Download The “Tropical”

Bellwork
What type of climate is found in the following
areas? (333 & 334)
1. Sahel
2. Savanna
3. Rainforest
Africa is the 2nd largest continent in the world,
next to Asia.
A Satellite View
The Sahara Desert
The Sahara is the world’s largest hot desert. Fewer than
10 inches of rain a year, which make it an arid climate. It
is covered with sand dunes and rolling rocky hills that go on
for miles and miles The Atlas mountains act as a barrier
between the desert, the Mediterranean Sea, and the
Atlantic Ocean. Most of the people who live in the Sahara
today are nomads.
Nomads move from place to place, usually traveling by
camel. Nomadic tribes often trade with each other. These
desert nomads were the ones who led the caravan trade
across the Sahara in the years before airplanes and desert
vehicles were available. Hundreds of years ago, gold and
salt came across the Sahara on the backs of camels from
central Africa to markets along the Mediterranean coast.
Desertification
Libyan Desert
Deserts
Sahara Desert
Sahel
The Sahel
The Sahel is a strip of dry grassland south of the
Sahara. The Sahel’s climate is semiarid,
meaning that it gets 6-20 inches of rainfall a
year. The word Sahel means “border” or
“margin,” and this is the region that borders the
Sahara. It is a region between the desert to the
north and the grasslands and rainforest to the
south. The Sahel is relatively flat with few
mountains and hills.
Africa:
The
“Tropical”
Continent
Tropic of Cancer
20° N
Equator 0°
Tropic of Capricorn
20° S
The African Savannah:
13 million square miles
Closer to the equator, the climate becomes hot and
features both rainy and dry seasons. Savannas cover
the regions just north and south of the rainforests that
lie along the equator. Savannas are hot, dry
grasslands, with tall thick grass. Trees are short and
scattered. The savanna has a tropical wet dry
climate. When rain falls, farmers can grow crops.
The most famous savannah is the Serengeti Plain, a
migration area for 1.5 million animals like buffalo,
gazelles, and zebras.
African Rain Forest
# Annual rainfall of up to 17 ft.
# Rapid decomposition (very humid).
# Covers 37 countries.
Along the equator lies the Congo Basin, home to
the world’s second largest tropical rainforest
(the Amazon is the largest). A rainforest, is a
dense evergreen forest with an annual rainfall of
at least 60 inches, with a tropical wet climate.
In the Congo, trees are so thick and tall that
sunlight never reaches the forest floor.
Unfortunately, the rainforest has shrunk
substantially because of deforestation and
destructive farming practices.
There are several levels to life in
the rainforest. The floor of a
rainforest is home to thousands of
varieties of insects, including
many types of butterflies. These
butterflies play an important role
in pollinating the flowers and
making it possible for them to
reproduce. The rivers and
streams in a rainforest support
fish, alligators, and crocodiles.
Higher and up into the trees, are
the canopy layers of the
rainforest, home to birds, frogs,
toads, and snakes, as well as
monkeys and chimpanzees.
Rainforest canopies grow in
multiple layers, with taller trees
shading those at lower levels and
allowing a wide variety of plants
and animals to grow.
Every day, thousands of acres of tropical forest
disappear;
Approximately less than 10 % of the world’s
original rainforests remain today.
Most African countries are working hard to limit
tree harvesting, and are replanting where trees
have been cut down.
Mountains
&
Peaks
Δ Mt. Kenya
Δ Mt. Kilimanjaro
Atlas Mountains
The Atlas mountain range separates the temperate
coastal areas of Morocco, Algeria, & Tunisia from the
harsh Sahara Desert
The Drakensberg
Mountains
stretch across
Southern Africa.
There are many
game reserves
and national
parks.
Another notable
feature of the
region is the
Kalahari Desert.
Thanks to
underground
water supplies,
grass, shrubs,
and a number of
wild animals
manage to live in
the Kalahari
Desert
Mt. Kilimanjaro:
Snow on the Equator? Why?
Great Rift Valley
3,000 miles long
Mediterranean Sea
Bodies
Nile River
Of
L. Chad-->
Water
L. Albert-->
L. Victoria
L. Tanganyika->
Indian Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
Zambezi River
Limpopo River
Orange River
Pacific Ocean
It is the largest lake
in Africa and the
second largest
freshwater lake in
the world (only Lake
Superior is bigger).
It extends into three
countries: Tanzania,
Uganda, and Kenya
The Mighty Nile River:
“Longest River in the World”
The Congo River Basin
# Covers 12% of the
continent.
# Extends over 9
countries.
# 2,720 miles long.
The Niger River Basin
# Covers 7.5% of the continent.
# Extends over 10 countries.
# 2,600 miles long.
Mediterranean Sea
The
Libyan Desert
Tropic of Cancer
20° N
Sahara Desert
Complete
Topography
Nile River
Sahel
L. Chad-->
Equator 0°
L. Albert-->
Δ Mt. Kenya
L. Victoria
Of
AFRICA
Δ Mt. Kilimanjaro
L. Tanganyika->
Indian
Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
Zambezi River
Tropic of Capricorn
20° S
Limpopo River
Orange River
Pacific Ocean
What climate area would you live in?
Arid – (Desert)
Semi-Arid – (Sahel)
Tropical Wet-Dry – (Savanna)
Tropical Wet – (Rainforest)
Write one paragraph (4-6 sentences) on
your choice. Tell me why you chose that
area. What do you like about it? How
would you live and support yourself?