AFRICAN
PHYSICAL
GEOGRAPHY
Introduction
• Massive continent, 2nd largest.
• Large, complex, and often misunderstood
• Equally in North and South hemisphere
The Nile River
• Longest River in the World
• White Nile and Blue Nile
meet in Sudan to form the
Nile River
• Flows northward, emptying
in the Mediterranean Sea
• Without the annual
flooding in Egypt land
would not be arable
THE NILE
The Nile
RIVER
Lower
Nile
Upper
Nile
SUEZ CANAL
• Located in Egypt
• Divides the mainland
Egypt from the Sinai
Peninsula
• Connects the
Mediterranean Sea
with Red Sea
• One third the
distance that it was
before
SUEZ CANAL
SAHARA DESERT
• Sahara Desert is the
largest desert in the
world
• Why
1. On the Tropic of
Cancer
2. Permanent high
pressure system
3. Rain Shadow by Atlas
Mountains
SAHARA DESERT
• There are two
main types of
landscape in
the Sahara
– Erg – sand
dunes
– Reg – gravel
covered plain
SAHEL
• Semi-arid region
just south of the
Sahara
• Dry grasslands with
scattered trees
• Desertification is a
growing problem
– Growing of the desert
caused by climate
changes and over
grazing
SAVANNAS
• Tropical grasslands with
scattered trees and
shrubs
• This is where many of
the African Safaris take
place
• Large populations of
wildlife
• Serengeti – means
“endless plains”
– Largest mammal migration
and game reserve
Tsetse Fly
The Good, the Bad, and the
Ugly
• Bad – Carries a disease the
make its victims (humans
and domesticated animal)
have “Sleeping Sickness”
• Good – Wildlife are
immune. Humans and
livestock avoid some of
these areas creating a
natural game preserve
A Vast Plateau
• Huge plateau covers most
of Africa (1,000 ft. above sea level).
• Basins - huge depressions
on plateau (Chad, Sudan,
Congo Basins). Water
collects here.
• Plateaus separated by
escarpments—steep
slope with flat plateau on
top
CONGO RIVER
BASIN
• Located near the
equator in
central and
western Africa
• This is where the
majority of
Africa’s tropical
rain forests are
located
The Great Rift
Valley
• Located in Eastern Africa
• Largest Rift Valley in the
world
• Caused by the diverging
Indian Tectonic Plate
• Surrounding lakes and
rivers are very deep
Mount Kilimanjaro:
• Africa’s highest
mountain at 19,341 feet
• Located on the Equator
in Tanzania near Kenya
• Formed by volcanic
activity from the Great
Rift Valley
• Only year round snow
capped mountain in
Africa
– Known in Swahili as
“Shining Mountain”
Lake Victoria
• Located in the middle of the Great
Rift Valley of Eastern Africa
• It is a shallow depression
• Largest lake in Africa
Victoria Falls
• Forms a border
between
Zambia and
Zimbabwe
• Largest
waterfall in
the world
Okavango
Swamp/River
• Worlds largest
inland river delta
• River is absorbed
by the Kalahari
Desert
• Large game
reserve in the
desert
Kalahari Desert
• Largest Desert in
southern Africa
• Has many oasis
which makes it
habitable
• Oasis – vegetated
areas in a desert
caused by fresh
water springs
CAPE OF
GOOD HOPE
• Southern most
point of Africa
• Converging
currents from the
Indian and Atlantic
Oceans make
waters dangerous
for sailing but great
wildlife
Only Place in
the world Great
Whites breach
South African Penguins