Africa

Georgia Performance Standards

• SS7G1 The student will locate selected features of Africa.

a. Locate on a world and regional political-physical map: the Sahara, Sahel, savanna, tropical rain forest, Congo River, Niger River, Nile River, Lake Tanganyika, Lake Victoria, Atlas Mountains, and Kalahari Desert.

b. Locate on a world and regional political-physical map the countries of, Democratic Republic of the Congo (Zaire), Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, and Sudan.

African Geography

• Africa is a land of many contrasts: deserts, lakes, mountains, grasslands, and rainforests.

• With diversity in its people, culture and languages, it is unique yet still

African Geography

• The Sahara is the world’s largest hot desert, covering most of Northern Africa.

• About 3000 miles wide and 1200 miles long, it stretches from the Red Sea to the outskirts of the Atlantic Ocean and meets the sahel.

African Geography

• The Sahara's topographical features include shallow basins, large oasis depressions, serirs or regs (gravel-covered plains), plateaus, mountains, sand sheets, dunes and sand seas (ergs). 

• The highest part of the desert is at the summit of Mount Koussi, which is 11,204 feet (3,415 m) high.

• The lowest point of the Sahara is 436 feet (133 m) below sea level: in the Qattera Depression in Egypt.

African Geography

African Geography

• The Sahel is the transition zone south of the Sahara and north of the equator.

• It is between the tropical rain forests and the Sahara desert

• Djenne and Timbukto are part of the sahel in Mali

Djenne, Mali

Timbiktu, Mali

African Geography

• Savannas are rolling grassland and scattered trees and shrubs totaling to about 4.5 million miles in the African country.

• The Serengeti borders Kenya and Tanzania

African Geography

• The Ituri Forest is a dense tropical rain forest in the northern part of the Congo River Basin in the Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire).

• It covers a over 24,300 square miles (62,900 sq km) of land in central Africa.

• The geographic boundaries of the Ituri Forest are difficult to define as the forest blends in with other forests and swamp regions.

African Features• The Congo is the largest river in Western Central

Africa. Its overall length of (2,720 mi) makes it the second longest in Africa. 

• The Congo River flows primarily through the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the People's Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic, and partially through Zambia, Angola, Cameroon, and Tanzania

• Surrounded by the rain forest• It is the fifth longest in the world

African Geography

• The Nile, at 4,132 miles (6,650 km.), is the longest river in the world.

• Begins in Burundi, south of the equator, and flows northward through northeastern Africa, flowing through Egypt and draining into the Mediterranean Sea.

• The Nile receives its name from the Greek “Neilos”, which means a valley or river valley. The river flowed northward and flooded the lands in Egypt, leaving behind black sediment.

African Geography

• The Niger River - 3rd longest on the continent, it rises in Guinea near the Sierra Leone border and flows into Nigeria and the Gulf of Guinea of the Atlantic Ocean.

• It is a major river in West Africa• It is 2,600 mi (4,183 sq km) long, and its

middle course is navigable for about 1,000 mi (1,600 km).

African Geography

• The Atlas Mountains lie in northwestern Africa between the Mediterranean Sea and the Sahara desert.

• Located in Northern Algeria,Tunisia and Morocco, the Atlas Mountains extend approximately 1,500 miles.

• The highest range in the chain is to be found in southern Morocco.

Kalahari Desert

• Kalahari, semi- arid plateau region is located in Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa.

• The Kalahari, a 1200 mile semi-arid sandy area is covered largely by reddish sand dunes that reach as high as 200 feet and be 50 miles long.

African Geography

• Lake Taganyika is the longest lake at 420 miles as well as the 2nd deepest lake in the world (4710 feet) after Lake Victoria.

• It is bordered on the east of central Africa by Tanzania, on the north by Burundi, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire), and on the south by Zambia.

African Geography

• Lake Victoria is the headwaters for the Nile River and the largest lake in Africa.

• The 2nd largest freshwater lake in the world and is shallow.

• Tanzania and Congo in the Great Rift Valley.

• Lake Victoria is bordered by Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania

• African Geographic Features

Jeopardy Review

• This geographic feature separates the Sahara and the tropical rain forest?

• What is the sahel?

Jeopardy Review

• This lake is the 2nd deepest in the world.• What is Lake Tanganyika?

Jeopardy Review

• The famous Serengeti is part of rolling grasslands and shrubbery that covers parts of Africa.

• What are savannas?

Location andCharacteristics of Africa

b. Locate on a world and regional political-physical map the countries of, Democratic Republic of the Congo (Zaire), Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, and Sudan.

Africa

• Covers 11,630,772 square miles (it could fit the U.S. and China and leave room for all of Europe)

• Place where Pangaea (super continent that existed more than 250 million years ago) and life on Earth began

• Called the “plateau continent” because the elevation of most of the land is high

Africa

• The birthplace of all mankind• The 2nd largest continent• 53 independent countries• Traditional huts to great pyramids• Deserts cover 22% of the continent- Sahara,

Kalahari, Namid

6 Regions

• North Africa-rocky mountains the world’s largest desert

• West Africa- continent’s most populated region consist mostly of grasslands.

• East Africa- many mountains, plateaus, grasslands, and hills

• Central - thick rain forest, mountains, and swamps • South Africa- flat or rolling grassland with

mountains and plateaus• Indian Ocean Islands – part of Africa that may have

been connected to the continent

North Africa

• Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, • Several major cities: Alexandria, Algiers,

Cairo, Rabat, Tripoli and Tunis near the coast

• Mostly inhabited by Arabs, Berbers and others

• Cultures dominated by Islam

West Africa

– Mauritania, Senegal, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Sierra-Leone, Liberia, Cote d’Ivore, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, and Cameroon along Atlantic Coast

– Known as “slave coast”– Landlocked Countries – Burkino Faso, Mali and Niger,

Cape Verde Islands– African, Caucasoid peoples: (Berbers, Tuaregs)– Practice Islam, Christianity, Islam and traditional

religions

Central Africa

• Located on the Congo River Basin• Equitorial Guinea, Gabon, Republic of Congo,

Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo (fmr Zaire)

• Landlocked Chad, Sao Tome, Principe (island states)

• Tropical rain forests, grassland• Christianity, traditional religions, Muslim (Chad)

East Africa

• Set away from the rest of Africa by highlands and Great Rift Valley

• Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Somalia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi

• Arabs and other Muslims (N Sudan), African,

• Christianity, Islam, traditional religion

South Africa

• Angola, Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland

• African, Khoisan, European and Asian • Large mineral wealth• Christianity and indigenous religions

Indian Ocean Island

• Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritus, Seychelles

• Multicultural in ethnicity, religion, culture• Madagascar is the largest island.

SS7G3 The student will explain the impact of location, climate, and physical characteristics on

population distribution in Africa.

a. Explain how the characteristics in the Sahara, Sahel, savanna, and tropical rain forest affect where people live, the type of work they do, and how they travel.

Africa’s Climate

Climate, Work, Travel

• Where do people live? • What do they do? • Georgia Experience Reading Pp 21-22

What is Africa’s Climate?• The climate of Africa,

more than that of any other continent, is generally uniform.

• This results from the position of the continent in the Tropical Zone, the impact of cool ocean currents, and the absence of mountain chains serving as climatic barriers.

• African climatic zones can be distinguished.

HOW DOES CLIMATE INFLUENCE OTHER ASPECTS OF THE ENVIRONMENT?

• Vegetation is the most visible expression of climate

• Animal life adapts to both climate and vegetation• Soils develop in response to climate and

vegetation• Landforms• Water resources – determined by rainfall or

shortage of rainfall

WHAT IS THE IMPACT OF CLIMATE UPON PEOPLE'S LIVES?

• Regions of extreme climatic changes have few people.

• Ex: Deserts, rainforests• Climate influences agriculture - the choice

of crops grown and animals raised• People are affected to decide how to travel• Water resources – population increases • Disease is the effect climate changes

African Population

• http://na.unep.net/globalpop/africa/Appendix_6e.html

• Populations tend to live where resources are abundant for survival

Climate Zones of Africa

Climate Zones DescriptionSahara –

Sahel –

Savanna –

Coast & Forest –

Climate Zones of AfricaClimate Zones Description

Sahara – located in the northern most part of West Africa

Largest DesertLess than 10 inches of rain per yearTemperatures up to 120+

Sahel – located south of the Sahara Dry grasslands with steppe climateReceives 4-8 inches of rain per year (May to Sept)

Savanna – located south of the Sahel Good soil, thick grass, scattered trees30 to 50 inches of rain per year. Wet and Dry seasons

Coast & Forest – located along the Atlantic and Gulf of Guinea coasts

Wet humid tropical climate, rain forestsMore than 90 inches of rain per yearWarm humid temperatures

Review: Jeopardy

• What is the desert?

• Nomads travel in this climate zone and it receives less than 10 inches of rain per year.

Review: Jeopardy

• Subsistence farming, oil, and public transportation is part of this climate zone.• What is the rainforest?

Questions?

• The End!!!!

• Next Lesson – Environmental Issues of Africa