The Plateau Continent
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Transcript of The Plateau Continent
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The Plateau Continent
Africa
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Landforms and Resources
• Shape and landforms are result of location in Pangea.– Other continents
moved a great amount while present day Africa moved very little
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True size of Africa
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Vast Plateau
• Majority of land lies on a plateau that stretches across the continent.– The majority of land is
1000 ft. above sea level
– Basins: depressions in the ground
– Nile River: world’s longest river, 4,000 mi. long, flows N to Egypt
NileMed
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Victoria Falls:One of the 7 Wonders of the World
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Distinctive African Landforms
• Rift Valleys: continental plates pull apart, form huge cracks, land sinks– Stretch 4,000 mi. – Lakes form at the bottom
• Mount Kenya and Mount Kilimanjaro (Africa’s Highest Mount.) are both volcanoes
• Escarpment: steep slope with a flat plateau
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Resources
• Minerals– Gold, platinum,
chromium, cobalt, copper & diamonds
– Because of colonialism, Africa hasn’t developed the infrastructure needed to make a profit
Diamond Miners
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• Oil– Libya, Angola, Nigeria
and Algeria are leading producers
– American oil companies pay fee to Angola which turns and uses money to fund ongoing civil war.
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Diversity of Resources
• Coffee– Most profitable after oil
• Lumber• Agriculture
– Single most important econ. activity
– 60% of Africans earn their living in farming
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Climate and Vegetation
• Warm Continent• Sahara: largest desert in
world. –Temp. H: 136.4° (day), below freezing at night
• Aquifers: underground stores of H²O. Known as an oasis when they reach surface
• Tropical weather all year long
– 90% of land lies between tropic of Cancer and tropic of Capricorn
Sahara
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Sunshine and Rainfall
• Rain forest receives most rain (on or near Equator)
• W coast receives a great deal
• Moderate area (N & S tips) only receives rain in winter
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Grassy Continent
• Tropical Grasslands cover most of Africa– Serengeti Plain: grassland in N. Tanzania– Perfect for animals to graze
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Serengeti
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Rain Forest– Sits along Equator area of Congo basin– Wide variety of plant & animals
• Most live in the canopy (near the tops of the trees)
– Farmers using slash and burn have cut down ½ already, now endangered
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Human Environment Interaction
• Nigeria– Sixth leading oil producer, most shipped to U.S.– Oil spills (4,000 in 40 yrs)
• Oil pipeline explosions, sabotage by rebels• Fires lead to acid rain
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Desertification of Sahel• Sahel: shore of the desert
– Desertification: expansion of dry conditions into moist areas that are near desert• Normal, natural process that is sped up because of
grazing• Causes include: overgrazing, farming, pop. increase
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Controlling the Nile
• 1st Aswan Dam completed in 1902
• Aswan High Dam– 4 miles up river form 1st Dam
– Creates Lake Nasser (artificial), Egypt shares with Sudan– Increased farmable land by 50%– Natural renewal of silt (sediment), which occurs during floods, gone– Expensive fertilizers now used– Mosquitoes increased