AFRICA

• Africa is a region of occurrences – from tsunamis to droughts; fires to floods and meteor impacts to epidemics and pandemics

• Between 1975 and 2005, the population more than doubled from 335 to 751 million and is predicted to reach 1.1 billion by 2025

• Total forest area of Africa is 5 683 131 km2; Africa constitutes about 17 per cent of the world's forests; Nigeria has the world’s highest

deforestation rate

• Currently Africa’s growth rate is at 2.2 per cent a year

• 300 million Africans do not have access to safe water, about 313 million have no access to sanitation and over 88 million people are malnourished

• In Africa, agriculture provides livelihoods for about 60 per cent of the continent's active labour force, contributes to 17 per cent of Africa's total

gross domestic product and accounts for 40 per cent of its foreign currency earnings

Sources: FAO, Population Reference Bureau

The topography of Africa features a series of relatively flat plateaus and saucer-shaped basins, broken by highlands, mountain ranges, and valleys. Northern and

western Africa, widely known as Low Africa, has much lower mean elevations than the south and east, often called High.

Climate - determined by rainfall, latitude and elevation

• Savanna - 40%, safari!!

• Tropical Rainforest - 8%,

• Desert - 40%

• Mediterranean - 12%, good farm land

• About 85% of the land is not suited to About 85% of the land is not suited to farmingfarming

Thatch House in Kenya Circular thatch houses are common in many parts of Africa. Here, the inhabitants of Amboseli, a village in Kenya, are putting the finishing touches on a new dwelling. To build these houses, thatch must be attached in layers to a frame made of wood. The floor inside is made of dried mud.

LANDFORMS

MOUNTAINS

High Atlas Range, Morocco Jebel Toubkal, the tallest mountain in North Africa, rises above a rocky valley in the High Atlas range of Morocco. Although the summit is 4,165

m (13,665 ft) above sea level, it is often free of snow.

Ras Dashen In northern Ethiopia the Ethiopian Plateau rises to its highest point at Ras

Dashen (4,620 m/15,157 ft). The mountain’s jagged surroundings are home to several animal species unique to Ethiopia.

Mount Kenya

Mount Kenya is an extinct volcano in

central Kenya. At 5,199 m (17,057 ft) tall, it is

the second tallest mountain in Africa.

Margherita Peak, mountain in northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC,

formerly Zaire) and the third highest peak in East Africa at 5,109 m (16,762 ft). The tallest

peak in the Ruwenzori Range, Margherita Peak forms part of the DRC's border with

Uganda.

Mount Meru Extinct volcano in northeastern Tanzania,

about 68 km (42 mi) west of Kilimanjaro. After Kilimanjaro, it is the second highest mountain

in Tanzania at 4,565 m (14,977 ft).

The Great Rift Valley is one of the most distinctive features of African topography. Formed where

Earth’s crust is being pulled apart by the action of convection currents beneath the surface, rift

valleys are long, deep valleys bounded by parallel faults, or fractures, in Earth’s crust. The Great Rift Valley system begins in Syria, in the Middle East, and extends southward, down the length of the

Red Sea.

The Drakensberg Mountains in eastern South Africa form part of the Great Escarpment, a ridge that divides the central plateau regions of southern Africa from the lowland regions on the coast. Extending from Limpopo Province south to the province of Eastern Cape, the Drakensberg range contains the highest elevations in South Africa.

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LAKES

Lake Tanganyika Lake Tanganyika, located in the Great Rift Valley, is the longest and

second deepest freshwater lake in the world.

Lake Albert also Albert Nyanza and Lake Mobutu Sese Seko, lake, east central Africa, in western Uganda and northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo

(DRC, formerly Zaire).

Lake Turkana Lake Turkana is the largest and most northerly of all the Great Rift Valley lakes. It lies mostly in Kenya, with its northernmost tip extending into Ethiopia. The striking jade-green color of its waters is due to the presence of blue-green algae. A massive

volcanic crater is situated at the southern end of the lake.

True desert

P rob lem : D esertifica tion

m a ln u trit ion s ta rva tion p overty

S ah e l D esert(sou th S ah ara )

The Sahara is the world’s largest desert. It stretches from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea, and from the

Mediterranean Sea and Atlas Mountains southward for 2,000 km (1,000 mi)

Desert on Atlantic Coast The Namib Desert extends along the Atlantic Coast in

Africa for 1,500 km (930 mi), mostly in Namibia.

VEGETATION

Fouta Djallon Savanna While most of the Fouta Djallon region in Guinea is a rugged mountain plateau cut by deep valleys, the eastern portion is gently sloping land covered in part by savanna. The largest ethnic group of the region is the Fulani, many of whom raise cattle on the grasslands. The Fulani arrived in the region in about the 10th century, and later established a series of kingdoms throughout the area which stood until defeated by colonial powers in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Botswana Tableland Botswana lies on what is called tableland—a huge semiarid plateau that averages 1,100 m (3,300 ft) in elevation. It has a subtropical climate and is covered by savanna vegetation of grasslands with few trees.

Wildflowers of Namaqualand Namaqualand, in western Northern Cape province, South Africa, is usually dry and barren. However, vibrant wildflowers cover the landscape for a brief

period each spring.

ANIMALS

Okapi The okapi, a member of the giraffe family, lives a secluded life deep in the rain forests of eastern

Africa. Reaching heights of more than 2 m (7 ft) at the shoulder, the okapi feeds on the leaves of low-

growing tree branches.

Verreaux’s Sifaka Verreaux’s sifaka, a species of lemur, lives in the dry forests of western Madagascar where it spends most of its time in trees eating fruit and leaves. Weighing less than 4 kg (less than 9 lb), it is known for its long, stunning leaps of 10 m (34 ft) between trees. Sifakas, like other lemurs, are endangered by habitat destruction.

Cheetah The cheetah is believed to be the fastest

animal on Earth, reaching speeds of more than 97 km/h (60 mph) while chasing prey.

Wildebeests, gazelles, impalas, and other hoofed mammals make up much of the

cheetah’s diet. Cheetahs generally stalk their prey to within 10 m (33 ft) and then burst into a

sprint to close the gap. Studies indicate that approximately half of the chases initiated by

the cheetah are successful

Nile River A number of different watercourses drain into Africa’s Nile River. The Blue Nile, originating in Ethiopia, joins the White Nile at Khartoum, Sudan; from this point the Nile runs northward through Sudan and Egypt and empties into the Mediterranean Sea. As shown here, the Nile provides people and materials with a means of transportation.

Victoria Falls One of the most spectacular waterfalls in the world, Victoria Falls is formed as the entire flow of the Zambezi River drops from a relatively flat plain into a narrow cataract. On the border of southern Zambia and northwestern Zimbabwe, the gorge was created when a layer of resistant rock wore away, exposing softer rock beneath.

Lake Victoria Lake Victoria in Africa is the world’s second-largest

freshwater lake. These large rock formations lie on the lake’s southern shore in Tanzania.

Large artificial lakes that were created by damming major rivers.

A significant fishing industry has developed around the lake.

Okavango Delta In the Okavango Delta in Botswana, water from the Okavango River flows through many channels filled

with papyrus and other aquatic plants.

A Satellite View

Africa’s Size

# Second largest continent 11,700,000 sq. mi.

# 10% of the world’s population.

# 2 ½ times the size of the U. S.

5000

MILES

4 6 0 0 M I L E S

Bodies

Of

Water

Nile River

Congo River

Zambezi River

Niger River

Orange River

Limpopo River

Mediterranean Sea

Atlantic Ocean

Pacific Ocean

Indian Ocean

Red Sea

L. Victoria

L. Albert-->

L. Chad-->

L. Tanganyika->

<--Gu

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den

The Mighty Nile River:

“Longest River in the World”

The Congo River Basin

# Covers 12% of thecontinent.

# Extends over 9countries.

# 2,720 miles long.

# 99% of the countryof Zaire is in theCongo River basin.

The Niger River Basin

# Covers 7.5% of the continent.

# Extends over 10 countries.

# 2,600 miles long.

Hydroelectric Power

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Ruwenzori M

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Δ Mt. Kenya

Δ Mt. Kilimanjaro

Mountains

&

Peaks

Atlas Mts.

The African Plateau

Deserts Sahara Desert

Sahel

Kalahari

Desert

Nam

ib D

esert

Libyan Desert

The Sahara Desert

The Sahel

Valleys

&

Plains

Gre

at R

ift

Val

ley

Great Rift Valley

3,000 miles long

Seismic Activity in Africa

Africa:

The“Tropica

l”Contine

nt

Tropic of Cancer 20° N

Tropic of Capricorn20° S

Equator 0°

West Africa: Home of our Hurricanes

Vegetation Zones

The African Savannah:

13 million sq. mi.

African Rain Forest

# Annual rainfall of up to 17 ft.

# Rapid decomposition (very humid).

# Covers 37 countries.

# 15% of the land surface of Africa.

Mt. Kilimanjaro:

Kilimanjaro, the tallest mountain in Africa, lies in northeastern Tanzania near the border of Kenya. The mountain has two volcanic peaks, spaced about 11 km (about 7 mi) apart, with the higher of the two rising 5,895 m (19,341 ft). Farmers cultivate coffee beans and plantains on Kilimanjaro’s lower slopes.

The

Complete

Topography

Of

AFRICA

Nile River

Congo River

Zambezi River

Niger River

Orange River

Limpopo River

Mediterranean Sea

Atlantic Ocean

Pacific Ocean

Indian Ocean

Red Sea

L. Victoria

L. Albert-->

L. Chad-->

L. Tanganyika->

<--Gu

lf of A

den

Drajensburg Mts.

Ruw

enzori Mts.

Δ Mt. Kenya

Δ Mt. Kilimanjaro

Sahara Desert

Sahel

Kalahari

Desert

Nam

ib D

esert

Libyan Desert

Gre

at R

ift

Val

ley

Atlas Mts.

Tropic of Cancer 20° N

Tropic of Capricorn20° S

Equator 0°

Natural Resources

Q: Is it possible to drive the length of Africa, from north to south?

A: Yes, over the years a large number of people have driven from the Mediterranean

coast of Egypt to the Cape of Good Hope near the southern tip of South Africa, a journey of

more than 4,500 miles.

Q: What is the most popular sport in Africa?

A: Soccer (or as its usually called outside of the United States, football) is the most popular sport in Africa. While the origins of this sport are European

and it came to Africa with European influence, Africa has made its mark on soccer. Particularly significant have been the achievements of local and national

teams from Morocco, Nigeria, Cameroon, and South Africa. To learn more about soccer in Africa, check out

African Football Confederation Online.

Q: Which African nations are monarchies?

A: Africa is currently home to three monarchies: Morocco, Lesotho, and Swaziland.