1. Announcements Physical Geography & Climate quiz: Monday, January 9
Africa map quiz: Thursday, January 12
Open-map: physical features, climate
Closed-map: countries

2. Sub-Sahara Africa: The Land

5. But first….PENGUINS!!!!

6. Highland Features Plateaus (elevated land) make up most of Africa
Rise in elevation from 500 feet in the west to 8,000 in the east
Edges of plateaus are escarpments, or steep (and often jagged) slopes or cliffs.
Most are located less than 20 miles from coast
Hard to travel inland from coast (bad for exploration)
Katanga Plateau, D.R. Congo
The continent of Africa, as a whole, has a high elevation

7. Plateau
Escarpment

8. Highland Features
Rivers plunge down escarpments making cataracts (towering waterfalls)
Victoria Falls; b/w Zambia & Zimbabwe

9. Highland Features
Africa has highest overall elevation than any other continent, but has relatively few mountains
Most mountains included in Eastern highlands
Ethiopian Highlands and volcanoes (examples: Mt. Kilimanjaro and Mt. Kenya)

10. Mt. Kilimanjaro
19,330 ft; in Tanzania
Mt. Kenya
17,057 ft; in Kenya

11. Highland features Ruwenzori Mts.
Divide Uganda & Dem. Rep. of the Congo
Covered in snow and clouds; also known as “Mountains of the Moon”.
Clouds from moist air from Indian Ocean combine with dense warm air from rainforest
Drakensberg Range
South Africa, Lesotho
Forms part of the sharp escarpment along the southern edge of Africa
Lots of wetlands & national parks

12. Ruwenzori Mts.; 16,761 ft.
Drakensberg Range; 11,420 ft.

13. Areas of high elevation (plateaus) can be found at the coast!

14. Great Rift Valley
Rift Valley: a large crack in the earth’s surface formed by shifting tectonic plates
Stretches from Syria to Mozambique
Formed by tectonic plates millions of yrs. ago---what kind of movement?
Volcanoes & earthquakes continue to shape region today

15. Red Sea

17. Great Rift Valley Forms two branches
Eastern branch = volcanic mountains
Mount Kilimanjaro
Western branch= lakes
Lake Tanganyika
Lake Malawi (mountain rimmed, more than 2,300 feet deep)
Lake Victoria

18. Lake Malawi
Lake Tanganyika

19. Lake Victoria

20. The African Great Lakes

21. True or False: Africa has very few water resources

22. FALSE!
There are many resources, but many problems with the water…why do you think?
Political instability
Environmental issues: desertification, pollution
The biggest issue is tapping into CLEAN, DRINKABLE water

23. Water Systems Travel from plateaus in center of continent to the sea
Hit escarpments , which break rivers’ paths with waterfalls, rapids & cataracts
 near impossible to navigate inland/ up river (or from the mouth of the river to a source)

24. Water Systems Lake Victoria Lake Chad:
Largest lake in Africa, between E& W branches of Great Rift Valley
Review: 2nd largest freshwater lake in the world (after Lake Superior), is the source of White Nile River.
Lake Chad:
West-central Africa, outside Great Rift Valley
20 mil. People in 4 countries depend on it
Faces desertification (droughts + natural climate)
1960s = 26,000 km²; 2000= 1,500 km²

26. Water Systems Lake Volta—think VOLTAGE:
Man-made (one of the largest in world)
Created in 1960s
Flooded 700 villages & displaced 70,000 to create
Used for irrigation, fishing, hydroelectric power (Akosombo Dam) for major aluminum plant and ppl of Ghana

27. Akosombo Dam (creates Lake Volta)

28. Water Systems Niger River: “great river” main artery in W. Africa
2,600 miles long (3rd in Africa)
Forms arc across 5 countries
Vital for irrigation & transportation
Splits into Niger Delta in Nigeria (150 miles N-S, 200 miles wide)
Delta: a triangular section of land formed by sand & silt carried downriver

31. Water Systems Zambezi River:
Many waterfalls (Victoria Falls- 355 foot drop– 2X size of Niagara)
Congo River:
Meets sea at deep, navigable estuary (only one in Africa)
Estuary: a passage where freshwater from a river meets seawater
Largest network of navigable water in Africa
But still has major waterfalls & rapids  Challenges to transportation

33. Zambezi River
Victoria Falls

34. Congo River- 2nd longest

35. Physical Barriers
Sahara prevents travel from North Africa to South/Central Africa
Western deltas were treacherous to sail inland
Poor harbors due to built-up sand,soil
Rapids & waterfalls made upriver travel impossible
Eastern highlands made travel inland difficult (cliffs)
Europeans controlled coastal trade and native Africans controlled inland trade

36. True or False: Africa has many natural resources

37. True!! Mineral resources are abundant Plentiful oil reserves
Various metals across region
S. Africa has ½ world’s gold, also found elsewhere
Major diamond deposits
Why aren’t African countries extremely wealthy?
History of colonization  profits to foreign countries
Corrupt governments—people do not see $$
China is now mining in Africa

39. Natural Resources Water is ABUNDANT
Places and regions near equator and in the west have abundant rainfall!
(why isn’t this the end-all solution?)
The problem lies with harnessing power (physical & financial problems)
More potential hydroelectric power than U.S.
More development is occurring:
Kenya installed 20,000 rural solar power systems from 86-96

40. Climate Group Activity
You will be put into 5 groups and assigned a region of Africa.
Read the assigned section, fill out your group’s part of the climate chart
Delegate pictures/maps to print; terms to explain, bullet points to type, etc.
You will have 10 minutes to put a poster together tmw!

41. Climate Review

42. Get into your groups You will have 15 minutes to finish your presentations

43. Climate & Vegetation Desert Steppe Savanna Moderate Rainforest
Match the location with its correct climate region:
Sahel
South Africa
Kalahari
Congo
Sahara
Serengeti Plain
Namib

44. Climate & Vegetation
How can heavy rains be detrimental to farming in the tropics?
Name 3 factors leading to the desertification of the Sahel.

45. Environmental Issue: Desertification (Sahel)

46. Environmental Issue: Desertification (Sahel)
Sahel: southern edge of Sahara Desert, desert area is growing around a rate of ½ mile per year.
Why?
Drought (common in Sahel)
Lack of vegetation
Winds pick up soil & carry it
Adaptations:
Plant certain crops that will flourish in dry areas (millet)
Shifting agriculture: using a piece of land for farming for a year or two, then moving on to another piece of land

47. Desertification: The Human Factor
Growing cash crops, such as peanuts, wear the soil out faster than other traditional crops
Soil tends to blow away before fertility is regained
DEFORESTATION!
Wood serves as fuel for cooking, people rely on it
 cut down trees, which causes soil erosion
Changes to Prevent Further Damage:
Government of Niger promotes using coal for cooking
Farmers trying new ag. Methods to conserve water & prevent soil erosion
Farmers also building windbreaks to stop spread of desert sand