2. FrontPage: Turn in Map activity to back box. What is one thing that you’d like to know about Africa? The Last Word: No Homework…have a great weekend. 1980s Horror Movie Logos Ruined By Comic Sans Font

3. Africa Physical Geography

4. Africa – Introduction and Physical Geography  Africa at the center of the world?  Background and fast facts  The “Plateau continent”  Rivers of Africa  The Sahara desert and the “Sahel”  The Great Rift Valley  Resources

5. Africa at the Center of the World?  Theory of Continental Drift states that all the continents were once connected together –Pangea: The “supercontinent” that existed about 250 million years ago Surrounded by one large ocean - Panthalassa  About 250 million years ago, Pangea begins to break apart –The material under the Earth’s crust acts as a conveyer belt that makes the plates move… –Continents begin to drift apart

7. 180 Million years ago

8. 135 million years ago

9. The Plates Today

10. Africa: Background and Facts  Second largest continent (Asia is largest) –Population: over 1 billion, low population density in most places  54 total independent nations; most in world.  Oceans surround the continent –Mediterranean, Red Seas; Atlantic, Indian oceans –Located at the center of what is called the “land hemisphere” Both separate and link Africa to the rest of the world

11.  Has 5 different regions: North, South, Central, East and West –Regional differences contribute to the diversity of the people  1000s of Different languages

12. Africa: the “Plateau continent”

13. Africa – the “Plateau continent”  Africa is essentially a plateau with escarpments (continuous lines of steep cliffs) on many sides –“upside-down pie plate” –Nearly all above 1000 fasl, half above 2500 fasl  Interior dotted with deep basins created by many rivers

15. Rivers of Africa  Most important river = the Nile river  Other significant rivers = the Congo, Niger and Zambezi rivers  Sources of hydroelectric power – energy created by the movement of water  Escarpments cause cataracts – large waterfalls and rapids

16. The Nile River Longest river in the world – 4000 miles Flows from south to north Ancient Egypt grew around the Nile Egypt called “The Gift of the Nile” Egyptians depended on the flooding of the Nile for their farming

17. 2 sources – had been a mystery for many years –Blue Nile (Lake Turkana, Ethiopia) –White Nile (Lake Victoria, Uganda.) Sources of the Nile

18. The Aswan Dam

19.  Completed in 1970; 365 ft. high, 2 miles wide  Designed to control the flooding of the Nile River –Positives – no flooding, water for regular irrigation –Negatives – relocation, decreased soil fertility, malaria

20. Lake Nasser

21.  World’s largest man-made lake  Formed as a result of the construction of the Aswan dam –Forced the removal of people/buildings –Nubians lose farmland/some artifacts at the bottom of the lake

22. The Sahara

23.  Largest desert in the world (3000x1200 mi.) –Only 20% actually sand…rest is mountains, rock formations, plains  Great temperature variations –From 136F (day) to below freezing (night)  Most of Africa’s population lives south of the Sahara

25. The Sahel

26.  200-700 mile wide band of semi-arid land –Stretches across the continent south of the Sahara  Means “shore of the desert”  The Sahara is expanding into this region about 4-5 miles a year –Expansion caused by desertification – creation of desert conditions in areas adjacent to desert **Causes – overgrazing, farming, population

27. The Great Rift Valley

28.  Located in the eastern portion of the continent  Over 4000 miles long from Red Sea to southern Africa –Rift: deep trench formed when large sections of earth’s crust drop between parallel faults  Shows that eastern Africa is pulling away from the rest of Africa **Mt. Kilimanjaro is found alongside this geographical feature

29. Mt. Kilimanjaro  Largest mountain in Africa (19,340 ft.) –Located in Tanzania **Volcanic

31. Resources  Mineral Resources –Abundant source of **diamonds (50%), gold (30%), uranium (29%), platinum, copper, and other minerals –Have not been used to help African societies  Other Resources –Oil - great supply in Nigeria, Libya, others (7%)  Farming and herding **The main economic activity of Africans –66% are involved in farming and herding

32. East Africa

33. North Africa

34. West and Central Africa

35. Review  What nickname is given to the continent of Africa?  Which river is the most important in Africa? What do the rivers provide?  What was created as a result of the Aswan dam?  What is the Sahel? What is desertification?  What does the existence of the Great Rift Valley tell us about East Africa?  What resources does Africa have in abundance?