Africa Geography

Africa is the World's second-largest continent - 30,065,000 km² covering approximately 20% of the Earth's land and 6% of the Earth's surface .

Geography It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Indian Ocean to the east and the Mediterranean Sea to the north. The Red Sea and Suez Canal lie to the north-east and separate Africa from Asia.

Africa Map

The Great Rift Valley The Great Rift Valley is so large that more than 30 Grand Canyons could fit inside it.

Africa’s Rivers The Nile: the longest river in the World, measuring 6,695 km - flows north ending in a delta that empties into the Mediterranean Sea. It runs more than 4,000 miles.

From its two sources, the White Nile and the Blue Nile, it flows north into the Mediterranean Sea.

Its floods deposit silt, bits of rock and soil that make the land fertile, or nourishing, to plants. The Aswan High Dam controls flooding and provides electric power from the rushing water.

The Congo The Africa’s second-longest river runs through Central Africa into the Atlantic Ocean, fed by tributaries, small rivers and streams that flow into a larger river.

The Niger The Africa’s third-longest river begins in Guinea, running about 2,600 miles and ending in the Gulf of Guinea.

The Niger River

The Zambezi The Africa’s fourth-longest river is about 2,200 miles long and runs through six countries in Southern Africa.

The Zambezi

Deserts The World's largest desert, The Sahara, measuring 9,000,000 km², covers much of north Africa.

The Namib Desert It is a coastal desert in southern Africa. The name Namib is of Nama origin and means "vast place".

Namib Desert It stretches for more than 2,000 km, (1,200 mi) along the Atlantic coasts of Angola, Namibia, and South Africa It consists of sand seas near the coast In fall or spring, winds blowing from the east bring high temperatures (above 100 °F)

Namib Desert

Kalahari desert It means thirsty land It is a large semi-arid sandy savannah It measures 900,000 KM² (350,000 mi), covering much of Botswana and parts of Namibia and South Africa.

The Horn of Africa is a large extension of land that protrudes from the eastern edge of the continent of Africa, lying between the Indian Ocean to the east and the Gulf of Aden to the north

The Horn of Africa It consists of over 772,200 square miles It has a semi–arid to arid climate. It consists of Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Somalia.

Sahel Africa

Sahel The name of countries are: Burkina Faso, Chad, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Somalia, Sudan.

Sahel shore, border or coast of the Sahara It is a semi-arid tropical savanna in Africa, which forms the transitional zone between the Sahara Desert to the north and the more humid savanna belt to the south known as the Sudan (not to be confused with the country of the same name).

The Sahel region of Africa runs 3862 kilometers (2,400 mi) from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Red Sea in the east,

The Atlas Mountain The Atlas mountain range lies in the north-west of Africa the highest mountain.

Kilimanjaro the highest mountain, Kilimanjaro, 5895 m, is in Tanzania.

Regions & Seasons Africa is broadly divided into five regions as shown on the map right.

The seasons are fairly well defined in those regions that lie in the northern and southern hemispheres - the north and south of Africa.

Northern Africa Spring - March, April, May Summer - June, July, August Autumn - September, October, November Winter - December, January, February

Southern Africa Spring - August, September, October Summer - November, December, January  Autumn - February, March, April   Winter - May, June, July

Climate and Vegetation What types of climates and vegetation are found in Africa?

What Influences Climate? The climate in most of Africa is warm because the continent lies along the Equator. The seasons above the Equator are the opposite of those below the Equator.

Climate The climate of Africa is governed by its position on the globe and can be broadly divided into five different climate types:

Types of Climate Tropical Rainforest - This region is characterized by very high temperatures and high rainfall throughout the year. It covered much of Central Africa, but much of the forest has been cut down to harvest wood or clear farmland.

Tropical Rainforest Loss of the forest causes nutrients in the land to be washed away in heavy rains.

Savanna This region has very high temperatures all year and rain during the summer season only.

Savanna It has wet and dry season. It is the savanna, grasslands with scattered trees.

Mediterranean Warm to high temperatures with rainfall in the autumn and winter months.

Desert High temperatures throughout the year with very little rainfall.

Steppe This region has high temperatures all year and only limited rainfall during the summer season.

Sahel Between the Sahara and the savanna is a region called the Sahel, which is hot and dry.

The steppe and savanna regions are characterized by large open areas of tall grass The rainforest areas are jungles of dense, wet forests.

High Elevation Countries with higher elevation, such as Ethiopia, tend to have a cooler, moister climate than those at a low elevation.

Lower Elevation Lower countries such as Somalia tend to be hot and dry.

How do climate and vegetation affect how Africans make a living? Their farmers must irrigate, or artificially water, their crops. Or they must farm near an oasis, a place with springs and underground water. Rainfall in Africa varies greatly, from more than 100 inches per year to almost no rain.

What Influences Climate?

Building Good Health Climate affects the health of people and livestock throughout Africa. The moisture in the rain forest breeds disease-carrying insects.

The tsetse The tsetse fly is found in nearly one fifth of Africa. The bite of the tsetse fly kills cattle and causes humans to get sleeping sickness.

The tsetse Herders in various countries use poisons and traps to try to control the spread of the tsetse fly.

The tsetse

Plant Life The plant life of Africa is wide and varied and differs according to climatic region. The desert regions are home to those plants that can survive the arid conditions and include varieties of cypress, olive trees and cacti.

Natural Resources What are Africa’s major natural resources? How are Africans developing these resources?

Agricultural Resources Much of Africa’s land is used for subsistence farming, or raising crops to support one’s own family. Some subsistence farmers also grow a few crops to sell or trade.

Agriculture Crops raised to be sold are called cash crops. African cash crops include coffee, cacao, and tea. When too much land is used for cash crops and those crops fail, food shortages can occur.

Hardwood Hardwood trees grow throughout Africa, and many have been cut down for sale. Some countries are replanting hardwoods to save the forests.

Human-environment interaction Ways of making a living in Africa vary from region to region. Herding is widespread in the north, and farming takes place throughout the western and central portions of the continent. Other activities such as manufacturing are scattered throughout Africa.

Mineral Resources An economy is a system for producing, distributing, consuming, and owning goods, services, and wealth. Mining is a major part of Africa’s economy.

Mining Gold The country of Ghana was once called the Gold Coast because it was a chief exporter of gold. Other minerals from Africa include copper, silver, uranium, titanium, and diamonds.

Petroleum Parts of North Africa, as well as the West African country of Nigeria, have large supplies of a valuable mineral resource: petroleum. It is used to make oil and gasoline.

Balancing Crops, Minerals, and Industry A specialized economy is one that is dependent on one kind of industry. In Africa, specialized farm economies can be harmed by lack of rainfall or falling crop prices.

African countries are now trying to diversify their economies—that is, to add variety to them. African economies have diversified by producing a variety of crops, raw materials, and manufactured goods.

Agriculture

Animal Life

The grassland areas of Africa are home to many well known wild animals including - aardvark, African elephant, antelope, baboon, buffalo, cheetah, giraffe, gnu, hippopotamus, hyena, impala, jackal, leopard, lion, meerkat, mongoose, ostrich, rhinoceros, vulture, wildebeest and zebra.

The rainforest areas are home to a wide variety of insects, birds and animals including - antelope, chimpanzee, gorilla, Mandrill, okapi, hippopotamus and parrots.