Africa as a whole is a dry continent with few broad water estuaries, bays and inlets, providing few deep water harbours. The African coastline runs for around 30,500 kilometres. When examined in proportion to the area of the continent, this means Africa has the shortest coastline of all seven continents. The majority of Africa┐s lakes lie in the area called the Great Rift Valley. The Great Rift Valley is a huge depression extending more than 4,830 kilometres across most of East Africa and into south west Asia. Flanked by Mount Kilimanjaro and Mount Kenya, the valley is occupied by Africa┐s biggest lakes such as Lake Turkana, Lake Malawi, Lake Najuru and Lake Albert. These lakes feed the Nile River, the Congo River and the Zambesi River.

The continent of Africa also lays claim to the longest river in the world - the Nile River. It is 6,695 kilometres in length, beginning at Lake Victoria and flowing to the Mediterranean in North Egypt at a 190 kilometre wide delta. The Nile is actually made up of the Blue Nile and the White Nile, which join at Khartoum, Sudan. The Nile flows through nine countries giving life to the lands that surround it. Africa┐s second longest river is the Zaire River which is 4,500 kilometres in length and discharges a volume of water close to that of the Amazon River.

For a continent of its large size though, Africa has few great rivers. Those rivers it does have usually have rapids and waterfalls along their lengths making them difficult to navigate, which has limited their use for long distance transport. These rapids and falls do however open up good possibilities for hydroelectric power. It has been estimated that Africa holds around 40% of the earth┐s potential for hydroelectric power.