world’s biggest rift valley runs from south-eastern Africa, through East Africa and the Red Sea to …