Transcript Africa Geog MS

GEOGRAPHY OF
AFRICA
BASIC FACTS
Second largest
continent
Could fit 3 of
the U.S.
Most
independent
countries (54)
11,668,545 square miles
that’s over 11 billion football fields.
If you were to give each person on earth - that's
almost 6 billion people - land in Africa, you could give
everyone almost two football fields
Pennsylvania = 46,058 square miles
Approximately 253 PA’s would fit inside Africa!
What is significant
about Africa’s
location?
Location
Distance north and south of
equator
80% of Africa is in the TROPICS
CANCER-CAPRICORN
Climate: Warm all year
REGIONS
North Africa (Morocco-Egypt)
West Africa (Sahel: Coastline)
East Africa
Central Africa
Southern
Natural Resources
West: Gold Coast
Copper: Zaire
Platinum: S.A.
Oil: Libya
Looking at your large
map…what do you
notice about the
elevation of Africa?
Elevation
Height above sea level
Temperature drops as
elevation increases
Accra, Ghana: 80’s
Nairobi, Kenya: 60’s
LANDFORMS
Mostly plateaus (Tilts to NW)
Escarpments: Steep cliffs
Cataracts: Waterfalls
Landforms
Great Rift Valley
Volcanic activity
Why historically, might this
area be significant?
The
Great
Rift
Valley
• Huge “cut” in the Earth’s crust
• Extends from Syria to
Mozambique
• Formed when tectonic plates
pulled away from one another
– land slid between the plates
creating a valley
Land forms
Escarpments
Steep cliffs
that divide the
Plateau from
the costal plain
What do you think is the
most important
geographic feature of
Africa?
RIVERS
Key to African society
Why?
Food
Irrigation
Transportation
What major rivers exist
in Africa?
NILE
Egypt
Longest river
(4160 miles)
Early
civilizations
Aswan Dam
ZAIRE
Central Africa
Can’t travel on
Nile River
Longest river
in the world.
4160 miles.
Played a key
role in human
development
ASWAN HIGH DAM
ASWAN HIGH DAM
Why Built?
Irrigation
Feed growing population
Power
Protects vs flooding
Symbol of Nasser’s Power
NIGER
ZAMBEZI
Provides water Victoria Falls
for farmers
Kariba Dam
Major source
provides
of fish
hydroelectric
power
ZAMBEZI
Kariba Dam provides
hydroelectric power
Negative Impact:
The dam causes flooding in other
regions
Diseases have increased since its
construction
SCHISTOSMIASIS
FROM PARASITIC WORMS
4 CLIMATE ZONES
Tropical Wet
Savanna
Desert
Mediterranean
Tropical Wet
Central and West Africa
Avg Temp: 80 degrees
Rainfall: 60-120 in
Leaching: Minerals dissolved
Disease: Malaria, Tsetse Fly
West Africa Tropical wetHot humid, lots of rainfall
Savanna
Largest climate zone
Grasslands
Summer: Hot+Wet
Winter: Warm+Dry
Drought: Periods w/o rain
Desertification: land into desert
Savanna-½ of Africa is
Tropical Wet and Drylargest climate in Africa
little rain in Winter
DESERTS
Covers 40% of Africa
Sahara
LARGER THAN U.S.
10 YEARS W/O RAIN
Kalahari: South Africa
Namib: One of driest places
Desert-Sahara-130 degrees
Deforestation
The process of
land turning to
desert
Desertification could displace up to 50m people over
the next decade
Tree-planting schemes may put pressure
on scarce water resources
Desertification Video
While you’re watching the video, pay
attention to why deserts are GOOD.
Plant life
Energy
MEDITERRANEAN
Similar to California
Mild climate and fertile soil
Makes for good farming
conditions
South Africa
Mediterranean-summers
hot and dry, winters cooler
and moist
HEALTH CONCERNS
Disease carrying insects
Malaria kills 1,000,000 children
Tsetse Fly:
KILLS CATTLE
TRANSMITS BLINDNESS
Bliharzia: Snails that carry
parasitic worms
Malaria
Malaria
Malaria
A TSETSE FLY
-causes sleeping sickness
The early phase entails bouts of fever,
headaches, pains in the joints and itching. The
second, known as the neurological phase,
begins when the parasite crosses the blood-brain
barrier and infests the central nervous system.
This is when the characteristic signs and
symptoms of the disease appear: confusion,
sensory disturbances and poor coordination.
Disturbance of the sleep cycle, which gives the
disease its name, is the most important feature.
Without treatment, the disease is fatal. If the
patient does not receive treatment before the
onset of the second phase, neurological damage
is irreversible even after treatment.
Dysentery
Way of life
Most live in the
savanna
Most are
farmers
Few hunters
remain
Cities
growing
Languages
1000’s are
spoken
Creates
problems
Swahili:
Bantu and
Arabic
IGHT ARRIVES
BETWEEN EUROPE & AFRICA
Pre Class
What does an Archaeologist do?
ARCHAEOLOGIST
Recreate the
past
Study the
remains of
ancient
humans (both
fossils &
artifacts)
Paintings on
cave walls
Tools, weapons,
food, religion
MARY AND LOUIS LEAKEY
Worked in Tanzania in 1950
Found bone in rock
2,000,000 years old
Africa was home to 1st people
Paleontologist
Studies
fossils of
man &
animals
Anthropologists
Scientists
studying
physical and
cultural
characteristics
of humans