Sub-Saharan Africa

Physical Geography

Highlight the Sahara Desert on your map.

Physical Geography

Highlight the Namib Desert and Kalahari Desert on your map.

Deserts1. Sahara Desert

Only 25% of the Sahara is covered in sand. The rest is gravel-covered plains, rocky plateaus and volcanic mountains.

Temperatures can range from 5° F to 136oF, and the average rainfall is 3 inches per year.

2. Kalahari Desert – 100,000 sq. miles, located in Botswana, Namibia and South Africa. It is the 14th largest desert in the world.3. Namib Desert – The world’s oldest desert. Located in Namibia and Angola, the desert climate causes unpredictable annual rainfall.

Desert facts• Great desert transportation is via camel, which

can go for up to 17 days without water.• Aquifers, huge stores of underground water,

can be found throughout the desert.• Randomly, water comes to the surface in the

desert…which is called an oasis.

Temporary Housing for Herders

Physical Geography

Highlight the Sahel on your map.

Grasslands1. Sahel along the southern edge of the Sahara:– Large grassland– Overgrazing – Subsistence farming prevalent– Semi-arid climate

2. Serengeti Plains of northern Tanzania contain large numbers of animals such as wildebeests, gazelles, and zebras.

Physical Geography

Label the Congo Rainforest on your map.

Rainforest• The Congo Rainforest sits at the equator in the

area of the Congo Basin in Central Africa.• One square acre of rain forest can contain almost

100 different kinds of trees, and home to hundreds of species of birds.

• Most animals live in the uppermost layer of branches, almost 150 feet above the ground…called the canopy.

Physical Geography

Label the Great Rift Valley on your map. G

reat

Rift

Val

ley

Rift Valleys• Great Rift Valley- thin valleys. The eastern part of

Africa is pulling away from the rest of Africa from Jordan to Mozambique. The valley is created by the divergent moving tectonic plates.

Label the water features to the

left in blue:

Also, why do you think the lakes are

located on the eastern side of the

continent?

Mountain• Most mountains are volcanic• Highest mountains include Mount Kenya and

Mount Kilimanjaro on the eastern side of the continent.

Natural Resources Africa is rich in natural resources which include: • Precious metals

Examples:

Chromium- used to manufacture stainless steel.

Platinum Gold Cobalt -is used in high-grade steel for aircraft and industrial engines

• Oil• Natural Gas

Crude Oil

• Gold• Gemstones

Star of AfricaWorld’s Largest Diamond

530.20 Carats

Crown Jewels of England, Royal Specter

• Freshwater• Arable Land

Human-Environment Interaction Examples

• Overgrazing the grasslands of the Sahel can cause the loss of grasslands and the spreading of the desert also called desertification.

Aswan High Dam• Completed in 1970, it was built to control the flood waters of

the Nile.• Lake Nasser is the artificial lake created behind the dam that

stretches for nearly 300 miles.

The dam gives farmers a regular supply of water, and holds the Nile’s flood waters at bay.

Aswan High Dam cont.• Forced relocation of

people• Ancient treasures

flooded by Lake Nasser • Decreased fertility of soil • Malaria rates have

increased• Millions of gallons of

fresh water evaporates each year.

Human adaptations and modifications to the Rainforest include: • Slash-and-burn agricultural

3 tropical latitudes define location of the region:• Tropic of Cancer• Tropic of Capricorn • Equator

Highlight and Label the tropical latitude lines.

The two biggest influences on the climate of Africa are:• Latitude • Wind Patterns

• The Sahara Desert limits the migration of people from the northern part of Africa to the southern portions of the continent.

Migration Patterns

• Some farmers are working hard to farm what they can in the desert. However, they can not grow enough food so a countries with mostly arid regions have a higher debt ratio because they have to import more food to their country.

Farm here is tending to his grapevines. Pesticide is not needed because it’s too hot for bugs.

• People who rely on subsistence farming will survive on less food per day then people in countries like the U.S. which are market-driven.

Economy and Culture• Women in rural areas are usually involved in

subsistence farming. • The majority of Sub-Saharan countries engage

in these primary economies.

Political Power and PopulationThe more of one type of people there are in a country over the other, the more political power the majority population has over the minority population in governing decisions.

Upper Volta Region near Burkina Faso

Review Time!

1. People in rural Africa most commonly work in ____________farming.

Subsistence

2. Underdeveloped countries have most jobs in the _______________sector of the economy.

Primary

3. Where are the majority of forests found in Africa? (N,S,E,W or Central?)

Central

4. Describe the Sahel:

• Large grassland• Overgrazing • Subsistence farming prevalent• Semi-arid climate

12. How were the rift valleys in Sub-Saharan Africa formed?

Tectonic forces

14. What physical feature limits migration between the Northern and Southern portions of Africa?

Sahara Desert

16. What natural resources are important in Sub-Saharan Africa?

• Oil• Natural Gas• Fresh Water• Arable Land• Gold• Precious Metals

25. How was the Namib Desert formed?

Climatic forces

26. Using the rainforest for timber, medicine and food would be an example of _________________ - ______________ interaction.

Human-Environment Interaction

27. What are the primary influences on the climate of Africa?

• Latitude• Wind Systems

28. If the people of Sub-Saharan Africa are no longer able to grow their own food (subsistence farming), how will they get food?

Import it

Time Limit: 5 minutes

Clean Up:1. Put the glue and scissors in the appropriate place. 2. Put the marker and map pencils in the

appropriate place. 3. Slack your group maps on top of each other so

that I can roll them up together. 4. Pick up stray paper off the floor and throw it

away.5. EVERYONE MUST BE SEATED SO WE CAN RELEASE.