Physical Geography of Sub-Saharan Africa

Geography and Climate

Creation of Africa

Africa South of the Sahara

• The land mass is more than twice the size of the US

• Made up of 4 sub-regions: West Africa, Central Africa, East Africa, and Southern Africa

How big is it?

Regions of Africa

Landforms: Plateaus and Lowlands

• Most of Sub – Saharan Africa lies on plateaus• Plateaus are an area of high, flat land• The edges of the plateaus are marked by

escarpments• The escarpments cause waterfalls, rapids, and

prevent interior trade• Lowlands (plains) border the Atlantic and Indian

Oceans

Landforms: Escarpments

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

Lanforms: Mountains

• Sub-Saharan Africa does not have large mountain ranges, but there are several tall mountains that are volcanoes.

• The tallest mountain is Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania at 19,341 feet.

• The Drakensberg Range is found in southern Africa

Landforms: The Great Rift Valley

• A rift valley is a large break in the Earth’s surface formed by sifting tectonic plates

• The Great Rift Valley stretches from Southwest Asia to southern Africa about 4,000 miles

• The valley’s floor lies below sea level in many areas while the walls rise 2,000 to 3,000 feet above sea level

• The valley has rich volcanic soil good for agriculture

The Great Rift Valley

Waterways: Lakes

• Most of large lakes are in or near the Great Rift Valley

• Lake Victoria is Africa’s largest lake

• The lakes in the GRV provide freshwater and fish to near by inhabitants

Waterways: Rivers

• The some of the lakes of the GRV serve as the source of rivers

• There 4 large river systems – the Nile, the Congo, and the Niger, and the Zambezi – all begin in the interior of Africa

• Geographical barriers prevent these rivers from being used by all of Africa

Mineral Resources

• Oil is the principal export for many Africa countries along the Atlantic coast

• Natural gas is found along the Atlantic• Coal deposits are located in Central Africa• Iron ore and chormium is found through out

Africa• Large deposits of gold, diamonds, rubies,

emeralds, and sapphires are also found in Africa

Factors Affecting Climate

• Africa lies mainly in the tropics yet high and low elevations cause varied climate zones

Tropical Wet Climate

• Found along the Equator in Central Africa and West Africa

• Consists of rainforest• Rainforest are being cleared for farmers,

materials, and fuel – deforestation• To prevent more deforestation – countries

are promoting ecotourism – tourism that help preserve the environment

Tropical Dry Climate

• Rainforest give way of the savanna – grasslands with moderate rainfall

• Savanna gives way to the steppe – drier grasslands • Steppe gives way to the deserts• Deserts are very dry, barren land without trees• Desertification is the drying up of land along a

desert

Savannah

SahelA semi-arid region south of the Sahara Desert

Moderate Climate Regions

• Moderate temperatures are found in coastal Southern Africa

• The farther south you go the more temperate the climate