Download Africa Physical Geography

Africa
Physical Geography
Land and Water
• Where is Africa
located?
• What are Africa’s
most important
landforms?
The Four Regions of Africa
• Africa can be divided into four regions:
(1) _____________________
(2) West;
(3) _____________________
(4) Central and Southern.
• North Africa’s physical features include
_______________________________
______________________________.
• West Africa is Africa’s _____________
__________________; its grasslands
provide good soil for farming.
• East Africa is
marked by
_____________
_____________
_____________,
large raised
areas of mostly
level land.
• ______________________________
______________________________
______________________________
______________________________.
Africa’s Major Landforms
• Africa is called the “_________________”
because of its high elevation—the height
of land above sea level.
• Each of Africa’s regions has mountains.
• The highest are is in ________________.
• There, the continent’s highest mountain,
__________________, rises to a height of
more than ________________ feet.
• Coastal plains lie along much Africa’s
coastline.
• __________________________________
_________________________________.
• The 4,000-mile-long _________________
in _____________ was formed millions of
years ago as continents pulled apart.
• A rift is ______________________.
• Major lakes are in or near the Great Rift
Valley.
The Great Rift Valley
_______________
_______________
_______________
_______________
_______________
_______________
_______________
_______________
Africa’s Rivers
• The Nile: ______________________________,
it runs more than ___________ miles.
• From its two sources, the White Nile and the
Blue Nile, it flows north into the Mediterranean
Sea.
• ______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________.
• The Aswan High Dam controls flooding and
provides ____________ from the rushing water.
• The Congo: Africa’s _____________ river
runs through Central Africa into the Atlantic
Ocean, fed by tributaries, small rivers and
streams that flow into a larger river.
• The Niger: Africa’s ______________ river
__________________________________
_________________________________.
• The Zambezi: Africa’s ____________ river
is about 2,200 miles long and runs through
__________ in __________________.
Climate and Vegetation
• What types of climates and
vegetation are found in Africa?
• How do climate and vegetation affect
how Africans make a living?
What Influences Climate?
• The climate in most of Africa is warm
because __________________________
_________________.
• The seasons above _________________
are the ___________ of those below the
Equator.
• Countries with higher elevation, such as
Ethiopia, tend to have a ______________
climate than those at a low elevation.
• Lower countries such as Somalia
tend to be _________________.
• Their farmers must irrigate, or _________
water, their crops.
• Or they must farm near an oasis, a place
_________________________________.
• __________________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
_________________________________.
What Influences Climate?
Desert and Rain Forest
Vegetation
• ______________________________
______________________________
______________________________
_____________________________.
• Loss of the forest causes nutrients in
the land to be washed away in heavy
rains.
• North and south of the rain forests is the
________, grasslands with scattered trees.
• The climate in the savanna has a _______
season and a ____________ season.
• Between the Sahara
and the savanna is a
region called the
_______, which is hot
and _________.
• ______________ are
people who move
around to various
places to make a
living.
• _________________
_________________
_________________
_________________.
Building Good Health
• Climate affects the health of people and
livestock throughout Africa.
• The ___________ in the rain forest breeds
_____________________ insects.
• The ____________ is found in nearly one
fifth of Africa.
• The bite of the tsetse fly kills cattle and
causes humans to get _______________.
• Herders in various countries use poisons
and traps to try to control the spread of
the tsetse fly.
Natural Resources
• What are Africa’s major natural
resources?
• How are Africans developing these
resources?
Agricultural Resources
• _______________________________
_______________________________
______________________________.
• Some subsistence farmers also grow a
few crops to sell or trade.
• Crops raised to be sold are called ___
_____________.
• African cash crops include _________,
cacao, and tea.
• When too much land is used for cash
crops and those crops fail, food
shortages can occur.
• _____________
_____________
_____________
_____________
_____________.
• Some countries
are replanting
hardwoods to
save the forests.
Agricultural Resources
•From this map you
can see how the ways
of making a living in
Africa vary from region
to region.
•Herding is
widespread in the
north, and farming
takes place
throughout the
western and central
portions of the
continent.
•Other activities such
as manufacturing are
scattered throughout
Africa.
Mineral Resources
• An economy is a system for ___________,
distributing, consuming, and owning
_________________________________.
• _____ is a major part of Africa’s economy.
• Parts of North Africa, as well as the West
African country of Nigeria, have large
supplies of a valuable mineral resource:
_____________________________.
• It is used to make oil and gasoline.
• The country of Ghana was once
called the Gold Coast because it was
a chief exporter of ______________.
• Other minerals from Africa include
______________________________
______________________________
_____________________________.
Balancing Crops, Minerals, and
Industry
• A specialized economy is one that is
dependent on __________________.
• In Africa, specialized farm economies
can be harmed by lack of rainfall or
falling crop prices.
• African countries are now trying to
diversify their economies—that is, to add
________________________.
• __________________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
_________________________________.