The country consists of a sparsely watered and somewhat sterile coastal plain extending inland for a distance varying from 50 to 160 km (31 to 99 mi).

[2] The central plateau consists of ancient crystalline rocks with granites overlain by non-fossiliferous sandstones and conglomerates of Paleozoic age.

[2] The geology and outline of the west coast of Angola is related to the opening of South Atlantic that started in the Early Cretaceous and continued until the Eocene, which is reflected in the invertebrate and vertebrate fossil fauna.

[3] The diamond mine of Catoca preserved unexpected ancient dinosaur, mammal and crocodylomorph tracks with 128 Million years.

[4] Coastline: 1,600 km[1] Maritime claims: Like the rest of tropical Africa, Angola experiences distinct, alternating rainy and dry seasons.

[5] Angola has four principal natural regions: the arid coastal lowland, stretching from Namibia to Luanda and characterized by low plains and terraces; green hills and mountains, rising inland from the coast into a great escarpment; a large area of high inland plains of dry savanna, called the high plateau (planalto), which extends eastward and south-east from the escarpment; and rain forest in the north and in Cabinda.

[5] The approach to the great central plateau of Africa is marked by the west-central highlands, a series of irregular escarpments and cuestas parallel to the coast at distances ranging from 20 to 100 kilometres (12 to 62 mi) inland.

[5] The highest peak is Mount Moco (2,620 m or 8,600 ft),[citation needed] and the escarpment is steepest in the far south in the Serra da Chella mountain range.

[2] The high plateau, with an altitude ranging from 1,200 to 1,800 m (3,900 to 5,900 ft), lies to the east of the hills and mountains and dominates Angola's terrain.

[13] A large number of rivers originate in the central uplands, but their patterns of flow are diverse and their ultimate outlets varied.

A number flow in a more or less westerly course to the Atlantic Ocean, providing water for irrigation in the dry coastal strip and the potential for hydroelectric power, only some of which had been realized by 1988.

The Congo River, whose mouth and western end form a small portion of Angola's northern border with Zaire, is also navigable.

[5] Natural resources: petroleum, diamonds, iron ore, phosphates, copper, feldspar, gold, bauxite, uranium[1] Irrigated land: 860 km2 (330 sq mi) (2014) Natural hazards: locally heavy rainfall causes periodic flooding on the plateau[1] Current environmental issues include overuse of pastures and subsequent soil erosion attributable to population pressures; desertification; deforestation of tropical rain forest, in response to both international demand for tropical timber and to domestic use as fuel, resulting in loss of biodiversity; soil erosion contributing to water pollution and silting of rivers and dams; and inadequate supplies of potable water.

[19] Natural hazards such as floods, erosion, droughts, and epidemics (e.g.: malaria, cholera and typhoid fever) are expected to worsen with climate change.

[23] According to the World Bank, achieving climate resilience in Angola requires diversifying the country's economy away from its dependence on oil.

Among the trees are several which yield excellent timber, such as the tacula (Pterocarpus tinctorius), which grows to an immense size, its wood being blood-red in colour, and the Angola mahogany.

The mulundo bears a fruit about the size of a cricket ball covered with a hard green shell and containing scarlet pips like a pomegranate.

[2] The fauna includes the lion, leopard, cheetah, elephant, giraffe, rhinoceros, hippopotamus, buffalo, zebra, kudu and many other kinds of antelope, wild pig, ostrich and crocodile.

[2] Angola previously served as a habitat for the endangered African wild dog,[24] which is now deemed to be extinct within the entire country, stemming from human activities during the period 1965 to 1991.