Chapter 21 East Africa

Environmental Characteristics:• Tropical and temperate

savanna• Tropical rainforest • Great Rift Valley • Very Dry (lower-lying lands of

northern Kenya and Greater Somalia are )

Positive Attributes:• Good cattle lands• Great lakes (Albert,

Tanganyika, Malawi, Victoria)• Coastal Region (ideal for

trade)

Challenging Attributes:• Unreliable rainfall• Constant fear of drought• Famine • War and civil unrest • No regional community

(The Horn)

The Great Rift Valley

Gre

at R

ift

Val

ley

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

Great Rift Valley• A rift valley is a crack in the Earth’s surface and is a defining feature of

the East African landscape.• The Great Rift Valley is made up of two branches.• The Western Rift Valley cuts through Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda, and

Uganda.• The Western Rift Valley is where Lake Tanganyika is found, which is

one of the longest and deepest freshwater lakes in the world.• The Eastern Rift Valley cuts through Tanzania, Kenya, and Ethiopia.• The Eastern Rift Valley has Africa’s two major mountains: Kilimanjaro

and Kenya.

# 4,000 miles long

#The Great Rift Valley is rich in minerals and metals

#Good soil for farming

#Because of volcanic ash there are well preserved bones and the world’s oldest human fossils have been found there

Mountains of East Africa

Volcanoes• Near rift valleys

• Eastern Congo

• Mt. Kenya

• Mt. Kilimanjaro…

Mountains

• Sub-Saharan Africa does not have large mountain ranges, but there are several tall mountains that are volcanoes.• In East Africa, the mountains are found in the Eastern

Highlands, part of the Ethiopian Plateau.• The tallest mountain is Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania at 19,341

feet.• The second tallest mountain is Mt. Kenya at 17,058 feet.

Mount KilimanjaroAfrica’s most recognized

featureTallest mountain in AfricaFamous snow cap is disappearing

(Will be gone in a few years)

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”

Mt. Kenya

Ruwenzori Mountains

• This is another mountain range found in East Africa.• It divides Uganda and the

Democratic Republic of the Congo.• This mountain range is

covered with snow and cloaked in clouds.• It’s nickname is the

“Mountains of the Moon.”

Lakes of East Africa

Rift Valleys

Often have long, narrow lakes

Lake VictoriaAfrica’s largest lake by area

largest tropical lake in the world

world's second largest freshwater lake by surface area

Africa's largest inland fishery

Lake Victoria• Second largest freshwater lake in the world• Covers an areas of 26,828 square miles.• It is located along the borders of Uganda, Tanzania, and Kenya between the

Eastern and Western Rift Valleys.• It was formed over 10,000 years ago.• Lake Victoria lies at the headwaters of the White Nile River.• It is a shallow lake with a depth of only 270 feet.• Has provided means of transportation between Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania

with ferry ports in each country.• It is nearly twice the size of Lake Tanganyika.

Lake Victoria

• Located in the middle of the Great Rift Valley of Eastern Africa• It is a shallow depression• Largest lake in Africa

Lake Tanganyika

• Is found in the Western Rift Valley.• It is one of the deepest freshwater lakes in the

world.• It is located between Tanzania and the

Democratic Republic of the Congo.• Both Lake Victoria and Lake Tanganyika are

surrounded by rich soil and are known for abundant fishing.• These characteristics have resulted in the area

around both lakes to be heavily populated.

Lake Turkana

• It is found in Kenya along the northern border in Ethiopia.

• It is a source of growing wind-power and hydroelectric industries in Kenya.

• Lake Turkana has rocky shores in the east and south due to volcanic outcrops.

• It lies in a part of the Eastern Rift Valley that get little rain, so it is surrounded by desert.

• The lake had once been part of a larger lake, but due to desertification, it has shrank.

• In the west and north, the lake is marked by sand dunes, sandpits, and mudflats.

Lake Turkana

Plateaus

Continent of Plateaus• Africa as a continent is often described as

“One big Plateau”• Coastal plains go 20 miles inland. • Africa is a series of plateau after plateau &

in between there are escarpments.• The East African plateaus range in

elevation from 500 feet to 8,000 feet or more.• Escarpments- steep cliffs or slopes• Due to the plateaus and escarpments of

East Africa, the rivers are known to have many cataracts (rapids) and large waterfalls.

Plateau’s Impact on Rivers

•Depth varies depending on the season-if it’s the rainy season or the dry season•Plateaus prevent easy navigation due to water falls.•Therefore, the interior of Africa remained Therefore, the interior of Africa remained largely unexplored largely unexplored

Example of East African River: The Nile

• Nile River –• world’s longest (4,000 + miles)• Sources: White Nile (Uganda) &

Blue Nile (Ethiopian highlands) • flows into the Mediterranean

Plateau’s Impact on Rivers

• The rivers in Sub-Saharan Africa are difficult to navigate because they have many waterfalls and rapids.

Blue Nile Falls

Ethiopian PlateauA rugged mass of mountains in

Ethiopia

Sometimes called the “Roof of Africa”Includes gorges, river channels, and

AMBAS, steep-sided flat-topped lands.

Contain grasslands, woodlands and desert areas

Ethiopian Highlands• Canyons carved by water

Highland’s Climate

• Moderate climate with comfortable temperatures and adequate rainfall.• Good for farming.• Lower temperatures than savanna due to the high elevation.• So snow is common at the higher elevations.• Has green farmlands and protected forests.

Savanna

Savanna

• Tropical grasslands with scattered trees.• Rainfall is seasonal alternating between rainy and dry seasons.• The wettest areas are closest to the equator---there are six months of almost

daily rainfall followed by six months of dry seasons.• The annual rainfall is about 35 to 45 inches.• This area is found in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Burundi.• The soil is the savanna is not very fertile.

The African Savanna:13 million sq. mi.

Tropical Wet & Dry Climate: The African Savanna

#The savanna is the largest climate zone in Africa covering over ½ of the continent

#Unpredictable rainfall can lead to drought (long periods with little or no rain)

Serengeti Plain

•One of the world’s largest savanna plains•There are three types of grasses found here: short, medium, and tall.•These grasslands make up a suitable home for millions of animals like zebras, gazelles, hyenas, lions, giraffes, and cheetahs.

Serengeti Plains hosts the largest

mammal migration in the world

contains several national parks and game reserves

diverse species due to diverse habitats ranging from riverine forests, swamps, grasslands and woodlands

Savanna

• Today, the plains boast a wide range of cultures, from Maasai nomads to Kikuyu farmers and Dorobo hunter-gatherers. • For thousands of years, the region's rhythm of life remained

unchanged.• But now, sporadic droughts, soil erosion and overgrazing are tiring

the land out, while demands on it from impoverished human populations continue to grow.

Maasai: Nomadic Herding Tribe in

Savannah

Savanna • Maasai• Nomadic Herding of Cattle

Characteristics of Maasai

• Semi-nomadic pastoralists• Southern Kenya and northern Tanzania

• Tropical Savannah Climate• Semi-arid lands• 61-74 degree F• 20-40 inches rain (November – May)

These are Maasai warriors

They wear a distinctive red checked blanket (shuka)

These are Maasai warriors

They protect their tribe, their cattle and their grazing lands.

Aged 14, boys leave the village and look after cattle far from the village for as much as 8 years

They return as warriors. They return to get married.

Modern Maasai

• Reduced territory, less grazing land• Conflict with farmers• > sedentism(since they are no longer truly nomadic due

to the reduced territory) this has lead to a poor diet and lifestyle

• Access to seasonal wetlands• Have to migrate with cattle

• Politically marginalized• Forced to adopt non-pastoralist economic activities

Natural Resources of East Africa

Natural Resources• Tanzania: major gold and natural gas deposits, diamonds, and tanzanite• Ethiopia: gold• Uganda: copper• Kenya: minerals like soda ash used for glassmaking and agriculture• Burundi: agriculture and known for its coffee• Rwanda: agriculture and natural gas• Tourism: waterfalls like Victoria Falls, climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, going on a

safari in the savanna

Resources:• Cattle • Iron• Oil• Copper• Gold• Uranium (Somalia)• Diamonds (Tanzania)• Steel

East African Economies

• Farming• 70% rural• Cash crops: coffee, tea, sugar• Dependent on world market

• Tourism• Wildlife parks• Game reserves

Farming and Tourism• East Africa is more than 70% rural

• East Africa relies on cash crops such as coffee, tea, and sugar which are grown for direct sale.

• Agricultural production has decreased over recent years…why?

• Tourism is also a money maker in East Africa. Many lands have been turned into national parks to secure the land and safety of animals. How does this interfere with agriculture?

?

Main Idea 1:National parks are a major source of income for Tanzania and Kenya.

More than 2 million tourists visit Tanzania and Kenya each year. One popular reason for visiting is the safari, an overland journey to view wildlife.

Tanzania is rich in gold and diamonds.

Farming is the major activity in both countries. Some people want to farm on national park land, but that would hurt tourism and endanger wildlife.

Kenya also produces geothermal energy, energy produced from the heat of Earth’s interior.