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PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA
“SUB-SAHARAN”AFRICA
The
area
SOUTH of
the Sahara
Desert.
http://www.towson.edu/users/dherman/wrg/ssafrica.htm
Population – Population refers to the total number
of people living in a country.
Use pages 520-525
• Nigeria – 162 million
• Ethiopia – 87 million
• Democratic Republic of Congo – 68 million
• Tanzania – 46 million
• Kenya – 42 million
I used Junior Scholastic 2012 for these stats!
Land Size – Land size refers to the total square miles
or kilometers of a country.
Use pages 520-525
• Sudan – 967,000 sq. miles
• Democratic Republic of Congo – 905,000 sq. miles
• Chad – 495,000 sq. miles
• Mozambique – 305,000 sq. miles
• Madagascar – 227, 000 sq. miles
GDP – Gross Domestic Product refers to the
total value of goods and services
produced in a country in one year.
•
South Africa - $10,700
• Gabon - $14,500
•
Botswana - $14,000
I used Junior Scholastic 2012 for these stats!
The equator runs through the continent of Africa. Which
countries does it run through? Use your Nystrom maps to answer:
From East to West
Label these on your map!
1. Somalia
2. Kenya
3. Uganda
4. Democratic Republic of Congo
5. Republic of Congo
6. Gabon
The African continent is actually one large plateau. Along the
eastern side of Africa is the Great Rift Valley, an area where
two tectonic plates are moving away from one another. Along
this rift are several lakes, Lake Tanganyika and Lake Victoria.
and huge cliffs called escarpments. When rivers flow over
these cliffs they form waterfalls. Another name for these
waterfalls are known as
CATARACTS.
Great Rift Valley
Plateaus and Escarpments
Escarpment - steep slopes with nearly flat plateau on top.
•These kept people OUT of interior Africa.
When rivers flow over these cliffs they
form waterfalls. What is another name
for these waterfalls?
Cataracts!
What impact do these
cliffs and waterfalls
have on the
rivers in Africa?
Rivers can not be used for transportation
and trade!
Click on the link below to watch a video on Mt. Kilimanjaro!
Mount Kilimanjaro
http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/tanzania_kilimanjaro
THIS is why we see snow at the Equator!
Lake Tanganyika
World’s longest freshwater lake.
Lake Victoria
Africa’s largest lake.
The interior countries of Africa are
landlocked. This means they have
no coastlines.
Use your map on page 517 to name
three landlocked countries:
This river flows more than 4,000 miles through
Uganda and Sudan and into Egypt. More than
95% of Egypt’s population lives along this river.
Which river is this?
Nile River
This river flows more than 2,900 miles forming
a large network of waterways. But a series of
32 cataracts make large portions of this river
impassable.
Congo River
This river provides hydroelectric power and is
home to an enormous waterfall along the
Zambia/Zimbabwe border.
Zambezi River
Victoria Falls
The Zambezi River is useful for hydroelectric power. Can
you name the huge waterfall on this river?
Victoria Falls
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•There are similar climate patterns found at
the north and the south of the continent
EXCEPT that they’re...
reversed and mirrored ---WHY??
Climate Regions of Africa
Tropical Wet – The area located at or near the equator.
Tropical Wet and Dry - These areas are known as savannas.
Many of Africa’s nature preserves and
national parks are found here.
The Serengeti! ( Page 578)
Semi-Arid(Steppe) - The region directly south of the Sahara Desert
is Semi – Arid.
Known as the Sahel!
Arid(Desert) – at the extreme north and south of the continent.
List the deserts:
Namib Desert
Kalahari Desert
Sahara Desert (getting larger due to desertification)
The African continent is rich in mineral
resources. Can you name any?
Iron Ore
Chromium
Uranium
Copper
Gold
Used for steel
#25 on HW
All found in Zimbabwe!
Chromium in South Africa too.
Used for nuclear power
Used for wiring, pipes, and roofing.
Found in Zambia &
Zimbabwe
Used for jewelry, electronics, and investing.
Diamonds
Found in
South
Africa.
The coastline of Africa is very smooth and
does not have natural harbors, or safe places
for ships to harbor. Is this a positive or
negative influence on trading?
Negative!
The soil in the rainforest areas is not
fertile. Crops can be grown on
rainforest soil for only a few years.
What type of agriculture do you think
they use?
The Afar Depression (also called the Afar Triangle) is a
geological depression in the Horn of Africa, where it overlaps
Eritrea, the Afar Region of Ethiopia, and Djibouti.
Afar Triangle
In September, 2005, a team of geologists from
the University of Addis Ababa had scarcely
stepped out of their helicopter onto the desert
plains of Ethiopia when the ground under
their feet shook violently.
Before they could scramble back into the helicopter, numerous
crevices split open and raced toward them like zippers opening up in
the Earth. It took mere seconds. When the ground stopped shaking,
the geologists knew they had witnessed history. This was the beginning
phases of the birth of an ocean...right in the midst of the African
continent.
A human lifetime is far too short to witness an epic event such
as the birth of an ocean, river or sea, the rise of a mountain or
the opening up of a valley. Yet this is precisely the process
which is taking place in northern Ethiopia in a region called the
Afar Triangle.
This is what Africa
will look like in
about one million
years. Notice that
the Persian Gulf
does not exist and
the horn of Africa is
a separate peninsula.
This is caused by the
movement of
tectonic plates.