20.2% OF THE EARTH 3X THE SIZE OF THE USA AFRICA 2ND LARGEST CONTINENT- 11,700,000 SQUARE MILES! THAT’S 20.2% OF THE EARTH AND 3X THE SIZE OF THE USA 778,000,000 PEOPLE 55 COUNTRIES

How big is Africa? Sudan Illinois fits into the country of Sudan 16 times and the continent of Africa 202 times. Illinois

AN INTRODUCTION TO AFRICAN PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY

Equator Tropic of Capricorn Tropic of Cancer Prime Meridian Northern Hemisphere Southern Hemisphere Western Hemisphere Eastern Hemisphere Lines of Importance

Africa, a continent of Plateaus

Africa, a continent of Plateaus

Escarpment A steep face at the edge of a plateau

Desert Savanna Desert Savanna Tropical Rainforest Vegetation Africa’s “Stripes”

Climate Zones

Savanna

Avg. July Temps Avg. January Temps Temperature

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

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

Precipitation

Land Use

Sahara Desert Sahel Kalahari Desert

Population Density

Johannesburg, South Africa

Kigali, Rwanda

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Congo River Niger River

The African Tiger Fish (Hydrocynus Goliath) Found in the Congo River

Zambezi River Victoria Falls Orange River Niger River Nile River

 Nile: The world’s longest river, it runs more than 4,000 miles. flows north  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 (1970) controls flooding and provides electric power from the rushing water AFRICA’S RIVERS

Nile  Periods of drought/flooding  Flooding provided silt for fertile soils along the banks of the Nile—but also destroyed homes/farms etc  Egyptians tried canals and dams to stop the environmental problem AFRICA’S RIVERS

PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH THE ASWAN DAM  Relocation  Relocation of Nubian population  Relocation  Relocation of artifacts from the Temple Abu Simbel  Destruction of some Egyptian artifacts  Decreased fertility  Decreased fertility without seasonal floods  Drains installed to flush out the salt deposits which would have naturally been removed with seasonal flooding  Increased diseases  Increased in mosquito born diseases (malaria)  Evaporation of Lake Nasser

 Congo: 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.  Niger: Africa’s third-longest river begins in Guinea, running about 2,600 miles and ending in the Gulf of Guinea.  Zambezi: Africa’s fourth- longest river is about 2,200 miles long and runs through six countries in Southern Africa. AFRICA’S RIVERS

Sahara Desert Kalahari Desert Great Rift Valley Sahel

POLLUTION IN THE DELTA  Oil Resources in Nigeria  World’s 6 th largest oil exporter  Nigeria borrowed money against oil profits for internal improvements  Oil prices dropped leaving Nigeria in debt to foreign countries  Effects  Mismanagement of money, corruption of government officials and decline of oil prices has injured the Nigerian economy  400+ oil spills  Bandits sabotaging oil pipelines with consent of the government  New leadership-President Olusegun Obasanjo (1999) pledged to fire corrupt government employees and clean up corruption and mismanagement

Sahara Desert Kalahari Desert Great Rift Valley Sahel

DESERTIFICATION SAHEL DESERTIFICATION OF THE SAHEL  Causes  Overgrazing  Overgrazing of livestock  Farming and increased soil erosion  Wind erosion  Drilling increased levels of salt  Drilling for water leads to increased levels of salt which prevents growth  Increased population  Effects  Destroying forests and rainforests

The 4,000-mile-long Great Rift Valley in East Africa was formed millions of years ago as continents pulled apart A rift is a deep trench The Majority of lakes in Africa are located here

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

Horn of Africa Drakensburg Mountains Mount Kilimanjaro Lake Victoria Lake Malawi Lake Tanganyika Canary Islands Cape of Good Hope Arabian Peninsula

Victoria Falls

Horn of Africa?

Horn of Africa GRRRRR!!!

plateau continent  Africa is called the “plateau continent” because of its high elevation — the height of land above sea level  Each of Africa’s regions has mountains  The highest are in East Africa Mount Kilimanjaro  There, the continent’s highest mountain, Mount Kilimanjaro, rises to a height of more than 19,000 feet “PLATEAU CONTINENT”

Cape of Good Hope

Cape of Good Hope

Red Sea Mediterranean Sea Strait of Gibraltar Gulf of Guinea Atlantic Ocean Indian Ocean Mozambique Channel

Horn of Africa Drakensburg Mountains Mount Kilimanjaro Lake Victoria Red Sea Mediterranean Sea Strait of Gibraltar Lake Malawi Lake Tanganyika Gulf of Guinea Atlantic Ocean Indian Ocean Mozambique Channel Niger River Sahara Desert Nile River Congo River Orange RiverVictoria Falls Zambezi River Kalahari Desert Sahel Cape of Good Hope Arabian Peninsula Canary Islands

Canary Islands Dust Storm from West Africa

SERENGETI PLAIN

CONGO BASIN

INTERESTING AND UNUSUAL PLANT AND ANIMAL LIFE IN AFRICA

NATURAL RESOURCES

 Rich mineral resources  Gold (30% of world’s resources); Platinum (80%) Cobalt; Copper; Diamonds; Chromium (used in production of stainless steel)  Oil—Libya, Nigeria, Algeria (world’s leading petroleum countries); Angola & Gabon also rich in oil resources not rich  Is not rich in economic development  Exploited by European imperialist countries  Africa slow to develop infrastructure and industries RESOURCES

Natural Resources

AGRICULTURE

Farming artificially water  Farmers must irrigate, or artificially water, their crops. a place with springs and underground water  Or they must farm near an oasis, a place with springs and underground water raising crops to support one’s own family  Much of Africa’s land is used for subsistence farming, or raising crops to support one’s own family  Cash crops  Include coffee, cacao, and tea  When too much land is used for cash crops and those crops fail, food shortages can occur  Rainfall  Varies greatly: from more than 100 inches per year to almost no rain AGRICULTURE

Rainfall  Varies greatly: from more than 100 inches per year to almost no rain  Northern and Southern Africa  Rainfall N =(Dec & Jan) & S = (June & July)  East Africa  Periodic droughts  Central Africa  Rainforest=throughout the year  ½ of Africa is the tropical savannah w/ 2 rainy seasons each year  Western Africa  Adequate rainfall AGRICULTURE