AFRICA

African rivers are generally not navigable due to rapids and waterfalls formed as the rivers drop from the interior basins to the coast.

Africa is massive Regular coastline prohibits penetration factor

Nature of the Coastline Four factors Coastal mountains Coastal deserts Massive continent with a regular coastline Coastal swamps

The Nature of the Continent No mountain backbone Plateau structure Five generally flat interior basins averaging about 2500 feet above sea level

Five generally flat interior basins with poor drainage Giant interior swamps in each of the basins, each about the size of New England Debo Swamp Lake Chad Ubangi Swamp Okavango Swamp The Sudd

The Sahara & North Africa REGIONS

Desert

Kalahari Desert Namib Desert

Steppe

Baobab Tree of the semi-arid areas Baobab Tree of the semi-arid areas. The native people told legends about this tree… “They kept walking around so God planted them upside down.”

This area borders the arid areas This area borders the arid areas. This area is susceptible to famine and drought. Rain is unpredictable - rain increases as one moves toward Equator.

. Desertification is a serious problem in this area. The desert encroaches more every year.

The Sahel From the Atlantic to the mountains of Ethiopia, the Sahel stretches for 4,300 miles. It is plagued by drought. The word Sahel is Arabic for “Shore” (shore of the Sahara). PASTORAL NOMADISM – practice of moving cattle from one area to another in arid areas is the main occupation. To improve condition in the Sahel, farmers place rocks along contour lines in order to hold back the soil when it rains. The rocks work like a dam – stopping the top soil from washing away.

Tropical Rainforest

Second largest rain forest in the world. Congo Basin Second largest rain forest in the world.

The tropical rain forest is a forest of tall trees in a region of year-round warmth. An average of 50 to 260 inches (125 to 660 cm.) of rain falls yearly.

VOCABULARY

SHIFTING CULTIVATION SETTLED FARMING SOIL EROSION Form of agriculture where farmers plant crops in cleared areas and then abandon the fields when they become infertile, and search for better land SETTLED FARMING Agriculture performed in one location where fertile soils and reliable rainfall can support it. SOIL EROSION When the top layer (topsoil) is washed or blown away. This is usually caused by cutting down trees that protect the ground or by overgrazing which removes the grass that holds the soil in place. Farmers place rocks along contour lines so that when it rains, the rocks work like a dam and hold the water and the topsoil in place.

Why is it difficult for Africa's subsistence economies to support large populations? Subsistence economies take large amounts of land and benefit only a few people. 80% of Africans are farmers or herders. When problems occur with the land, the people are directly and immediately impacted. Why is life expectancy low in many African nations? Malnutrition, disease, war, and poverty as well as a hard life of subsistence farming take a toll on the population.

SAVANNA A grassy woodland where crops are grown and cattle are able to graze. Some savanna is spotted with trees. This is the land of the Safari.

In this region, it alternates between very wet and very dry.

Savanna

Mountain

Mountain climate & tundra – it gets colder as elevation increases.

Temperatures in the mountain region are cooler due to elevation Temperatures in the mountain region are cooler due to elevation. Climate is similar to the climate on the Great Plains. Hot summers and cold winters.

Rift Valley A deep trench formed when large sections of the Earth’s crust drop between two parallel cracks or faults – Where the plates are moving away from each other. The Great Rift Valley stretches from the Mediterranean Sea - south along the Red Sea and then through the Ethiopian Highlands, Kenyan Highlands, and the Lake District.

Great Rift Valley

Aerial view of Mt. Kilimanjaro, 19340 feet, the tallest mountain in Africa.

2/17/1993 Kilimanjaro’s Ice Cap is down 82 percent since 1900 and could be gone by 2020. 2/21/2000

Southern Africa

Kalahari Desert: a region of arid sand dunes and semiarid savanna

Largest inland delta in the world – 210 miles across Internal drainage Largest inland delta in the world – 210 miles across Water levels rise and fall, but there is always plentiful permanent water standing in the middle of the Kalahari Okavango Delta

Why is the area at the tip of South Africa more productive than the rest of Africa? This is the only region that has a temperate climate and reliable water.

Marine

Climate similar to San Francisco, California Climate similar to San Francisco, California. This climate is not found in Northern Africa.