Africa

Geography
■ Africa is the World's
second-largest
continent - 30,065,000
km² covering
approximately 20% of
the Earth's land and
6% of the Earth's
surface .
Geography

■ It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the

west, the Indian Ocean to the east and the
Mediterranean Sea to the north. The Red
Sea and Suez Canal lie to the north-east
and separate Africa from Asia.
Africa Map
The Great Rift Valley

■ The Great Rift

Valley is so large
that more than 30
Grand Canyons
could fit inside it.
Mountains & Highlands…

► Not many mountains

■ Atlas Mountains
■ Drakensberg
Mountains
■ Mount Kenya
■ Mount Kilimanjaro
► Africa’s highest
mountain
Africa’s Rivers
■ The Nile: the
longest river in the
World, measuring
6,695 km - flows
north ending in a
delta that empties
into the
Mediterranean Sea.
It runs more than
4,000 miles.
■ From its two
sources, the White
Nile and the Blue
Nile, it flows north
into the
Mediterranean Sea.
■ Its floods deposit silt, bits of rock and
soil that make the land fertile, or
nourishing, to plants.
■ The Aswan High Dam controls flooding
and provides electric power from the
rushing water.
The Congo

■ The Africa’s
second-longest river runs
through Central Africa
into the Atlantic Ocean,
fed by tributaries, small
rivers and streams that
flow into a larger river.
The Niger

■ The Africa’s
third-longest river
begins in Guinea,
running about
2,600 miles and
ending in the Gulf
of Guinea.
The Niger River
The Zambezi

■ The Africa’s
fourth-longest
river is about
2,200 miles long
and runs through
six countries in
Southern Africa.
The Zambezi
Deserts

The World's largest

desert, The Sahara,
measuring 9,000,000
km², covers much of
north Africa.
The Namib Desert

■ It is a coastal desert
in southern Africa.
■ The name Namib is
of Nama origin and
means "vast place".
Namib Desert
■ It stretches for more than 2,000 km, (1,200
mi) along the Atlantic coasts of Angola,
Namibia, and South Africa
■ It consists of sand seas near the coast
■ In fall or spring, winds blowing from the east
bring high temperatures (above 100 °F)
Namib Desert
Kalahari desert

■ It means thirsty land

■ It is a large semi-arid
sandy savannah
■ It measures 900,000
KM² (350,000 mi),
covering much of
Botswana and parts
of Namibia and
South Africa.
The Horn of Africa
■ is a large extension
of land that
protrudes from the
eastern edge of the
continent of Africa,
lying between the
Indian Ocean to the
east and the Gulf of
Aden to the north
The Horn of Africa

■ It consists of over
772,200 square
miles
■ It has a semi–arid to
arid climate.
■ It consists of
Djibouti, Ethiopia,
Eritrea, and
Somalia.
Sahel Africa
Sahel

■ The name of
countries are:
Burkina Faso,
Chad, Djibouti,
Eritrea, Ethiopia,
Mali, Mauritania,
Niger, Nigeria,
Senegal, Somalia,
Sudan.
Sahel
■ shore, border or coast of the Sahara
■ It is a semi-arid tropical savanna in Africa,
which forms the transitional zone between the
Sahara Desert to the north and the more
humid savanna belt to the south known as the
Sudan (not to be confused with the country of
the same name).
■ The Sahel region of
Africa runs 3862
kilometers (2,400 mi)
from the Atlantic
Ocean in the west to
the Red Sea in the
east,
The Atlas Mountain

■ The Atlas mountain

range lies in the
north-west of Africa
the highest
mountain.
Kilimanjaro

■ the highest
mountain,
Kilimanjaro,
5895 m, is in
Tanzania.
Regions & Seasons

■ Africa is broadly
divided into five
regions as shown on
the map right.
■ The seasons are fairly well defined in those
regions that lie in the northern and southern
hemispheres - the north and south of Africa.
Northern Africa
■ Spring - March, April,
May
■ Summer - June, July,
August
■ Autumn - September,
October, November
■ Winter - December,
January, February
Southern Africa
■ Spring - August,
September, October
■ Summer - November,
December, January
■ Autumn - February,
March, April
■ Winter - May, June,
July
Climate and Vegetation
■ What types of climates and
vegetation are found in Africa?
What Influences Climate?
■ The climate in most of Africa is warm
because the continent lies along the
Equator.
■ The seasons above the Equator are
the opposite of those below the
Equator.
Climate

■ The climate of Africa is

governed by its position
on the globe and can
be broadly divided into
five different climate
types:
Types of Climate
■ Tropical Rainforest -
This region is
characterized by very high
temperatures and high
rainfall throughout the
year. It covered much of
Central Africa, but much of
the forest has been cut
down to harvest wood or
clear farmland.
Tropical Rainforest
■ Loss of the
forest causes
nutrients in the
land to be
washed away in
heavy rains.
Savanna
■ This region has
very high
temperatures all
year and rain
during the
summer season
only.
Savanna
■ It has wet and
dry season.
■ It is the
savanna,
grasslands with
scattered trees.
Mediterranean

■ Warm to high
temperatures with
rainfall in the
autumn and winter
months.
Desert

■ High
temperatures
throughout the
year with very
little rainfall.
Steppe

■ This region has

high temperatures
all year and only
limited rainfall
during the summer
season.
Sahel

■ Between the
Sahara and the
savanna is a region
called the Sahel,
which is hot and
dry.
■ The steppe and savanna
regions are characterized
by large open areas of
tall grass

■ The rainforest areas are

jungles of dense, wet
forests.
High Elevation

■ Countries with
higher elevation,
such as Ethiopia,
tend to have a
cooler, moister
climate than
those at a low
elevation.
Lower Elevation

■ Lower
countries
such as
Somalia
tend to be
hot and dry.
How do climate and vegetation
affect how Africans make a living?

■ Their farmers must irrigate, or

artificially water, their crops.
■ Or they must farm near an oasis, a
place with springs and underground
water.
■ Rainfall in Africa varies greatly, from
more than 100 inches per year to
almost no rain.
What Influences Climate?
Building Good Health
■ Climate affects the health of people
and livestock throughout Africa.
■ The moisture in the rain forest
breeds disease-carrying insects.
The tsetse
■ The tsetse fly
is found in
nearly one
fifth of
Africa.
■ The bite of
the tsetse fly
kills cattle and
causes humans
to get sleeping
sickness.
The tsetse

■ Herders in
various
countries use
poisons and
traps
to try to
control
the spread of
the
tsetse fly.
The tsetse
Plant Life

■ The plant life of Africa is

wide and varied and
differs according to
climatic region.
■ The desert regions are
home to those plants that
can survive the arid
conditions and include
varieties of cypress, olive
trees and cacti.
Natural Resources
■ What are Africa’s major natural
resources?

■ How are Africans developing these

resources?
Agricultural Resources
■ Much of Africa’s
land is used for
subsistence
farming, or
raising crops to
support one’s
own family.
■ Some
subsistence
farmers also
grow a few crops
to sell or trade.
Agriculture
■ Crops raised to be sold are called
cash crops.
■ African cash crops include coffee,
cacao, and tea.
■ When too much land is used for cash
crops and those crops fail, food
shortages can occur.
Hardwood
■ Hardwood trees
grow throughout
Africa, and many
have been cut
down for sale.
■ Some countries
are replanting
hardwoods to
save the forests.
Human-environment interaction
■ Ways of making a living in
Africa vary from region to
region.

■ Herding is widespread in the

north, and farming takes
place throughout the
western and central portions
of the continent.

■ Other activities such as

manufacturing are scattered
throughout Africa.
Mineral Resources
■ An economy is a
system for
producing,
distributing,
consuming, and
owning goods,
services, and
wealth.
■ Mining is a major
part of Africa’s
economy.
Mining Gold
■ The country of Ghana
was once called the
Gold Coast because it
was a chief exporter
of gold.
■ Other minerals from
Africa include copper,
silver, uranium,
titanium, and
diamonds.
Petroleum
■ Parts of North
Africa, as well as
the West African
country of
Nigeria, have large
supplies of a
valuable mineral
resource:
petroleum.
■ It is used to make
oil and gasoline.
Balancing Crops, Minerals, and
Industry
■ A specialized economy is one that is
dependent on one kind of industry.
■ In Africa, specialized farm economies
can be harmed by lack of rainfall or
falling crop prices.
■ African countries are now trying to
diversify their economies—that is, to
add variety to them.
■ African economies have diversified by
producing a variety of crops, raw
materials, and manufactured goods.
Agriculture
Animal Life
■ The grassland areas of Africa
are home to many well known
wild animals including -
aardvark, African elephant,
antelope, baboon, buffalo,
cheetah, giraffe, gnu,
hippopotamus, hyena, impala,
jackal, leopard, lion, meerkat,
mongoose, ostrich,
rhinoceros, vulture, wildebeest
and zebra.
■ The rainforest areas are
home to a wide variety of
insects, birds and animals
including - antelope,
chimpanzee, gorilla,
Mandrill, okapi,
hippopotamus and parrots.