Physical Geography

 Massive continent, 2 nd largest.  Large, complex, and often misunderstood  Equally in North and South hemisphere

 Huge plateau covers most of Africa (1,000 ft. above sea level).  Basins - huge depressions on plateau (Chad, Sudan, Congo Basins). Water collects here.  Plateaus separated by escarpments—steep slope with flat plateau on top

 Africa’s rivers contain many waterfalls, rapids, and gorges.  These features make rivers less useful for transportation  Congo River (2,900 mi.)- largest network of waterways on the African continent, largely impassable (32 waterfalls)  AWyQ AWyQ

 Rift Valleys- long thin valley created by the moving apart of continental plates in East Africa.  Stretch over 4,000 mi. from Jordan to Mozambique

 Mount Kilimanjaro- Africa’s highest mountain (19,343 ft.)

 Lake Victoria- Africa’s largest lake  World’s second largest fresh water lake

 Lake Tanganyika- longest fresh water lake in the world (420 miles)

 Story of plenty and scarcity  Africa has a large amount of the world’s minerals, but many countries lack the industrial base or money to develop them  Major source of conflict in the area

Ghana’s StabilitySierra Leone  Exports gold, diamonds, magnesium, bauxite to industrialized countries  second highest per capita income in West Africa  Post-colonial switch to democracy brought military rule, civil war  past decade’s free elections and political stability grow the economy  Once produced high- quality diamonds, but civil wars destroyed economy  Low 31% literacy rate means few skilled workers  Poor transportation system, few highways and roads

 One of the world’s richest continents  Large amounts of gold, platinum(South Africa- 80%), chromium (South Africa, world largest producer), cobalt (42 % of world’s supply), copper, diamonds, and many others  Ores and minerals account for ½ of export value.  This mineral wealth hasn’t meant economic prosperity for most of the population.  19 th -20 th century European colonialism to develop these resources, many nations have been slow to develop infrastructure and industries as a result.

 Nigeria is a leading petroleum producer, Angola and Gabon have developing petroleum industries.

 Agriculture- single most important economic activity (1/3 of exports). 66% earn their living via agriculture  Coffee, 2 nd most profitable commodity (20%)  Lumber  Sugar, palm oil, cocoa  Cash crops for direct sale (coffee, tea, sugar)  such crops take up farmland needed for growing food

 Commodity- agricultural or mining product that can be sold  “One-commodity” countries rely on export of one or two commodities  value varies daily based on worldwide supply and demand  this makes “one-commodity” nations’ economies unstable  Economists want Africans to diversify, or create variety in economies  promote manufacturing to achieve economic growth and stability

 Most of Sub-Saharan Africa lies between the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn (90%), has a tropical climate with warm temperatures.  This area experiences two seasons (2 wet, 2 dry), defined by rainfall, the temperatures never drop below freezing.  Why is that important?  In temperate zones rain is reliable (North), but in other areas it can be very unreliable.  Drought= fact of life (especially in the East)

 Grasslands, rain forests, and various plants  Tropical grasslands covers most of the continent.  Serengeti Plain- in Northern Tanzania- some of the best grasslands in the world, many grazing animals (wildebeests, gazelles, and zebras)  Place where the largest numbers of land mammals still make annual migrations.

 The major rainforests are located near the equator, in the Congo Basin.  Home to hundreds of tree species, birds etc.  Most animals live in the canopy, uppermost layer of branches.

 Wildlife parks in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania attract tourists, income  need for food, farmland is threatening wildlife reserves  Mountain Gorilla

 Sahel- “shore of the desert.” A narrow band of grassland that runs east to west along the southern edge of the Sahara.  Since the 1960s the desert has spread into the Sahel.  This shift is called desertification, which is the expansion of dry conditions into moist areas next to the desert.  Typically this is a long term process, but human activity is accelerating this process.

 Overgrazing of vegetation by livestock exposes the soil, animals also trample soil.  Farming- clearing of land exposes soil to wind. Also, drilling for irrigation prevents the growth of vegetation.  Increasing population levels- require more food = over farming and clearing of land  Results- slowly this process is destroying tropical rainforest around Lake Chad etc.

 Oil discovered here in  Rich deposits in the Niger Delta made the country one of the wealthiest in Africa.  However, the drilling for oil leads to damaged land and a threat to the human population.  Today, Nigeria is the 6 th leading oil exporter in the world = 80-90% of income.  Extract 2 million barrels per day, most going to the U.S.

 In the 1970s high oil process led the g’ment to borrow heavily for the future sell of oil, but the prices fell.  Mismanagement, poor planning, corruption, and declining prices = economic decline.  Ethnic conflicts and resentment from oil wealth

 More than 4,000 oil spills occurred in the Niger Delta over the past 4 decades.  Cleanup operations have been slow, sometimes nonexistent  Fires often result, acid rain is produced, respiratory diseases.  Pipeline explosions killed more than 2,000 ppl. ( )- bandits trying to resell oil.

 Largest amount of funds for conservation  4 th largest island  One of the richest ecologies, with 25% of the flowering plants in Africa