Africa
Physical Geography
Land and
Water
• Where is
Africa
located?
• What are
Africa’s most
important
landforms?
The Four Regions of Africa
• Africa can be divided into four
regions:
(1) North;
(2) West;
(3) East; and
(4) Central and Southern.
• North Africa’s physical features
include rocky mountains and the
Sahara, the world’s largest desert.
• West Africa is Africa’s most
populated region; its grasslands
provide good soil for farming.
• East Africa
is marked
by
mountains,
hills, and
plateaus,
large raised
areas of
mostly level
land.
• Central and Southern Africa has
grasslands, rain forests, mountains,
swamps, and deserts, including the
Namib and the Kalahari.
Africa’s Major Landforms
• Africa is called the “plateau continent”
because of its high elevation—the
height of land above sea level.
• Each of Africa’s regions has mountains.
The highest are in East Africa.
• There, the continent’s highest mountain,
Mount Kilimanjaro, rises to a height of
more than 19,000 feet.
• Coastal plains lie along much Africa’s
coastline. In some places, the plains end
in an escarpment, or steep cliff.
• The 4,000-mile-long Great Rift Valley in
East Africa was formed millions of
years ago as continents pulled apart.
• A rift is a deep trench.
• Major lakes are in or near the Great
Rift Valley.
The Great Rift Valley
The Great Rift
Valley is so large
that more than
30 Grand Canyons
could fit inside it.
Africa’s Rivers
• The Nile: The world’s longest river, 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: 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: Africa’s third-longest river
begins in Guinea, running about 2,600
miles and ending in the Gulf of Guinea.
• The Zambezi: Africa’s fourth-longest
river is about 2,200 miles long and runs
through six countries in Southern
Africa.
Climate and Vegetation
• What types of climates and
vegetation are found in Africa?
• How do climate and vegetation
affect how Africans make a living?
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.
• Countries with higher elevation, such as
Ethiopia, tend to have a cooler, moister
climate than those at a low elevation.
• Lower countries such as Somalia
tend to be hot and dry.
• 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?
Desert and Rain Forest
Vegetation
• Tropical rain forests once covered
much of Central Africa, but much
of the forest has been cut down to
harvest wood or clear farmland.
• Loss of the forest causes nutrients
in the land to be washed away in
heavy rains.
• North and south of the rain forests is
the savanna, grasslands with scattered
trees.
• The climate in the savanna has a wet
season and a dry season.
• Between the Sahara
and the savanna is a
region called the
Sahel, which is hot
and dry.
• Nomads are people
who move around to
various places to
make a living.
• Nomadic traders,
hunters, and
herders live in the
Sahara.
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 fly is found in nearly one
fifth of Africa.
• The bite of the tsetse fly kills cattle
and causes humans to get sleeping
sickness.
• Herders in various countries use
poisons and traps
to try to control
the spread of the
tsetse fly.
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.
• 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 trees
grow throughout
Africa, and many
have been cut
down for sale.
• Some countries
are replanting
hardwoods to
save the forests.
•From this map you
can see how the 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.
• 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.
• 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.
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.