Sub-Saharan AfricaPhysical Geography

Standard 9.6.2• Identify and locate the major physical

land features of Sub-Saharan Africa; identify the natural resources of Africa south of the Sahara, and generalize the effects of the land features and natural resources upon the populations of each area.

Directions• On the left side of your notebook,

fold your paper in preparation for Cornell notes

• Open your book to page 499• Students will take turns reading and

then a slide will summarize the text.• Copy the notes as the appear on the

screen on the large side of your paper

• After each section of notes, write study questions on the small column of your paper

Can you guess where the Sahara Desert is located?

Landforms• Sahara - largest desert in

the world

• South of the Sahara includes about 9 million square miles of huge PLATEAUS, MOUNTAINS and VALLEYS

Plateaus, Highlands and Mountains• Plateaus make up most of Africa• Narrow coastal plains extend

inland less than 20 miles – edge the continent

• Sudden rise prevented easy access to interior of Africa

• Separating plateaus are steep cliffs or slopes known as ESCARPMENTS

Escarpment

• Broadest plateaus and steepest escarpments are found in south and east

• Rivers spill over escarpments in thundering waterfalls known as CATARACTS, as they plunge toward the Atlantic or Indian Oceans

Continent of Plateaus• Africa has the highest

overall elevation of any other continent

• Average elevation south of the Sahara is 2,000 feet above sea level

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Mountains and Highlands• Africa has few mountains• Most mountains in Sub-

Saharan Africa are found in the EASTERN HIGHLANDS –

• Drakensberg Mts. rim the edge of the southeastern plateau

• Ruwenzori Mts. Border Uganda and Democratic Republic of the Congo

Drakensberg Mountains

Eastern Highlands

Drakensberg Drakensberg MountainsMountains

Ruwenzori Ruwenzori MountainsMountains

Ruwenzori MountainsRuwenzori Mountains

Snow clad peaks seem to float in the sky so Africans call them

Mountains of the Moon

Kenya and Tanzania• Cone shaped volcanic

peaks of Kenya and Tanzania include Mount Kenya and Mount Kilimanjaro

• Africa’s highest mountains

• Mount Kilimanjaro (19,340 feet)

Mount Kenya

Mount Kilimanjaro

The Great Rift Valley• Valley that stretches from

the Jordan River in Southwest Asia to the Zambezi River in Mozambique

• Slashes a Y-shaped trench more than 3,500 miles long

• Escarpments a mile high

Great Rift Valley

Northern section of Great Rift Valley

The Great Rift Valley

• Ripped apart 180 million years ago creating the continents we know today

• Pressure on land surface caused cracks, or FAULTS, and pushed up mountains

Pangaea

Water Systems• Influenced by landforms

shaped millions of years ago

• Cuts in Great Rift Valley form Africa’s largest lakes

• Long rivers due to plateaus

• High escarpments create rapids and waterfalls – blocks easy inland travel by river

Lake Victoria• Surrounded by Kenya,

Tanzania and Uganda• Second largest freshwater

lake in the world• Source of the White Nile

Lake Tanganyika• Southwest of Victoria• 420 miles long• World’s longest

freshwater lake

Lake Malawi• Surrounded by Tanzania,

Mozambique, and Malawi• 3rd largest lake in Africa• Home to many types of

endemic species of fish – only live in that lake

Lake Malawi

Lake Volta and Lake Chad• Lakes in West Africa• People of Ghana built

a dam across Volta river to form lake Volta

• Lake Chad – no natural outlet to sea – loses water to evaporation

Lake ChadLake ChadLake VoltaLake Volta

Lake MalawiLake Malawi

Rivers and Basins• 4 great rivers slice

through Africa – the Nile, the Congo, the Niger, and the Zambezi

• Nile’s White Nile branch starts in Lake Victoria

The Congo River• Largest river system south

of the Sahara• Twists and turns for

almost 2,700 miles• Crosses the equator twice• 10 million gallons of water

flow through the Congo each second – potential for hydro electricity

• Creates a huge saucer shaped basin

The Congo River

The Niger and Zambezi Rivers

• Third and Fourth largest rivers of Africa

• Niger empties into the Atlantic Ocean

• Zambezi empties into Indian Ocean

• Zambezi widens to 18,297 feet before plunging down a huge chasm known as Victoria Falls

Victoria Falls350 Ft High

Waterfalls• Victoria falls is twice as

high as Niagara Falls• Millions of gallons flow

over during rainy season• Rivers and waterfalls

create incredible potential for hydroelectric power – economic development

Natural Resources• Diamonds in South Africa• Gold – ½ of World’s gold

from Great Rift Valley and South Africa

• Copper – Central Africa is rich in copper

• Hydroelectric power growing

• Solar power beginning to develop

• Oil - Nigeria, Angola, Gabon and Congo

• On the left side of your notebook, attach a foldable on the physical features of the region. Reorganize notes onto the foldable

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