Download AFRICA: Humans and the Physical Environment ______ Chapt 19

AFRICA: Humans and the Physical Environment
__________ Chapt 19, Sect 2
1.
What physical features affect Africa’s climate?
Landforms - Mountains can block cooling/warming winds, cause rain shadows
Large Bodies of Water – wind and water can moderate the coastal temperatures
Elevation – height above sea level; higher areas, cooler temps
Latitude – closer to Equator is warmer; closer to Poles is cooler; most of Africa is
located between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn; Equator runs
through the middle of the continent.
Size of Region – allows increasing winds to warm/cool the area
2.
How have people in Africa learned to adapt to their environment?
(See chart below.)
irrigate
artificially water crops
oasis
place where springs and underground water make it possible to support life
savanna
region of tall grasses
nomad
people who move from place to place to make a living
NOTE TAKING
Rain Forest
Physical Features
Ways People
Adapt
Central Africa; rains
nearly every day;
hot, humid
environment
supports an area
rich in plants and
animals.
People cut trees
from the rain forest
to clear land for
farming. (However,
once the trees are
cut, heavy rains
begin to wash
away nutrients in
the soil that make
it fertile, and this
allows for the
expansion of a
desert
environment.)
Savanna
Desert
North and South of
rain forest is a
region of tall
grasses; tropical
wet and dry
climate.
Hot, arid (dry)
climate; mostly
sand and poor soil;
4”-8” of rain per
year; small shrubs,
grasses grow here.
During the “dry”
season people,
trade, build houses,
prepare for wet
season; during wet
season they farm.
Nomads move to
various places to
make a living –
some trade, some
herd goats and
camels between
oasis.
Nuggets:
In some desert areas it rains so infrequently and so lightly that some children have
never seen rain.
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SUMMARY: Different climate regions in Africa have different weather patterns and physical features, affect
the way people live.
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