Physical Features of Africa

SSWG4a Describe the location of major physical features and their impact on Sub-Saharan Africa.

Mountains/Highlands

• Major Highlands: Ethiopian Highlands/Plateau, Mt. Kilimanjaro

• Ethiopian Highlands were created because of volcanic eruptions long ago

• Kilimanjaro an inactive stratavolcano.

Mountains

Ethiopian Highlands/Plateau Mt. Kilimanjaro

Rivers

• Major Rivers: Nile, Congo, Zambezi, Senegal, Niger, Orange

• Nile is the longest river in the world (flows north)

• Victoria Falls is part of the Zambezi River System

Rivers

Nile River Zambezi River

Valleys/Plains/Basins

• Major features: Congo Basin, Great Rift Valley

• The Congo Basin contains almost 20% of the world's rain forest.

• Great Rift Valley is a great depression in eastern Africa

Valleys/Plains/Basins

Great Rift Valley Congo River Basin

Deserts

• Major features: Sahara, Kalahari, Namib• Covering almost one-third of the continent,

the Sahara is the largest desert in the world• The Kalahari, covered largely by reddish sand,

lies between the Orange and Zambezi rivers

Deserts

Sahara Desert Kalahari

Lake

• Lake Victoria, Lake Tanganyika, Lake Nyasa, Lake Chad

• Most are precious water sources and have high population density around them.

• Lake Victoria is the largest African lake• Lake Chad is shrinking because of its

location.

Lakes

Lake Chad Lake Victoria

Additional Land Features

• Horn of Africa, Sahel, Comoros Islands, Canary Islands

• The Sahel is on the southern edges of the ever-expanding Sahara Desert. It’s a transition zone between the dry areas of the north and the tropical areas of the south.

• Horn of Africa is the peninsula on the eastern side of the continent.

Other Land FeaturesHorn of Africa Sahel