Download 12-13-11AfricaVocab - mrachelpohlsclasses

Social Studies - Objectives
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Students will learn the names of physical
features in the following regions in Africa:
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North Africa
West Africa (Coastal & Sahel)
East Africa
Central Africa
Southern Africa
Students will use these features in a
complete sentence.
North Africa
Physical features
The Sahara (North Africa)
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Example sentence:
Very few people live in
the Sahara.
Definition:
The largest desert in
the world.
It covers most of
North Africa.
Oasis (North Africa)
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Example sentence:
People crossing the
Sahara have depended
on oases for water and
shade.
Definition:
A wet, fertile area in a
desert where a
natural spring or well
provides water.
The Nile
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Example: The Nile
flows north through the
Eastern Sahara for
about 4,000 miles and
empties into the
Mediterranean Sea.
Definition:
The world’s longest
river is formed by the
Blue Nile and the
White Nile.
The Suez Canal
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Example: Between the
Sinai Peninsula and the
rest of Egypt is the
Suez Canal.
Definition:
The French built this
canal in the 1860s to
connect the
Mediterranean Sea
and the Red Sea.
The Atlas Mountains
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Example: There are
some large mountain
ranges in the Sahara
Desert. One of them is
the Atlas Mountain
Range.
Definition:
A large mountain
range on the
northwestern side of
the Sahara Desert.
Identify Physical Features on
the map.
West Africa (Coastal & Sahel)
Physical Features
The Niger River (West Africa)
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Definition: The
Niger River is
the most
important river
in West Africa.
The Sahel (West Africa)
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Definition: A strip of
land that divides the
desert from wetter
areas.
South of the Sahara is
the Sahel. It has a
steppe* climate.
Steppe: A big grass-covered
plain that receives only a
little rain (between 10-20
inches annually).
Desertification (West Africa)
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Desertification is the spread
of desert like conditions.
The Sahel is becoming more
like the Sahara. Animals have
overgrazed the land in some
areas.
Also, people have cut down
trees for firewood. Without
these plants to hold down the
soil, wind blows the soil away.
These conditions, along with
drought*, are causing
desertification in the Sahel.
*Drought: period when little rain falls and crops get damaged.
Savanna (West Africa)
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Definition: An area of
tall grasses and
scattered trees and
shrubs.
Reading Plan:
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Preview pp. 372-375
East Africa
Physical Features
Rift Valley (East Africa)
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Definition: Rift
valleys are places on
earth’s surface
where the crust
stretches until it
breaks.
Example: East Africa
has rift valleys that cut
from north to south
across the region.
The Great Rift Valley (East
Africa)
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Definition: The Great Rift
Valley is the largest rift
on Earth and its made up
of two rifts—the eastern
rift and the western rift.
Example: Seen from the
air, the Great Rift Valley
looks like a giant scar.
Mount Kilimanjaro (East
Africa)
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Definition: The
highest mountain in
Africa is Mount
Kilimanjaro.
Example: The
landscape of East
Africa has many high
volcanic mountains.
One of them is Mount
Kilimanjaro
Serengeti Plain (East Africa)
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Definition: A large
plain (or flatland) in
Tanzania.
Example: The
Serengeti Plain’s
grasses, trees, and
water provide nutrition
for wildlife that includes
elephants, giraffes,
lions, and zebras.
Lake Victoria (East Africa)
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Definition: Lake
Victoria is Africa’s
largest lake.
Example: The White
Nile is formed by the
water that flows into
Lake Victoria.
Reading Plan:
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Preview pp. 392-397
Central Africa
Physical Features
Basin (Central Africa)
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Example: You can
think of Central Africa
as a large bowl, or
basin, with a wide rim
around it.
Definition: A flat
region surrounded by
higher land such as
mountains and
plateaus.
The Congo Basin (Central
Africa)
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Example: Near the
middle of the “bowl” is
the Congo Basin.
Definition: A basin in
the Congo
surrounded by
plateaus and low
hills.
The Congo River (Central
Africa)
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Example: The Congo
River drains the swampy
Congo Basin and flows into
the river as it runs toward
the Atlantic.
Definition: The Congo
River is fed by hundreds
of smaller rivers and is an
important transportation
route.
The Zambezi River (Central
Africa)
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Example: The Zambezi
has many waterfalls
along its route, the
most famous of which
are the Victoria Falls.
Definition: The
Zambezi River is in
the southern part of
Central Africa. It
flows toward the
Indian Ocean.
The Copper Belt (Central
Africa)
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Example: The copper
belt stretches through
northern Zambia and
southern Democratic
Republic of Congo.
Definition: Africa’s
copper is found in an
area called the
copper belt.
Reading Plan:
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Preview pp. 414-419
Southern Africa
Physical Features
Escarpment (Southern Africa)
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Example: Most of the
land in Southern Africa
lies on a large plateau.
The escarpment is on
the edge of the plateau.
Definition: The steep
face at the edge of a
plateau or other
raised area.
Veld “velt” (Southern Africa)
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Example: A large
savanna region covers
much of Southern
Africa. Shrubs and
short trees grow on the
grassy plains of the
savanna, or veld.
Definition: Open
grassland areas in
South Africa.
Namib Desert (Southern
Africa)
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Example: The Namib
Desert is on the
Atlantic coast.
Definition: The driest
area in Southern
Africa.
Pans (Southern Africa)
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Example: Another
desert, the Kalahari,
occupies most of
Botswana. Ancient
streams crossing the
Kalahari have drained
into low pans.
Definition: flat areas
where minerals are
left behind after the
water evaporates.
Reading Plan:
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Preview pp. 434 - 439