AFRICA Geography, Location, Climate, and Physical Characteristics

Standard SS7G1: The student will locate selected features of Africa Standard: SS7G3: The student will explain the impact of location, climate and physical characteristics on population distribution in Africa.

The African Continent

The Sahara Africa is an enormous continent, it has almost every type of climate and geography. The Sahara Desert is the largest on Earth. It covers over 3.5 million square miles and very few people are able to live there. In the few places where there is water, an oasis can be found, which are rare in the desert. The northern parts are hot and dry with very little rainfall.

Sahara Many consider the Sahara one of the most difficult places to live on Earth. Most of the people who live there are nomads. They travel by camel looking for water and food. Nomadic tribes often trade with each other. The desert nomads were the ones who led the caravan trade across the Sahara years before airplanes and desert vehicles were available.

Sahara Hundreds of years ago gold and salt came across the Sahara on camels from central Africa to markets along the Mediterranean coast. Trade goods from the coast returned on the journey back. There are parts of the Sahara that are virtually impossible to get across with a camel. Today many of the nomadic tribes are finding it difficult to make a living in traditional ways, and many have begun to live in villages and towns where they can find work.

Sahara Despite its harsh environment, a number of plants can tolerate these conditions. The areas that do get little rainfall or have access to underground water often have grasses and shrubs as well as palm trees, olive trees, and cypress

The Sahel The Sahel is just south of the desert. It forms a wide band stretching from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea and is relatively flat with few mountains and hills. The climate is hot and arid. While there is more rain in the Sahara, rain in the Sahel varies from year to year. Even when rain is plentiful, farming is difficult. Vegetation is sparse and shrubs are unevenly distributed.

The Sahel Some areas have enough grass to graze animals, others are dry. Desertification is a problem in the Sahel as the people who live there cut down trees for fuel and shelter. A majority of the people herd animals and live semi-nomadic lives. They move when water and grass run out for the animals. Others practice subsistence farming. Undependable rain makes farming difficult. Many countries in the Sahel have rapidly growing populations, a problem since food and water are scarce.

Objective Review What were the two most important goods carried across the Sahara by camel? Gold and Salt 2. What is the most reliable way to travel? Camel 3. What is an oasis? A small place where trees can grow and people can live with grazing animals & crops 4. Why is farming difficult in the Sahel? Undependable rain 5. What is the consequence for cutting down trees for fuel in the Sahel? Desertification

Geography, Location, Climate, and Physical Characteristics Part 2 Standard SS7G1: The student will locate selected features of Africa Standard: SS7G3: The student will explain the impact of location, climate and physical characteristics on population distribution in Africa.

The African Savannas

The Savanna The savanna is a region where grass is able to grow naturally. Usually there is not enough water to sustain trees and forests. The grasslands are important because they support many animals. Grasses and grains like wheat, oats grow in this region.

The Savanna The African savanna is the largest in the world. It covers almost half of Africa. During the summer rains, the savanna is green and the grass is thick. During the winter dry season, the grass turns brown and grass fires occur, which are a part of the natural cycle of life in the savanna.

The Savanna Many animals make their homes in the African savanna. Lions, elephants, buffaloes, giraffes, zebras, cheetahs, hyenas, and rhinoceros are among the animals found there.

The Savanna The biggest threat to the African Savanna is the increasing number of people. The increasing population in Africa has put pressure on people to open more land for farming and ranching. Every year, more grassland is fenced in and plowed for crops.

The Savanna Expanding farmlands mean less land for the animals. Some countries like Kenya and Tanzania are working to set aside large areas of the savanna as national parks and game preserves. The savanna region of Africa has faced pressure from the growth of towns and cities and the need for highways to connect urban areas. As roads are built through isolated savanna wilderness, natural animal habitats disappear.

The African Rainforest

The Rainforest Rainforests are found in parts of the world that are warm and humid and usually in an area near the equator. Rich plant life and plentiful water allow thousands of different animals, fish, and insects to live there. Africa has the world’s second-largest area of rainforests. The largest is the Congo River basin.

The Rainforest For most of Africa’s history, the rainforests have been home to small groups of people who lived by gathering food from the forest or living on small subsistence farms. They had simple lives that had little impact on the environment. In the 1800s that changed when the European nations discovered the riches of the rainforests.

The Rainforest Land was cleared for great plantations, including those that harvested rubber for Europe’s industrial revolution. Thousands of people who lived on the rainforests were forced to work on these plantations and their traditional ways of life began to disappear.

The Rainforest Today, rainforests continue to be destroyed, but now the problem is commercial logging. This destruction of the rainforest is called deforestation. Timber cutting businesses also need roads and heavy equipment to get the trees they cut to cities.

The Rainforest These roads destroy more of the natural environment. Deforestation leads to the extinction of species of both plants and animals, meaning they no longer exist anywhere else in the world. Destruction of the forests contributes to the soil erosion and desertification.