The Student will locate
select features of Africa
Locate the
following physical
features on your
maps:
Sahara Desert
Sahel
Niger River
Savanna
Atlas Mountains
Congo River
Niger River
Nile River
Lake Victoria
Kalahari Desert
Lake Tanganyika
Cape of Good Hope
Savanna
Savanna
Savanna
Lake Tanganyika
Sahara Desert
World’s
Largest
Desert
It covers almost
one-third of the
continent and
stretches from
the Atlantic
Ocean to the
Red Sea.
It divides the
continent into two
regions:
Arab North Africa
and Black African
Sub-Saharan
Africa
Kalahari Desert
The kalahari covers
over 100,000 square
miles of southwestern
Africa. It gets around 10
inches of rain a year
and has very hot
summers.
Grass, shrubs, and a number
of wild animals are able to
survive in the Kalahari
because of an underground
supply of water.
Savannas
A savanna is a rolling grassland
scattered with shrubs and isolated
trees. Not enough rain falls on a
savanna to support forests.
Savannas are also known as tropical
grasslands. They are found in a wide
band on either side of the equator on
the edges of tropical rainforests.
Serengeti
Although the soil in the
savanna is very rich, there
is no farming because of
disease carrying insects like
the tsetse fly and black fly.
The Sahel is a belt of dry grassland that
borders the southern edge of the
Sahara Desert. This semi-arid region is
sparsely vegetated area and receives
an average of four to eight inches of
rainfall per year during its July to
September monsoon season
Desertification – the process of once fertile farm land turning into desert.
In the 1970’s, drought caused
mass starvation. More than
1,000,000 people died. Many
farmers moved to cities. The
desert gradually took over
abandoned farms.
Termite mound in the Sahel during the dry season
The Congo Basin holds
the world’s second
largest rainforest and
represents 70% of the
African continent's plant
cover .
Rainforests
A tropical rainforest is a forest close to the
equator, averaging over 70 inches of rain a
year, with dense vegetation.
The Congo is one of the
world's most threatened
ecosystems.
Commercial logging,
clearing for subsistence
agriculture, and warfare
has devastated the
forest, displaced people,
and resulted in the
expansion of the
"bushmeat" trade. Since
the 1980s, Africa has
had the highest
deforestation rates of
any region on the globe.
Lake Victoria
Lake Victoria is the largest lake in Africa and the second
largest freshwater lake in the world (Lake Superior is larger).
The longest river
in the world (The
Nile River)
originates from
Lake Victoria as
the White Nile.
Lake Tanganyika
Lake Tanganyika is an African Great Lake. It is
estimated to be the second largest freshwater
lake in the world by volume, and the second
deepest, after Lake Baikal in Siberia.
The water
flows into
the Congo
River
system and
ultimately
into the
Atlantic
Ocean.
Nile River
At over 4,000 miles in length, the Nile is the longest river in the world.
go
Most of Africa’s
fertile farm lands
lie along the Nile. It
has been a source
of fresh water for
people, animals
and crops, and an
important trade
route for
thousands of
years.
Congo River
The second longest river in Africa
(after the Nile). The Congo (also
known as the Zaire River) is the
most powerful river in Africa.
People use the river for fishing
and travel.
Zaire
Hydroelectric power
obtained from the river
powers most of Central
Africa.
Niger River
The Niger is the third-longest river
in Africa, exceeded only by the Nile
and the Congo River (also known
as the Zaire River).
The river floods
during the annual
rainy season creating
freshwater
marshlands, where
people grow rice and
fish. The Niger Delta
contains rich supplies
of oil, providing
Nigeria with most of
its annual income.
Atlas Mountains
Located on the
northwest corner
of the continent,
the Atlas
Mountains run
through Morocco,
Algeria, and
Tunisia. This
range separates
the Mediterranean
and Atlantic coast
lines from the
Sahara.
Locate and label
on your political
map, the
following
countries:
South Africa
Egypt
Kenya
Sudan
Nigeria
Democratic
Republic of
Congo (Zaire)
Currency = Rand (ZAR)
South Africa
Dutch traders landed at the southern tip
of modern day South Africa in 1652 and
established a stopover point on the spice
route between the Netherlands and the
East, founding the city of Cape Town.
South Africa has three capitals
– Pretoria (executive),
Bloemfontein (judicial), and
Cape Town (legislative) and
eleven official languages. The
largest city is Johannesburg.
Egypt
Currency = Egyptian pound (EGP)
The capital of Egypt is Cairo. The
official language is Arabic. Egypt is one
of the most populous countries in Africa
and the Middle East. The majority live
near the banks of the Nile River.
The first kingdom was
founded around 3150
BC by King Menses,
giving rise to a series
of dynasties that
ruled Egypt for the
next three thousand
years.
Kenya
Currency = Kenyan Shilling (KES)
The Capital of Kenya is Nairobi.
They have two official
languages, English and Swahili.
In 1984 a skeleton
was discovered at
Lake Turkana of a
boy belonging to
Homo erectus from
1.6 million years
ago.
Sudan
Currency = Pound
The capital of Sudan is Khartoum. They
have two official languages, Arabic and
English. It is the largest country in Africa
and in the Arab World. It is ranked as the
second most politically unstable country
in the world.
Sudan's modern history has
been plagued by civil wars
stemming from ethnic, religious,
and economic conflict between
the Muslim Northern Sudanese,
and the Christian of Southern
Sudan.
Refugees waiting for water – Darfur, Sudan
Nigeria
Currency = Nigerian naira (₦) (NGN)
The capital of Nigeria is Abuja. The
largest city is Lagos. Nigeria has 4
official languages, English, Hausa,
Igbo, and Yoruba.
Nigeria is the most
populated country in
Africa.
Students in Nigeria
Democratic Republic of Congo (Zaire)
Currency - Congolese franc (CDF)
The capital of DRC is Kinshasa.
The official language is French.
An unstable nation, local fighting
has killed more than 4 million
people.
Their economy depends
on the diamond industry.
Many laborers only
make a dollar a day.
The Congo rainforest is home to the mountain gorilla.
Outline the
regions of
Africa on your
maps.
Lets take a Quiz!
•http://staff.harrisonburg.k12.va.us/~cwalton/mapquizafrica.htm
Created by
Debra Harrington
Yeager Middle School
2009
References
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http://www.swindsor.k12.ct.us/Schools/tems/teachers/swierczynski/sahara_files/SAHARAmap.gif
http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/afnewlnd.gif
http://www.naturalhistoryonthenet.com/Continents/images/africaregions.jpg
http://staff.harrisonburg.k12.va.us/~cwalton/mapquizafrica.htm
http://grabstein.co.za/Graphics/kalahari.jpg
http://www.esrl.noaa.gov/news/2005/sahel/sahel_map.gif
http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/nile-river-2.jpg
http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/savanna.htm
http://www.geography-site.co.uk/pages/countries/atlas/maps/congo_dr.gif
http://www.rhinocarhire.com/getfile/67dd0251-003f-4aca-8a67-bfa219b77d30/South-Africa.aspx
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/SF.html
http://keithaharmon.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/pyramids.jpg
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caWildlifeFolderImages/14.jpg&imgrefurl=http://muller.lbl.gov/travel_photos/africawildlifefolder/africawildlifefolderpages/Image14.html&usg=__IFdFLRW_UpDaS4eke9_sTIsybZg=&h=600&w=800&sz=436&hl=e
n&start=18&um=1&tbnid=UQafjMpFERYU2M:&tbnh=107&tbnw=143&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dm
ountan%2Bgorilla%26hl%3Den%26um%3D1
http://www.trekhireuk.com/assets/morocco-toubkal/toubkal-lunch.jpg