Geo Week 19

Central Africa

- Central Africa is home to most of the continent's tropical rainforests. While there are some groups that live under its forest canopies, most of the region's population live in the grasslands and highlands. Thick vegetation prevents large-scale agriculture; however, some areas grow coffee and cacao for export. Although there are hundreds of ethnic groups across this region (the Democratic Republic of Congo alone has over seven hundred local languages), most groups are able to communicate through Pidgin, a grammatically simplified speech. Some of the current countries in Central Africa include Tanzania, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Gabon.

Atlantic Ocean

Bordering the entire west coast of Africa, the Atlantic Ocean is the second largest ocean in the world and covers approximately twenty percent of the earth's surface. In 1498, Vasco da Gama reached India by navigating south around the Cape of Good Hope, opening the avenue for trade with the African continent. During the period of New World colonization, the drastic reduction of the indigenous population led to the introduction of the Atlantic slave trade, during which an estimated ten million Africans were exported, most of them destined for agricultural labor.

Climates of Sub-Saharan Africa

Hot temperatures and warm climates define sub-Saharan Africa. The Equator runs directly across the African continent, and the climates both above and below it mirrors one another. These range from tropical wet and dry climates to extremely dry arid conditions. These regions play an enormous role in the cultures and lifestyles of the people who inhabit them.

What climatic region of Sub-Saharan Africa is a transitional boundary between the Congo Basin and the Sahara?

Sahel

What climatic region near the Equator has dry and rainy seasons?

Savana

A _________ is a depression in the Earth's surface formed by gradually shifting tectonic plates.

rift valley

The Sahara may not be the largest desert in the world, but it is the largest ______ desert.

hot

Desert Climates

- In the Sahara, Kalahari, and Namib deserts, dry arid climates prevail. Little rainfall occurs annually in these regions. Temperatures are generally high except for the Kalahari Desert, which has wide fluctuations in daily temperatures—highs up to 120 degrees Fahrenheit and lows of 50 degrees. These regions have limited human activity, but certain types of plants and animals thrive in these conditions.

Tropical Wet

- In the area of West Africa and along the Equator, tropical wet climates are prevalent. These areas receive plentiful rain throughout the year and have virtually no dry season. These abundant rains result in the tremendous growth of ferns, shrubs, and mosses on the forest's lower levels. At the higher levels of the forest, massive trees tower above in thick groups, creating a canopy. Though many plants grow in this climatic region, the soil quality is poor due to the constant rain dissolving and carrying away nutrients in the soil.

Congo Basin

- The Congo Basin is a sedimentary watershed area in equatorial west Africa. It is home to some of the largest stands of undisturbed rainforest in the world, as well as the endangered western lowland gorilla and several other animals unique to its biodiversity. Globally, the Congo is the world's second lung, the counterpart to the dwindling Amazon. It's responsible for roughly eight percent of the world's forest-based carbons, trapping carbon that would otherwise turn into carbon dioxide (the primary cause of global warming).

Kalahari Desert

- The Kalahari Desert is actually a semi-desert spread across 350,000 square miles of land in the southern tip of Africa. It is a semi-desert because it has huge tracts of grazing savanna land after it rains. For this reason, it supports more wildlife and vegetation than a true desert, such as the Namib to the west. Additionally, the Kalahari consists of valleys and salt pans. The salt pans, particularly, indicate a formerly wetter climate area, highlighted by the contouring forms around its edges to capture water.

Namib

- The Namib is a coastal desert along the southwestern edge of Africa. It gradually ascends in elevation as it moves eastward and contains some of the largest sand dunes on earth, varying in color from pink to orange. With a precipitation ranging between .07 to 7.5 inches annually, the Namib is the only true desert in southern Africa and contains some of the driest regions on the planet. It traverses an area of 31,200 square miles and is an important location for the mining of tungsten, salt, and diamonds.

Sahel

- The Sahel is a transition zone between the Sahara Desert and the jungles of the Congo Basin. It runs all the way from the west coast of Africa on the Atlantic Ocean to the east coast on the Red Sea. The name Sahel means shore or edge in Arabic. The region has steppe-like conditions with low-lying grasses, shrubs, and acacia trees. The region gets minimal rainfall throughout the year.

East Africa

- The eastern coastline of Africa is considered one of the earliest settled regions in the world. Its location made it a crossroads for peoples of African, Indian, Arab, and European descent. Its inhabitants live across a variety of topographies—mostly along the coast, but also in the desert, steppes, savannas, and highlands. In fact, two of its most urban dwellings—Nairobi, Kenya, and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia—are landlocked and have grown significantly over the years thanks to trade growth. Ethiopia, Somalia, and Kenya are among the countries in the Horn of Africa.

Midlatitude Regions

- Though not as prevalent as tropical wet and dry climates, there are temperate regions in Sub-Saharan Africa. The tip of Africa in the southernmost point of the continent has a Mediterranean climate, as well as subtropical and marine climates. The highland areas in East Africa have varied climates as well. Due to the variations in elevation, the climate is temperate with lush vegetation. Snow is also not uncommon in this climatic region of Africa.

West Africa

- West Africa is a region with a wide range of landscapes. These include desert, river plains, steppe, tropical rainforest, and savanna landscapes. The area is rich in natural resources and wildlife, which came to be valued and exploited by European colonists. This region contains what were known as the Gold Coast, the Ivory Coast, the Pepper Coast, and the Slave Coast, named after the main exports during the colonial period. Some of the current countries in the area are Senegal, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast), and Ghana. Lagos is the largest city in Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Africa, with nearly 21 million people! It is also one of the world's fastest-growing cities. The city of Dakar is the capital and largest city in Senegal. It is infamous for being one of the largest trade ports during the Atlantic Slave Trade.

Regions of Sub-Saharan Africa

.....

Diamonds

Africa is the world's foremost producer.

Uranium

African production accounts for 18% of the world's yield.

Lake Victoria

At 23,146 square miles, Lake Victoria is the largest lake in Africa and is the world's second largest freshwater lake, second to Lake Superior in North America. It is the source of the White Nile (the main tributary of the Nile) and is located in between the east and west branches of the Great Rift Valley. Despite its size, the lake is formed in a shallow depression and has a maximum depth of about 270 feet. The lake's area is divided between three countries: Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania.

Nile River

At 4,130 square miles, the Nile River is the longest river on Earth and traverses eleven countries. It has two tributaries: the White Nile and the Blue Nile. From Lake Victoria in Tanzania (White Nile) and Lake Tana in Ethiopia (Blue Nile), the tributaries join at Khartoum, Sudan, and flow northwards to create the Nile and eventually empty into the Mediterranean Sea. The river is of great historical and religious importance to many of the countries it flows through. This is particularly true for Egypt and Sudan, as it's the primary water source for both civilizations.

The __________ is a tropical rainforest in Western Africa that is considered the Earth's "second lung."

Congo Basin

Desertification

Desertification is the process by which arid steppe-like climates become desert climates over time. This process occurs when a steppe region experiences long periods of water shortages and extreme dryness. Shrubs and trees that hold the moisture of the soil die off, leading to erosion. The Sahel is currently undergoing the process of desertification, with its borders shrinking yearly. Some scientists believe human land use and overgrazing by animals has contributed to the issue.

Which of Mount Kilimanjaro's peaks is actually a dormant volcano?

Kibo

Victoria Falls

Located at the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe, Victoria Falls is a waterfall on the Zambezi River that is considered the largest in the world due to its combined height and width. The river winds its way through a flat plateau and plummets in a large sheet of falling water. Victoria Falls is roughly twice the size of North America's Niagara Falls and is rivaled in size only by South America's Iguazu Falls. The most notable aspect of the area is its rainforest-like vegetation due to the spray of the falls. The falls are surrounded on either side by national parks that contain an abundance of wildlife, such as elephants, antelopes, giraffes, and zebras. Within the river itself, there's a large population of hippopotamuses and crocodiles.

Mt. Kilimanjaro

Mount Kilimanjaro is the highest single free-standing mountain in the world and the highest peak in the continent of Africa, with a summit of 19,341 square feet—that's thirteen times the height of the Empire State Building! Located in Tanzania, the mountain is actually a composite volcano made up of three peaks: Kibo, Mawenzi, and Shira. Kibo, the highest, is a dormant volcano, while the other two are extinct.

Africa

Much of history originated in this continent. As the second-largest in the world, it encompasses a vast area filled with many different ethnic groups that have varying languages and religions. In recent years, those groups have become independent nations that are working toward economic and political strength.

Great Rift Valley

One of the greatest geological wonders of Africa is the Great Rift Valley. Extending from southwestern Asia into southeastern Africa, this rift is a depression in the earth's surface formed by gradually shifting tectonic plates. Affected by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions over the centuries, the landscape is a dramatic one that showcases some of the highest mountains in the African continent and the deepest lakes. As implied by its name, the rift splits into two branches. The Western Rift contains some of the deepest lakes in the world, including Lake Tanganyika. Most of the volcanic cones, including Mt. Kilimanjaro, are situated in the Eastern Rift.

Natural Resources

Sub-Saharan Africa has an abundance of natural resources. From substantial mineral reserves to high-quality raw materials, the region has been greatly affected economically and historically by these resources' existence. From the western to southern coasts, the continent's interior has a great deal of natural wealth that has been exploited in the past by foreign entities such as the United States, Great Britain, Portugal, the Netherlands, and France. Only in recent years have the African countries taken the lead on procuring these natural resources and exporting them to the world at large.

Congo RIver

The Congo River is the second longest river in Africa. It is also the deepest river in the world, with a recorded 720 feet in depth, and the second largest in the world by discharge volume (water flow rate)—second only to the Amazon. The Congo's drainage basin covers an area of over a million square miles—that's bigger than the Indian subcontinent! Although waterfalls and rapids prevent access directly from the sea, the Congo's waterways are largely navigable and are a lifeline in a land with few roads. Much of the trade in Central Africa passes along the river, including sugar, coffee, copper, and cotton.

Indian Ocean

The Indian Ocean borders the eastern coast of Africa up until the Gulf of Aden on the northern coast of the Horn of Africa, where it becomes the Red Sea. This ocean is the warmest in the world and has provided major sea routes connecting the Middle East, Africa, and East Asia with each other since ancient times and, later on, with Europe and the Americas. Currently, it carries particularly heavy loads of petroleum—an estimated forty percent of the world's offshore oil production comes from the Indian Ocean and its regional seas.

Niger River

The Niger River is the main artery of western Africa. With its source in the Guinea Highlands, just 150 miles off the Atlantic coast, the river has a boomerang shape that arcs northeast, then curves south towards the Nigerian coast off the Atlantic Ocean. It is the third longest river in Africa after the Congo and the Nile. Seasonal floods make the Niger an extremely productive delta for fishing and agriculture as well as an effective means of transportation. The river's sharp bend is located near the ancient city of Timbuktu, the site of the fourteenth-century Mali Empire. Its location in that region of Africa has since made it a focal point of trade in the western Sahara.

Sahara Desert

The Sahara Desert is the third-largest desert in the world in terms of landmass; however, it is the largest hot desert. It comprises 3.6 million square miles—that's roughly the same size as the whole of the United States! It stretches from the Indian Ocean in the east to the Atlantic Ocean in the west, where its sand dunes turn into coastal plains. Most of the Sahara is actually a stone plateau, with sand seas covering only a small portion

Zambezi River

The Zambezi River is the fourth-longest river in Africa, originating in Zambia's marshlands and flowing eastward to the Indian Ocean. The most noted feature on the river is Victoria Falls, although several other waterfalls are along its path. The Zambezi has four sources of hydroelectric power, but the main two are the Kariba Dam, which provides power to the countries of Zambia and Zimbabwe, and the Cahora Bassa Dam, which provides power to Mozambique and South Africa.

Gold

The city of Johannesburg was founded due to the discovery of its deposits.

Oil

The principal African producer is Nigeria.

Southern Africa

The topography of Southern Africa is varied, filled with deserts, grasslands, forests, and mountains. It's home to vast reserves of natural resources such as platinum, uranium, gold, and diamonds. This made it a target of colonial expansion, the scars of which can still be felt today. Although largely rural, more people are moving to urban areas, often to work in mines. Some of the countries that make up this region are Botswana, South Africa, Mozambique, Madagascar, and Namibia. The largest city of South Africa, Johannesburg, is one of the main financial cities in the world.

Red Sea

The world's northernmost tropical sea, the Red Sea is bordered by the Suez Canal to the north and feeds into the Indian Ocean via the Gulf of Aden to the south. Topographically, the sea was created by the split between the Arabian Peninsula and the Horn of Africa by the Red Sea Rift, which is a part of the Great Rift Valley. At its widest point, the sea is 220 miles wide, with a maximum depth of over 9,000 feet. The sea, however, has extensive shallow shelves where many corals and aquatic species live. The special biodiversity in the area is recognized by the Egyptian government, which set up the Ras Mohammed National Park in 1983. High surface temperatures, high evaporation, and low precipitation make this one of the warmest and saltiest bodies of water on Earth.

Tropical Wet Dry

Tropical wet-dry grasslands known as savannas cover almost half of Africa. Many of these savannas are located close to the Equator and have dry and rainy seasons. These seasons are the result of air streams from the Sahara and southwestern Africa. The Serengeti Plain is one of the world's largest savanna plains and contains the classic African imagery of lions, zebras, and giraffes. Like the soil in the tropical wet climates, savannas have poor soil quality.