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Did you know?
 Angola
was the world's fourth largest producer of diamonds before
1975 and is one of the world's largest and least explored
mineral treasure troves. Substantial deposits of gold, iron
ore, manganese, phosphates, quartz, cop per, lead, marbles,
gypsums, beryl, black granite, zinc and numerous base and
strategic metals are found.
Angola has considerable
valuable timber resources that have been untapped since independence.
The valuable tree species include rosewood, ebony, African
sandalwood, mahogany, tola and mulberry. Nearly 150,000 hectares
of eucalyptus, cypress and pine plantation are waiting to
be rehabilitated.
When Portuguese mariner
Diego Cao landed at the mouth of the Congo River in 1483,
Two distinct Kingdoms ruled the region. The Kingdom of the
Bakongo reigned in the north. The Quimbundos Kingdom, also
known as Ndongo, dominated in the western and central areas.
The king of the Quimbundos was called Ngola. The region, taking
its name from the king, became Angola.
Giant sable (Hippotragus
niger variani) is a beautiful animal that is unique to Angola.
This animal was named palanca negra in 1916, but the natives
had named it sumbakaloko long before. It is believed that
a white giant sable antelope can be found in central Angola,
although we haven't been able to capture it in a photograph!!
The welwitschia is a unique plant that grows only in southern
Angola and Namibia. The Portuguese General Army Command of
Angola (Comando Geral Militar de Angola) used the Welwitschia
mirabilis as its coat of arms.
Angola is forecast
to become Africa's number one sub-Saharan oil producer by
2015.
Angola changed from
a one-party Marxist-Leninist system to a formal multiparty
democracy following the 1992 elections.
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