SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA: THE LAND

LANDFORMS: PLATEAUS, HIGHLANDS, AND MOUNTAINS SSA (Sub-Saharan Africa) is made up many plateaus.

They rise in elevation from the coast inland, and from west to east.

The edges of these plateaus are marker by escarpments Steep, often jagged slopes or cliffs.

Rivers crossing plateaus dropped down the escarpments in cataracts. Large water-falls

SSA has relatively few mountains Most African mountains dot the Eastern Highlands

Include Mt. Kilimanjaro and Mt. Kenya Ruwenzori Mountains

Located West of the Eastern Highlands Divides Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Covered in snow and cloaked in clouds, its also called the

“Mountains of the Moon”

VICTORIA FALLS, ZAMBIA http://www.smh.com.au/travel/one-metre-

from-death-a-dip-in-the-worlds-most-spectacular-pool-20111215-1ovtf.html

“MOUNTAINS OF THE MOON” – THE RUWENZORI MOUNTAINS http://www.unesco.org/archives/multimedia/?

s=films_details&id_page=33&id_film=1472

THE LAND: THE GREAT RIFT VALLEY Stretches from Syria in Southwest Asia to

Mozambique. Rift Valley – a large crack in the earth’s surface

formed by shifting tectonic plates Formed million of years ago, as plate movements

created the system of faults or fractures in the earth’s crust. The Great Rift Valley lays in these faults

Two Branches: 1. Volcanic Mountains on its edges 2. Deep lakes that run parallel to its length

GREAT RIFT VALLEY http://

www.sciencechannel.com/tv-shows/when-earth-erupts/videos/african-rift.htm

Video 2 & 3

WATER SYSTEMS: LAND OF LAKES Most of the Regions lakes are located near

the Great Rift Valley Lake Victoria – Africa’s largest lake, lies between

the eastern and western branches of the Rift Lake Volta:

One of the largest man-made lakes Created in the 1960s by damming the Volta River

south of Ajena, Ghana Supplies Ghana with irrigation water, electricity, and

fishing.

LAKE VICTORIA & LAKE VOLTA

WATER SYSTEMS: RIVER BASINS Niger River

Means “Great River” Important for agricultural, transportation, and tourism. At Aboh in southern Nigeria the river splits into a giant

delta, measuring 150 miles long and 200 miles wide (at its broadest). Delta - a triangular tract of sediment deposited at the mouth

of a river, typically where it diverges into several outlets.

ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS: NIGER DELTA http://www.theguardian.com/global-

development/video/2013/oct/16/illegal-oil-refinery-niger-delta-video

WATER SYSTEMS: THE CONGO RIVER Facts:

2,900 miles long Largest network of navigable waterways in Africa Has great and dangerous rapids Plunges more than 900 feet in numerous

cataracts not far from where it reaches the Atlantic Ocean

Meets the Atlantic Ocean through a deep estuary Estuary - a partially enclosed body of water along the

coast where freshwater from rivers and streams meets and mixes with salt water from the ocean.

http://www.fastcompany.com/3020118/work-smart/what-surviving-congo-river-rapids-teaches-us-about-being-tenacious

NATURAL RESOURCES Oil Reserves

Angola, Nigeria, Gabon, Congo Gold

South Africa provides half the worlds gold Precious Metals

Zimbabwe, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Ghana

Uranium Usually found with gold South Africa, Niger, Gabon, DR Congo, and Namibia

Diamonds Major: South Africa, Botswana, Congo River basin Minor: Angola, DR Congo, and Sierra Leone

AFRICA’S DIAMOND TRADE http://www.history.com/videos/africas-blood-

diamond#africas-blood-diamond