Physical Geography

Physical Geography Sub-Saharan Africa

Where is Sub-Saharan Africa???

Four Regions

Landforms: Plateaus and Lowlands • Plateaus make up most of Africa. • A plateau is an area of high, flat land • The edges of plateaus are marked by escarpments. • The escarpments cause waterfalls, rapids, and prevent interior trade. • Lowlands (plains) border the Atlantic and Indian Ocean.

Landforms: Escarpment • Africa is a large plateau with escarpments on the edges. • An escarpment is similar to a cliff although not as steep.

Landforms: Mountains • Africa does have scattered volcanic mountains, the old and worn Atlas mountains in the northwest, and the Ethiopian highlands • In the Ethiopian Highlands, population is high due to climate, resources. • The Drakensberg Range is found in Southern Africa.

Landforms: The Great Rift Valley • A rift valley is large break in the Earth’s surface formed by shifting plate tectonics. (divergent plates) • The Great Rift Valley stretches from Southwest Asia to southern Africa about 4,000 miles. • The valley has rich volcanic soil good for agriculture. • This is an area of earthquakes.

Landforms: Lakes • Part of rift valleys have filled with water forming Africa’s characteristic elongated lakes. • Along the Great Rift Valley people have settled near Lake Victoria, Lake Tanganyika, and Lake Malawi because of the access to fresh water. • Areas around Lake Victoria have a high population density due to climate and fresh water.

Landforms: Deserts • The Sahara, the world's largest non-polar desert, covers an area of 3,500,000 square miles. • The Sahara limits migration between northern and southern Africa. • Namib and Kalahari Desert in southern Africa have low population density and little economic activities due to arid climate.

Landforms: Sahel • Sahel: the semiarid region of Africa between the Sahara to the north and the savannas to the south • Nomadic farming is the type of subsistence farming found along the Sahel and east Africa due to climate. • Desertification: is the drying up of land along a desert.

Landforms: Serengeti • It lies in the tropical climate zone and as a result people participate in hunting, herding, and farming ecosystems.

Landforms: Congo Basin • The tropical climate allows for forestry and some agriculture due to the abundance of rain as compared to other regions. • Deforestation: rainforests are being cleared for farmers, materials, and fuel • Ecotourism- tourism that helps preserve the environment.

Climate • Africa is the only continent that is centered on the equator. • As a result, the climates and vegetation of Africa are symmetrical about the equator

Mineral Resources • Oil is the principle export for many countries along the African coast. • Natural gas is found along the Atlantic • Coal deposits are located in central Africa. • Large deposits of diamonds, emeralds, rubies, sapphires, and gold are also found in Africa

Subsistence Agriculture: producing enough food to meet a family’s needs • Herding of animals • Crop cultivation • Mixed farming cultivation and animal herding

Physical Geography