Announcements Physical Geography & Climate quiz: Monday, January 11 Africa map quiz: Thursday, January 14 Open-map: physical features, climate Closed-map: countries, maybe major cities??

Sub-Sahara Africa: The Land

But first….PENGUINS!!!!

Highland Features Plateaus (elevated land) make up most of Africa Rise in elevation from 500 feet in the west to 8,000 in the east Edges of plateaus are escarpments, or steep (and often jagged) slopes or cliffs. Most are located less than 20 miles from coast Hard to travel inland from coast (bad for exploration) Katanga Plateau, D.R. Congo

Plateau Escarpment

Highland Features Rivers plunge down escarpments making cataracts (towering waterfalls) Victoria Falls; b/w Zambia & Zimbabwe

Highland Features Africa has highest overall elevation than any other continent, but has relatively few mountains Most mountains included in Eastern highlands Ethiopian Highlands and volcanoes (Mt. Kilimanjaro and Mt. Kenya)

Mt. Kilimanjaro 19,330 ft; in Tanzania Mt. Kenya 17,057 ft; in Kenya

Highland features Ruwenzori Mts. Divide Uganda & Dem. Rep. of the Congo Covered in snow and clouds; also known as “Mountains of the Moon”. Clouds from moist air from Indian Ocean Drakensberg Range South Africa, Lesotho Forms part of the sharp escarpment along the southern edge of Africa Lots of national parks, wetlands

Ruwenzori Mts.; 16,761 ft. Drakensberg Range; 11,420 ft.

Great Rift Valley Rift Valley: a large crack in the earth’s surface formed by shifting tectonic plates Stretches from Syria to Mozambique Formed by tectonic plates millions of yrs. ago---what kind?! Volcanoes & earthquakes continue to shape region TODAY

Red Sea

Great Rift Valley Forms two branches Eastern branch = volcanic mountains Mount Kilimanjaro Western branch= lakes Lake Tanganyika Lake Malawi (mountain rimmed, more than 2,300 feet deep) Lake Victoria

Lake Malawi Lake Tanganyika

Lake Victoria

The African Great Lakes

Water Systems Lakes & rivers drain the region; come from basins formed millions of yrs. ago as land uplifted Travel from plateaus in center of continent to the sea Hit escarpments , which break rivers’ paths with waterfalls, rapids & cataracts  near impossible to navigate inland/ up river (or from the mouth of the river to a source)

Water Systems Lake Victoria Lake Chad: Largest lake in Africa, between E& W branches of Great Rift Valley Review: 2nd largest freshwater lake in the world (after Lake Superior) & while shallow, is the source of White Nile River. Lake Chad: West-central Africa, outside Great Rift Valley 20 mil. People in 4 countries depend on it Faces desertification (droughts + natural climate) 1960s = 26,000 km²; 2000= 1,500 km²

Water Systems Lake Volta: Man-made (one of the largest in world) Created in 1960s Flooded 700 villages & displaced 70,000 to create Used for irrigation, fishing, hydroelectric power (Akosombo Dam) for major aluminum plant and ppl of Ghana

Akosombo Dam (creates Lake Volta)

Water Systems Niger River: “great river” main artery in W. Africa 2,600 miles long (3rd in Africa) Forms arc across 5 countries Vital for irrigation & transportation Splits into Niger Delta in Nigeria (150 miles N-S, 200 miles wide) Delta: a triangular section of land formed by sand & silt carried downriver

Water Systems Zambezi River: Many waterfalls (Victoria Falls- 355 foot drop– 2X size of Niagara) Congo River: Meets sea at deep, navigable estuary (only one in Africa) Estuary: a passage where freshwater from a river meets seawater Largest network of navigable water in Africa But still has major waterfalls & rapids Why is this a problem?

Zambezi River Victoria Falls

Congo River- 2nd longest

Physical Barriers Sahara prevents travel from North Africa to South/Central Africa Western deltas were treacherous to sail inland Encountered shallows, sandbars & dry riverbeds (due to sand & silt deposits) Rapids & waterfalls made upriver travel impossible Eastern highlands made travel inland difficult (cliffs) Europeans controlled coastal trade and Africans controlled inland trade

Natural resources Mineral resources are abundant Plentiful oil reserves Various metals across region S. Africa has ½ world’s gold, also found elsewhere Major diamond deposits

Natural Resources Water is ABUNDANT Places and regions near equator and in the west have abundant rainfall! (why isn’t this the end-all solution?) The problem lies with harnessing power (physical & financial problems) More potential hydroelectric power than U.S. More development is occurring: Kenya installed 20,000 rural solar power systems from 86-96

Environmental Issue: Desertification (Sahel)

Environmental Issue: Desertification (Sahel) Sahel: southern edge of Sahara Desert, desert area is growing around a rate of ½ mile per year. Why? Drought (common in Sahel) Lack of vegetation Winds pick up soil & carry it Adaptations: Plant certain crops that will flourish in dry areas (millet) Shifting agriculture: using a piece of land for farming for a year or two, then moving on to another piece of land

Desertification: The Human Factor Growing cash crops, such as peanuts, wear the soil out faster than other traditional crops Soil tends to blow away before fertility is regained DEFORESTATION! Wood serves as fuel for cooking, people rely on it  cut down trees, which causes soil erosion Changes to Prevent Further Damage: Government of Niger promotes using coal for cooking Farmers trying new ag. Methods to conserve water & prevent soil erosion Farmers also building windbreaks to stop spread of desert sand

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