Transcript Atlas Mountains

The Shape of the Land
A Vast Continent
What does “vast” mean?
How big is Africa?
Location: Straddles the equator (almost
cutting it in half) making much of it in the
tropics; two major oceans; center of trade
(changed due to Suez Canal)
Regions: book says north, west, east,
central and south:
•
North Africa – most closely associated
with Middle East
•
Sub-Sahara – south of the Sahara,
HIV/AIDS a huge problem
•
West Africa
Landforms
Plateaus: most of the continent is a series
of these; 367 ft vs. 7,000 ft (p. 62)
• escarpments (steep cliffs) formed by rivers
cutting through;
Great Rift Valley: giant fault in eastern
part of the continent p. 61
Rivers
Hydroelectric Power – energy created by
moving water; important resource
The Nile: 4,000 miles making it longest in
the world; earliest civilizations; Aswan Dam
created Lake Nasser to help with flood
issues and power.
•
• Other Key Rivers: Congo, Niger,
Zambezi
Natural Resources
• Mineral Exports: diamonds –where?,
copper, oil in the Sahara, etc.
• Uneven Distribution: some have much,
some have little
AFRICA!
Atlas Mountains
Drakensberg Mountains
during our Winter
Drakensberg Mountains Winter
(which is our Summer )
Mt. Kenya
Mt.Kilimanjaro
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The Great
Rift Valley
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Nile River Egypt
Nile River in Uganda
Lake Nasser
Niger River
Zambezi River
Zambezi at Victoria Falls
Congo River
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Lake Chad
2007 Lake Chad
“shows slight recovery”
Lake Victoria
Lake Tanganyika
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Sahara Desert
Kalahari Desert
Namib Desert
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Suez Canal
SUEZ Canal