The Shape of the Land

• A Vast Continent

• Location: Straddles the equator (almost cutting it in half) making much of it in the tropics; two major oceans; center of trade (changed due to Suez Canal)

• Regions: book says north, west, east, central and south:

• North Africa – most closely associated

with Middle East

• Sub-Sahara – south of the Sahara,

HIV/AIDS a huge problem

• West Africa

Landforms

• Plateaus: most of the continent is a series of these; 367 ft vs. 7,000 ft

• escarpments (steep cliffs) formed by rivers cutting through;  

• Great Rift Valley: giant fault in eastern part of the continent p. 61

Rivers

• Hydroelectric Power – energy created by moving water; important resource

• The Nile: 4,000 miles making it longest in the world; earliest civilizations; Aswan Dam created Lake Nasser to help with flood issues and power.

•  • Other Key Rivers: Congo, Niger, Zambezi

Natural Resources

 

• Mineral Exports: diamonds –where?, copper, oil in the Sahara, etc.

 

• Uneven Distribution: some have much, some have little

AFRICA!AFRICA!

Atlas Mountains

Drakensberg Mountainsduring our Winter

Drakensberg Mountains Winter (which is our Summer )

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Mt. Kenya

Mt.Kilimanjaro

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The Great Rift Valley

Nile River Egypt

Nile River in Uganda

Lake Nasser

Niger River

Zambezi River

Zambezi at Victoria Falls

Congo River

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Lake Chad

2007 Lake Chad “shows slight recovery”

Lake Victoria

Lake Tanganyika

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Sahara Desert SAHARA DESERT

Kalahari Desert

Namib Desert

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Suez CanalSuez Canal

SUEZ CanalSUEZ Canal