Ch 20 PP 1 Unit 7 – Chapter 20 The Physical Geography of Africa South of the Sahara

Ch 20 PP 2 I. Section I The Land

Africa’s Size # Second largest continent  11,700,000 sq. mi. # 10% of the world’s population. # 2 ½ times the size of the U. S. 5000MILES5000MILES M I L E S

Ch 20 PP 4 A. Landforms  Plateaus, Highlands, & Mountains –Africa is the continent of plateaus  Escarpments – steep cliffs located near the coasts  Cataracts – waterfalls over escarpments  Africa has an overall higher elevation than any other continent (because of its plateaus)

–Highlands & Mountains  Eastern Highlands  Ethiopian Highlands  Mt. Kilimanjaro – highest point  Ruwenzori Mountains  Drakensberg Range (Cape Mountains) Ch 20 PP 5

–The Great Rift Valley  Natural Wonder  A large crack in the Earth’s surface Ch 20 PP 6

B. Water Systems  Land of Lakes –Most of the lakes are located near the great rift valley –Lake Tanganika – longest freshwater lake in the world –420 miles long! –Lake Malawi - 3 rd greatest lake in Africa –Lake Victoria – 2 nd largest freshwater lake in the world –Source of the White Nile Ch 20 PP 7 Lake Victoria

 Lake Chad – threatened w/extinction –Drought and irrigation have dried it up!  LandSat images of disappearing Lake Chad Ch 20 PP 8

9 B. (cont)  A Lake Meets Many Needs –Lake Volta – One of the largest man made lakes in the world.  Rivers (4 Main Ones) **Know what body of water each of these flows into! –Niger River – “great river”  Main river in western Africa  Delta –Zambezi River  South Central Africa  Victoria Falls is located on this river –Congo River  Central & Western Africa  Estuary –White Nile  Tributary of the Nile  Daunting Physical Barriers  Deserts & Plateaus have made it very difficult to explore & trade with Africa Victoria Falls

Ch 20 PP 10 C. Natural Resources  Oil –Nigeria, Angola, Gabon, and Congo  Gold –South Africa (has about half of the world’s!), Dem. Rep. of Congo  Uranium –South Africa, Niger, Gabon, Dem. Rep. of Congo, & Namibia Gold Mining

 Diamonds –South Africa, Botswana, Angola, Dem. Rep. of Congo, & Sierra Leone  Diamonds are often the funding for civil war in many African nations! Ch 20 PP 11

Ch 20 PP 12 II. Section II Climate & Vegetation

A. Climate  Climate Factors –Three major lines of latitude cross this continent!  No other continent covers all three! –All of Africa lies within 35 degrees of the equator –The great variation in climate comes from the elevation – plateaus, ocean currents, prevailing winds, and latitude Ch 20 PP 13

B. Tropical Climate  Tropical Rain Forest –Near the Equator –Wettest region  Crops & Cutting at a cost –Leach – Know what this means! –Cash Crops – Bananas, pineapples, cocoa, tea, coffee, rubber, cotton –Slash & Burn, Clear Cutting are problems Ch 20 PP 14

African Rain Forest # Annual rainfall of up to 17 ft. # Rapid decomposition (very humid). # Covers 37 countries. # 15% of the land surface of Africa.

 Savanna –Covers almost half of the continent Ch 20 PP 16

Ch 20 PP 17 C. Dry Climates  Steppe –Sahel  Desertification –Sahel has undergone much of this  Desert –Covers 2/5 of Africa –Temps can range from degrees F –Sahara – world’s largest –Namib- Southern Africa –Kalahari – Southern Plateau of Africa Kalahari Desert scene

D. Moderate Climates  Less common  Found in coastal areas & highlands  Map on pg. 506 Ch 20 PP 18

West Africa: Home of our Hurricanes: How?