Transcript Physical Geography

Sub-Saharan Africa
Where is Sub-Saharan
Africa???

Four Regions

Landforms: Plateaus and
Lowlands

 Plateaus make up most of Africa.
 A plateau is an area of high, flat land
 The edges of plateaus are marked by escarpments.
 The escarpments cause waterfalls, rapids, and
prevent interior trade.
 Lowlands (plains) border the Atlantic and Indian
Ocean.

Landforms: Escarpment

 Africa is a large plateau
with escarpments on
the edges.
 An escarpment is
similar to a cliff
although not as steep.
Landforms: Mountains

 Africa does have scattered volcanic mountains, the
old and worn Atlas mountains in the northwest, and
the Ethiopian highlands
 In the Ethiopian Highlands, population is high due
to climate, resources.
 The Drakensberg Range is found in Southern Africa.

Landforms: The Great Rift
Valley

 A rift valley is large break in the Earth’s surface formed
by shifting plate tectonics. (divergent plates)
 The Great Rift Valley stretches from Southwest Asia to
southern Africa about 4,000 miles.
 The valley has rich volcanic soil good for agriculture.
 This is an area of earthquakes.


Landforms: Lakes

 Part of rift valleys have filled with water forming
Africa’s characteristic elongated lakes.
 Along the Great Rift Valley people have settled near
Lake Victoria, Lake Tanganyika, and Lake Malawi
because of the access to fresh water.
 Areas around Lake Victoria have a high population
density due to climate and fresh water.

Landforms: Deserts

 The Sahara, the world's largest non-polar desert,
covers an area of 3,500,000 square miles.
 The Sahara limits migration between northern and
southern Africa.
 Namib and Kalahari Desert in southern Africa have
low population density and little economic activities
due to arid climate.

Landforms: Sahel

 Sahel: the semiarid region of Africa between the
Sahara to the north and the savannas to the south
 Nomadic farming is the type of subsistence farming
found along the Sahel and east Africa due to climate.
 Desertification: is the drying up of land along a
desert.

Landforms: Serengeti

 It lies in the tropical climate zone and as a result
people participate in hunting, herding, and farming
ecosystems.
Landforms: Congo Basin

 The tropical climate allows for forestry and some
agriculture due to the abundance of rain as
compared to other regions.
 Deforestation: rainforests are being cleared for
farmers, materials, and fuel
 Ecotourism- tourism that helps preserve the
environment.
Climate

 Africa is the only continent that is centered on the
equator.
 As a result, the climates and vegetation of Africa are
symmetrical about the equator


Mineral Resources

 Oil is the principle export for many countries along
the African coast.
 Natural gas is found along the Atlantic
 Coal deposits are located in central Africa.
 Large deposits of diamonds, emeralds, rubies,
sapphires, and gold are also found in Africa

 Subsistence Agriculture: producing enough food to
meet a family’s needs
 Herding of animals
 Crop cultivation
 Mixed farming cultivation and animal herding