SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA: THE
LAND
LANDFORMS: PLATEAUS, HIGHLANDS, AND
MOUNTAINS
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SSA (Sub-Saharan Africa) is made up many plateaus.
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The edges of these plateaus are marker by escarpments
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Steep, often jagged slopes or cliffs.
Rivers crossing plateaus dropped down the escarpments in
cataracts.
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They rise in elevation from the coast inland, and from west to
east.
Large water-falls
SSA has relatively few mountains

Most African mountains dot the Eastern Highlands
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Include Mt. Kilimanjaro and Mt. Kenya
Ruwenzori Mountains
Located West of the Eastern Highlands
 Divides Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
 Covered in snow and cloaked in clouds, its also called the
“Mountains of the Moon”

VICTORIA FALLS, ZAMBIA
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http://www.smh.com.au/travel/one-metre-fromdeath-a-dip-in-the-worlds-most-spectacular-pool20111215-1ovtf.html
“MOUNTAINS OF THE MOON” – THE
RUWENZORI MOUNTAINS

http://www.unesco.org/archives/multimedia/?s=fil
ms_details&id_page=33&id_film=1472
THE LAND: THE GREAT RIFT VALLEY

Stretches from Syria in Southwest Asia to
Mozambique.
Rift Valley – a large crack in the earth’s surface
formed by shifting tectonic plates
 Formed million of years ago, as plate movements
created the system of faults or fractures in the
earth’s crust.
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The Great Rift Valley lays in these faults
Two Branches:
1. Volcanic Mountains on its edges
 2. Deep lakes that run parallel to its length

GREAT RIFT VALLEY


http://www.sciencechannel.com/tv-shows/whenearth-erupts/videos/african-rift.htm
Video 2 & 3
WATER SYSTEMS: LAND OF LAKES

Most of the Regions lakes are located near the
Great Rift Valley
Lake Victoria – Africa’s largest lake, lies between the
eastern and western branches of the Rift
 Lake Volta:

One of the largest man-made lakes
 Created in the 1960s by damming the Volta River south of
Ajena, Ghana
 Supplies Ghana with irrigation water, electricity, and
fishing.

LAKE VICTORIA & LAKE VOLTA
WATER SYSTEMS: RIVER BASINS

Niger River
Means “Great River”
 Important for agricultural, transportation, and tourism.
 At Aboh in southern Nigeria the river splits into a giant
delta, measuring 150 miles long and 200 miles wide (at its
broadest).

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Delta - a triangular tract of sediment deposited at the mouth of a
river, typically where it diverges into several outlets.
ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS: NIGER
DELTA

http://www.theguardian.com/globaldevelopment/video/2013/oct/16/illegal-oilrefinery-niger-delta-video
WATER SYSTEMS: THE CONGO RIVER

Facts:
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2,900 miles long
Largest network of navigable waterways in Africa
Has great and dangerous rapids
Plunges more than 900 feet in numerous cataracts
not far from where it reaches the Atlantic Ocean
Meets the Atlantic Ocean through a deep estuary

Estuary - a partially enclosed body of water along the coast
where freshwater from rivers and streams meets and mixes
with salt water from the ocean.

http://www.fastcompany.com/3020118/worksmart/what-surviving-congo-river-rapids-teachesus-about-being-tenacious
NATURAL RESOURCES

Oil Reserves


Gold


South Africa provides half the worlds gold
Precious Metals


Angola, Nigeria, Gabon, Congo
Zimbabwe, Democratic Republic of the Congo,
Tanzania, Ghana
Uranium
Usually found with gold
 South Africa, Niger, Gabon, DR Congo, and Namibia


Diamonds
Major: South Africa, Botswana, Congo River basin
 Minor: Angola, DR Congo, and Sierra Leone

AFRICA’S DIAMOND TRADE

http://www.history.com/videos/africas-blooddiamond#africas-blood-diamond