AFRICAN TOPOGRAPHYand CLIMATE

Do Now (U4D1)11/25/2013

• Draw a map of Africa without referring to any sources on a blank sheet of paper. You should add to it any political (cities and countries), physical (mountains, deserts, rivers, oceans, vegetation types, etc.), economic (resources, crops…) and historic (religions, events, wars, people, current events, leaders…) details that you know of. Use symbols and adjectives.

• What did you get?

• Turn and share with your neighbor and discuss similarities and differences between your drawings

• Why will it be difficult for civilization to develop here?

• Africa is about 50% desert and 0 to 10 inches of rain falls per year (nothing grows)

• Africa is about 40% Savanna and10 to 20 inches of rain falls each year

• Only shrubs and some trees grow in a savanna

• 10% Rainforest

Sahara Desert

Kalahari Desert

Namib Desert

African Savanna

Rainforest and cataract

• Africa is 3 times the size of the United States

• The vast majority of Africa is between the tropic zones and the equator.

AFRICA’s RIVERS• There are very few

major rivers given the size of the continent

• Most rivers twist and turn in different directions

• The rivers are shallow and they have cataracts

• Africa has very few ports

• Most of Africa’s coast are beaches

Cataract

Africa’s Coast

Africa’s Climate Zones• Climate does not

support large scale agricultural production

• The most suitable climate for agriculture is Mediterranean

Let’s read the short reading now

How did the Tsetse Fly impact development in Africa?

• Video

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4aVUrGO97Zg

Write a paragraph on the back of your do now

• Please answer the following question:

• How was African geography similar and/or different from Greek geography?