1. Sub-Saharan Africa
Physical Geography

2. Landforms Africa is a large plateau with escarpments on the edges.
An escarpment is similar to a cliff although not as steep.
Africa has a smooth coastline with few natural harbors.

3. Escarpment

4. Map showing escarpments on the edge of the plateau
and rift valleys in East Africa.

6. Rift Valleys
Divergent plate activity formed the Great Rift Valley in East Africa.
In some areas the Great Rift Valley is hundreds of miles wide.
Rift valleys extend from The Red Sea to South Africa.

9. Rift Valleys
East Africa has several large lakes that formed in the bottom of rift valleys.
Lake Victoria
Lake Tanganyika

10. Mountains
Sub-Saharan Africa does not have large mountain ranges, but there are several tall mountains that are volcanoes.
The tallest mountain is Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania at 19,341 feet.
The second tallest mountain is Mt. Kenya at 17,058 feet.

12. Rivers Sub-Saharan Africa has several major rivers: Niger River
Congo River
Zambezi River
Orange River
-These rivers support human population and animal migration

13. Map showing major rivers in Africa

14. Niger River in West Africa
Little economic importance- Carries little amount of water, little hydroelectric power and due to the amount of rapids and shallows, navigation is limited- projects to tap its flow are limited and few in number
Niger River in West Africa

15. Congo River in Central Africa
Hydroelectric and transportation- flows into the Atlantic Ocean
Congo River in Central Africa

16. Hydroelectric power and transportation in central Africa

17. Cataracts or rapids on the Zambezi River

18. Orange River in South Africa

19. Rapids on the Orange River

20. Rivers
The rivers in Sub-Saharan Africa are difficult to navigate because they have many waterfalls and rapids.

21. Climate
Most of Africa is in the low latitudes. The equator divides Africa in half so the continent has similar climates north and south of the equator.
Africa has tropical wet and dry climates near the equator.
Constant throughout the year and seasons vary depending on precipitation

22. Climate
There are two deserts in southern Africa, the Namib and the Kalihari.

23. Map that shows the relative location of the Namib and
Kalihari Deserts. Notice how the deserts are in North
and South Africa.

24. Locations of Deserts
Most deserts lie between 15° and 35° north and south of the equator. They were created by air that rises over the equator and comes down over the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn . All over the world many deserts lie in these regions.
Land over the equator becomes very hot. The hot and wet air rises and it rains a lot in these areas.
The air cools down and moves north– and southwards. It gets drier.
The cool air sinks to the ground. It dries out over the Tropic of Cancer in the north and the Tropic of Capricorn in the south.
Warm air near the surface moves back to the equator. These winds are called trade winds .

25. Vegetation
Rainforests grow in the tropical wet climates in Africa. Most of the rainforest is located in central Africa in the Congo.
The soil in the rainforest has limited fertility because the torrential rain washes all the nutrients away.
Artificial fertilizers and slash and burn farming

26. Slash and Burn

30. Grasslands
Savanna is a type of grassland located in tropical wet and dry climates.
Most of the savanna in Africa is located in east Africa in Kenya or Tanzania.
Steppe is a dry grassland located on the edges of the deserts.
Topical wet and dry= savannahs

32. Nature Preserves
Africa has large national parks and nature preserves.