Introduction

Soil is the top material on the surface of the earth in which most of the plant roots grow. It is composed by both organic and inorganic matter, Inorganic matter are derived from the break up of rocks.  The organic materials consist of decaying plants and animals.  Soil is also composed of living organisms including insects, worms and bacteria.
In Africa, there are hundreds of different soil types discovered in different countries. After serious analysis, it has been accepted that climate is the most important factor determining soil types but there are also other factors.
Different region on the African continent have different soil types on the above factors which determine soil.
Desert regions have little true soil.  They have desert soils which have a lot of sand and other rock waste with little or no humus.  Common in the Sahara, Kalahari and the semi- desert areas of Africa.
Mountain areas such as Kilimanjaro, Drakensburg, Cameroon highlands among others have a wide variety of soils ranging from fertile alluvial soils on the valley floors to the unproductive rocky wastes at great heights.
Alluvial soils are mainly in the river valleys and basins such as the Nile valley, Niger, Gambia and Congo valleys.