1. AFRICA Geography

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

4. Coastline AAfrica has a regular coastline ––S––Smooth ––F––Few natural ports and harbors ––L––Limits trade CCoastline leads directly to desert or jungle ––L––Limited exploration by the Europeans ––H––Helps to isolate Africa

5.  Lake Victoria  Lake Tanganyika  Lake Malawi Bodies of Water

6. Great Rift Valley   4,000 mile canyon in East Africa   Natural barrier   Site of many archeological discoveries, including “Lucy” or Homo Habilis, by Mary & Louis Leakey.

7. Great Rift Valley cont’d Great Rift Valley It is believed that Ancient man originated here Skeleton of “Lucy”- Remains of Ancient Female found in GRV

8. Savannas   Tall, mostly treeless grasslands that has both a dry and a wet season.   Covers approximately 45% of Africa   The majority of people & wildlife live in the savanna region.

9. Deserts  Cover about 40% of Africa  Sahara  Kalahari  Namib  Nubian

10. Mountains  Atlas Mts.  Drakensburg Mts.  Mt. Kilamanjaro  Highest mountains are located in eastern Africa.

11. Climate Zones   Africa has very diverse climate regions.   Desert   Steppe   Savanna   Rainforest   Mediterranean

12. Sahara Desert   Located in Northern Africa   Larger than the United States   Occupies 1/3 of Africa   Not a sandy desert: most of the desert is rock and gravel   Causes geographic isolation   Serves as a natural barrier separating the people of the Sahara and Southern Africa

13. Desertification   the process of fertile land becoming desert.   Causes: – –Overuse/over farming, overgrazing and over cutting of trees for firewood. – –Trees and grasses have root systems that hold topsoil in place, without them erosion blows or washes it away, and the land becomes desert.

14. Desertification con’t   Solutions: – –Crop rotation: moving one type of crop to a different field each year.   Prevents the soil nutrients from being depleted year after year. – –Planting tree belts also stops wind erosion

15. Rivers   Nile River   Niger R.   White Nile   Benue R.   Blue Nile   Congo R.   Zambezi R.   Victoria Falls

16. Nile River   The longest river in the world at 4,180 miles long.   It flows NORTH from the mountainous region of Lake Victoria to the coastal plains of the Mediterranean Sea.   Cataracts- places where the river becomes shallow, rocks, rapids and waterfalls prevent navigation   Trade/transportation hindered- slowed, prevented by cataracts

17. Congo (Zaire) River  Fifth largest river in the world (2,720 miles)  Second longest river in Africa  Flows through the rainforest  Is unnavigable for over 250 mi due to cataracts (large high waterfalls)  Makes travel and trade tough for the people of central Africa

18. “Gift of the Nile”   It is an annual, predictable flood that provides nutrient rich soil for crops to grow surrounded by desert.   Rich soil= silt   The Nile River valley was home to one of the world’s first civilizations: Egyptian civilization – –The Egyptians created their calendar based off the annual overflow of the nile