Africa
Physical Geography
SSWG4a
2nd Largest Continent
is a huge continent – from east to
west , its widest point is the same distance
between Moscow and NYC (4,000 miles).
 North and south distance is the same as
the distance between northern Alaska and
the Panama Canal – 5,000 miles.
 A huge plateau covers much of Africa
 Most of the continent is 1000 feet above
sea level
 Africa
Factors of Isolation
1.
Almost all unbroken and irregular
coastlines…few natural harbors for ships to
anchor for trade and exploration.
2.
Most rivers have falls and rapids because of
the elevation – people could not sail up the
rivers to explore.
3.
The Sahara is the largest desert in the world
(bigger than the US). More rocky than sandy.
Prevented movement between northern Africa
and southern Africa
Mountains/Highlands
 Major
Highlands: Ethiopian
Highlands/Plateau, Mt. Kilimanjaro
 Ethiopian Highlands were created
because of volcanic eruptions long
ago
 Kilimanjaro an inactive volcano.
Mountains
Ethiopian
Highlands/Plateau
Mt. Kilimanjaro
Rivers
 Major
Rivers: Nile, Congo, Zambezi,
Senegal, Niger, Orange
 Nile is the longest river in the world
(flows north)
 Victoria Falls is part of the Zambezi
River System
Rivers
Nile River
Zambezi River
Valleys/Plains/Basins
 Major
features: Congo Basin, Great
Rift Valley
 The Congo Basin contains almost
20% of the world's rain forest.
 Great Rift Valley is a great depression
in eastern Africa
Valleys/Plains/Basins
Great Rift Valley
Congo River Basin
Deserts
 Major
features: Sahara, Kalahari, Namib
 Covering almost one-third of the continent,
the Sahara is the largest desert in the
world
 The Kalahari, covered largely by reddish
sand, lies between the Orange and
Zambezi rivers
Deserts
Sahara Desert
Kalahari
Lake
 Major
Features: Lake Victoria, Lake
Tanganyika, Lake Nyasa, Lake Chad
 Most are precious water sources and
have high population density around
them.
 Lake Victoria is the largest African lake
 Lake Chad is shrinking because of its
location.
Lakes
Lake Chad
Lake Victoria
Additional Land Features
 Major
Features: Horn of Africa, Sahel
 The Sahel is on the southern edges of the
ever-expanding Sahara Desert. It’s a
transition zone between the dry areas of
the north and the tropical areas of the
south.
 Horn of Africa is the peninsula on the
eastern side of the continent.
Other Land Features
Horn of Africa
Sahel
Africa: Climate Zones &
Desertification
SSWG4h
General Information
 Africa
contains dry and hot deserts, warm
tropics, and permanently snow-capped
mountains
 Africa’s
vegetation includes thick rain
forests, tall grasslands, and desert areas
The Desert
 Only
20% is sand; rest is mountains,
rocks, gravelly plains
 Saharan travelers rely on camels that can
go 17 days without water
 6,000 feet under Sahara are aquifersstores of underground water

when this water comes to the surface it
creates an oasis
 Other
African deserts include Kalahari,
Namib
Desertification
 Sahel


narrow band of grassland runs east-west
along southern Sahara edge
used for farming, herding
 Since


means “shore of the desert”
1960s, desert has spread into Sahel
desertification—expansion of dry conditions
into nearby moist areas
natural, long-term desertification cycles sped
up by human activity
Human Causes for Desertification
 Livestock
overgrazing exposes and
tramples soil, increases erosion
 Clearing land for farming increases
erosion
 Water drilling, irrigation increase soil’s salt
levels

vegetation growth is stunted
 Population
levels require more crop land,
more fuel (wood) to burn
Tai National Park, Côte d’Ivoire –
site of world’s highest deforestation rate
These images show
deforestation rate in the
area, believed to be one of
the highest in the world
• 1988: Shows destruction
of small forest fragments
• 2002: The lighter green
strip bisecting the images
is the result of extensive
deforestation and intensive
cultivation
Deforestation in Itampolo,
Madagascar
These images show the
changes in narrow
coastal plain
• 1973: Shows heavily
forested area home to
unique and rare plant and
animal species
• 2001: Burning of forest to
clear land for dry rice
cultivation, has led to
disappearance of forest
area (seen as tan)
Deforestation Around Lake
Nakuru, Kenya
These images show the
land cover degradation in
the lake’s catchment
• 1973: The area that hosts
the world’s largest
concentration of flamingos
• 2000: Excision of forest in
the Eastern Mau Forest
Reserve (white lines) will
most likely lead to
disappearance of upper
catchment forest cover
Deforestation Around Lake
Nakuru, Kenya
These images show the
land cover degradation in
the lake’s catchment
• 1973: The area that hosts
the world’s largest
concentration of flamingos
• 2000: Excision of forest in
the Eastern Mau Forest
Reserve (white lines) will
most likely lead to
disappearance of upper
catchment forest cover
Sunshine and Rainfall
 Rains
all year in rain forests; most of
Africa has rainy seasons
 Longer rainy seasons near equator; longer
dry seasons near desert
 West coast gets heavy rain
 Sahara, other deserts may go years
without rain
The Tropics
 Africa
has largest tropical area of any
continent



90% of Africa lies between tropics of Cancer,
Capricorn
high temperatures year around
Africans say nighttime is the “winter” of the
tropics
Tropical Grassland

Tropical grassland covers most of Africa
 Serengeti Plain—northern Tanzania grassland
 dry climate, hard soil prevent growth of trees,
crops
 Serengeti National Park has best grasslands in
the world
 some grasses grow taller than a person
 ideal for grazing animals like wildebeests,
 gazelles, zebras
 site of largest numbers of migrating land
mammals
Rainforest
 Major
tropical rain forests are on equator
in Congo Basin
 Farmers’ slash-and-burn methods
endanger rain forest


Madagascar’s rain forest is almost completely
gone
some estimate over half of Africa’s original
rain forests are gone