Transcript Physical Geography of Africa

Physical Geography of Africa
The Physical Geography greatly affected
development of African societies.
October 17, 2006.
Nile River
• Biggest or second biggest river in the world
competes with the Amazon river in South
America for the title of that.
• The Nile has two major tributaries in the Blue
and White Nile. The Blue Nile is the source of
water, but the White Nile is the longer of the two.
• The Blue and White Nile meet in Khartoum,
Sudan. (The Capital of Sudan).
• Its mouth forms at the Mediterranean Sea.
• It is 4,160 miles long.
This is the Nile
Atlantic Ocean
• Second Largest Ocean,
covering approximately
one-fifth the earth’s
surface.
• Divided into the North
Atlantic and South
Atlantic by Equatorial
Counter Currents at
about 8° North latitude.
• Bounded by the Americas
on the west and Europe
and Africa on the east.
Indian Ocean
• Third largest body of
water in the world
covering roughly 20% of
the earth’s surface.
• It is bounded on the north
by Southern Asia; on the
west by the Arabian
Peninsula and Africa; on
the east by the Malay
Peninsula, the Sunda
Islands, and Australia;
and on the south by the
Southern (Arctic) Ocean.
Mediterranean Sea
•
•
•
Almost completely enclosed by land;
Europe (North), Africa (South), Asia
(East).
It covers an approximate area 965 000
square miles , but its connection to the
Atlantic courtesy of the Strait of
Gibraltar is only 9 miles wide.
It allowed for trade and cultural
exchange between emergent peoples
of the region — the Mesopotamian,
Egyptian, Semitic, Persian, Phoenician,
Carthaginian, Greek and Roman
cultures.
Red Sea
• It is an inlet of the Indian Sea
between Africa and Asia.
• The connection to the ocean is in
the south through the Bab el
Mandeb (“Gate of Tears” in Arabic)
sound and the Gulf of Aden.
• Has a surface area of roughly
174,000 square miles: being
roughly 1,200 miles long and, at
its widest point, over 190 miles
wide.
Sahara Desert
• Covers one-fourth of Northern Africa.
• Thousands of years ago it was fertile and had
lots of water.
• Now very dry.
• Southern edge of the Sahara is called the Sahel
(A band of semi-arid Savanna).
• Second largest desert at over 3,500,000 square
miles, almost as large as the United States.
• The Sahara is located in northern Africa and is
2.5 million years old.
Sahara Continued
• The Sahara divides the
continent of Africa into
North and Sub-Saharan
Africa.
• The boundaries of the
Sahara are the Atlantic
Ocean on the west, the
Atlas Mountains and the
Mediterranean Sea on
the north, the Red Sea
and Egypt on the east,
and the Sudan and the
valley of the Niger River
on the south.
Sahel Region
• The Sanel is the boundary
zone in Africa between the
Sahara to the north and the
more fertile region to the south,
known as Sub-Saharan Africa.
• The Sahel is primarily savanna
and runs from the Atlantic
Ocean to the Horn of Africa,
changing from semi-arid
grasslands to thorn savanna.
Grasslands/Savannas
• Rainfall is uncertain.
• Agriculture developed
in these regions.
• Where this area
meets the desert is
where people herded
cattle.
Sub-Saharan Africa
• Term used to describe
those countries of the
African continent that
are not considered
part of North Africa.
Ethiopian Highlands
• The Ethiopian Highlands are a rugged mass of mountains
in Ethiopia, Eritrea, and northern Somalia in northeastern
Africa.
• The Ethiopian Highlands form the largest continuous area
of its altitude in the whole continent.
• The Highlands are divided
into northwestern and
southeastern portions by the
Great Rift Valley, which
contains a number of salt lakes.
• Sometimes called “Roof of
Africa”.
African Rainforest
• Hot and Rainy.
• Over 100 inches of rain in
some places.
• Farming flourished.
• Many diseases carried by
insects wiped out large
numbers of people.
• The African Rainforest is a
large expanse of
equatorial rainforest at the
center of the African
Continent.
Zambezi River
• The Zambezi (also
spelled Zambesi) is the
fourth-longest river in
Africa, and the largest
flowing into the Indian
Ocean.
• The river has its source
in Zambia and flows
through Angola, along
the border of Namibia,
Botswana, Zambia and
Zimbabwe, to
Mozambique, where it
empties into the Indian
Ocean.
Limpopo River
• The Limpopo is the second
largest river in the region (Not
second largest in Africa).
• The Limpopo river flows in a
great arc, first zig-zagging
northeast and north, then
turning east and finally
southeast.
• It serves as a border for about
640 kilometres, separating
South Africa on the southeast
bank from Botswana in the
northwest and Zimbabwe on
the north.
Niger River
• The Niger River is the
principal river of western
Africa, extending over
2500 miles.
• It runs in a crescent
through Guinea, Mali,
Niger, on the border with
Benin and then through
Nigeria, discharging
through a massive delta,
known as the Oil Rivers,
into the Gulf of Guinea.
• Third largest river in
Africa.
Congo River
• The Congo River
(formerly known as Zaire
River) is the largest river
in Western Central Africa,
and the second largest in
all of Africa.
• The river and its
tributaries flow through
the fifth second rain forest
area in the world, only the
Amazon Rainforest being
larger.
Lake Chad
• Is a large, shallow
lake in Africa. It is
economically very
important, providing
water to more than 20
million people living in
the four countries
which surround it —
Chad, Cameroon,
Niger and Nigeria.
Lake Victoria
• Africa’s largest lake, and
the largest tropical lake in
the world, and the second
largest fresh water lake in
the world.
• The lake lies within an
elevated plateau in the
western part of Africa's
Great Rift Valley and is
subject to territorial
administration by
Tanzania, Uganda and
Kenya.