Africa – It’s Not A Country Physical Geography of Africa

Size and Climate Second Largest continent in the world 800 million people 15% of it is considered desert 10% of it is considered tropical rainforest 35% of it is considered savanna/grasslands Climates consist of Mediterranean, mountain, tropical wet and dry, rainy and mild, wet and mild

Population and Diversity 800 Ethnic Groups (this includes Asians, Europeans, and Arabs) 100 languages are spoken in Africa (40 of which have more than one million speakers) Over 40% of Africans practice a wide variety of traditional religions. (Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism are practiced in Africa)

Agricultural Diversity Following crops are the main ones grown in different regions of Africa – Rice, wheat, maize, root crops(yams, sweet potatoes), oil palm, tea, cocoa, coffee, wine, sugar, tobacco, cotton, sisal (fiber for making rope or twine)

Facts and Figures Largest country – Algeria Smallest country – Seychelles Largest city – Cairo (9.2 million) Highest point – Mt. Kilimanjaro (19,340ft) Largest lake – Lake Victoria (second –largest in the world) Deepest lake – Lake Tanganyika (second deepest freshwater lake in the world after Lake Baikal)

Health Malaria – 90% of all malaria cases are in sub-Saharan Africa 3,000 children under the age of five die each day from malaria in Africa 1-5% of GDP in Africa covers costs of malaria control and lost labor days 17 million people in sub-Saharan Africa have died of AIDS 25 million people in Africa are HIV-positive 12 million children have lost their parents to AIDS

Facts and Figures Nile River – longest river in the world (4,132 miles) and Africa. Originates at Lake Victoria Great Rift Valley – 3,000 miles from Syria to Mozambique – two branches – the Eastern Rift and the Western Rift

Physical Geography of Africa

Location Which hemisphere is Africa located? What major bodies of water surround the continent of Africa?

Africa is the only continent in the world that is located in all four hemispheres!

Mediterranean Sea Atlantic Ocean Red Sea Indian Ocean

Quiz time …. Which country is the only country to border both the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean? Morocco Which country is the only country to border both the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean? South Africa

Cape of Good Hope Cape Agulhas

Cape Agulhas – southernmost point of African continent and dividing line between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans

Place (What makes Africa different from other places?) What types of climate does Africa have? What types of physical features are there in Africa?

Mediterranean Mediterranean Desert Desert Rainforest Savanna Steppe

What are the major physical features of Africa?

Physical features of Africa Atlas Mountains Horn of Africa Sahara Desert Sahel Great Rift Valley Kalahari Desert Namib Desert

Namib Desert Stretching 1,200 miles in length, but averaging a width of only 70 miles, the Namib Desert is home to the highest sand dunes in the world. Nicknamed the “world’s oldest desert”.

Dune 7, the highest sand dune in the world over 1000 feet high!!! Dune 7, the highest sand dune in the world

Dunes along the Namibian coast

Major rivers and lakes Nile River Niger River Congo River Lake Victoria Lake Tanganyika Lake Nyasa Zambezi River

The Great Lakes of Africa Lake Victoria Lake Tanganyika Lake Nyasa The Great Lakes of Africa

Longest lake in the world Lake Tanganyika Longest lake in the world

Lake Tanganyika –As seen from space

Lake Tanganyika Second largest lake of Africa Longest lake of the world 481 miles Deepest lake on the African continent Second deepest in the world (Lake Baikal in Russia is the deepest) 4,800 Oldest lake in Africa and perhaps in the world

Located in Zimbabwe on the Zambezi River Victoria Falls Located in Zimbabwe on the Zambezi River

Victoria Falls is twice as wide and twice as deep as Niagara Falls Thus creating the largest curtain of water in the world!

The Zambezi River flowing into Victoria Falls

Drakensberg Mountains Mountains of Africa Ethiopian Highlands Drakensberg Mountains

Mt. Kilimanjaro

The snow-capped mountain is located in Tanzania and is the highest point in Africa.

However, Kilimanjaro may not always be snow-capped However, Kilimanjaro may not always be snow-capped! The glaciers of Kilimanjaro are melting at an alarming rate!

Why? Humans … global warming, deforestation, and honey! Tribal people collecting honey smoke the bees out of the hives, often starting fires. The loss of foliage reduces moisture in the air, thus reducing much needed cloud cover, thus letting in more sunlight that melts more ice!

If the current rate of melting continues, scientists predict that the glaciers that have covered Kilimanjaro for over 12,000 years will be totally gone by 2020 – less than 15 years from now!

Glaciers retreating on Kilimanjaro

Great Rift Valley Arabian tectonic plate African tectonic plate The valley was created by the movement of two fault lines in the earth, and it is responsible for creating mountains, valleys and lakes found throughout this area. In fact, the highest point on the African continent is found in the Great Rift Valley—Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, which reaches 19,340 feet above sea level. Created through the rifting and separation of the African and Arabian tectonic plates that began 35 million years ago African tectonic plate

Vast geological feature that runs north to south for 6,000 miles From Syria in Southwest Asia to Mozambique in East Africa

As the tectonic plates continue to break apart, the rift will become bigger and bigger until finally breaking off from the rest of the continent of Africa … in about 20 billion years! Thus, creating a whole new island continent!

…enclave, exclave, and landlocked A few other aspects to look at … …enclave, exclave, and landlocked

Swaziland Lesotho What is an enclave? A country that is entirely surrounded, or mostly surrounded, by another country. Lesotho and Swaziland are examples.

So, what is an exclave? Territory of a country that is separated from the main part of the country by foreign territory. Cabinda is an exclave of Angola.

Landlocked Shut in completely by land … having no direct access to the sea … Rwanda and Uganda are examples

Miscellaneous The world’s largest diamond was the Cullinan, found in South Africa in 1905. It weighed 3,106.75 carats uncut. With a population of more than 113 million, Nigeria is the most populated country in Africa and the 10th most populated in the world. An African elephant possesses such manual dexterity in his-her trunk that he/she can actually turn the pages of a book with it.

Miscellaneous An elephant can weight up to 6 – 7 tons and has no natural enemies An elephant can drink up to 160 liters of water per day and a mature elephant can carry up to 6.8 liters of water in its trunk

Miscellaneous South Africa has a penguin colony The largest seal colony in the southern hemisphere is at Cape Cross in Namibia The world’s biggest frog is found in Cameroon – the “Goliath Frog” – body can be as long as a foot The Nile crocodile is Africa’s largest living reptile The African elephant is the largest living land mammal

Miscellaneous Did you know that the tongue of a giraffe can be as long as 45 centimeters? The tallest animal on earth is the giraffe The Gorilla is the largest of the living primates The cheetah is the fastest land animal (70 mph) The world’s largest and heaviest beetle, the Goliath Beetle, is found in tropical Africa. It can reach a length of 5 inches and weigh up to ¼ lb

Words and places to know… Egypt Niger River Morocco Nile River Libya Red Sea Tunisia Sahara Desert Senegal Atlas Mountains Mali Ahaggar Mountains Chad Lake Nasser Mauritania Suez Canal Western Sahara Straits of Gilbraltar Algeria Aswan High Dam