African Geography

Africa Notes #1

Location

Africa is located in all four hemispheres (North, South, East, and West).

The equator cuts the continent in half, causing climates in the North and South to be similar.

Fault Lines

Extensive areas of faulted plateaus resulting in few mountains.

The separation of fault lines created the Rift Valley System (Lakes Victoria, Tanganyika, and Malawi).

Great Rift Valley

Volcanic Mountains

Average width of the Rift Valley is 20-50 miles.

Most of the mountains along the Great Rift fault line are a result of volcanic activity. Kilimanjaro (19,349) and Kenya (17,058).

Africa has some of the longest and largest

rivers in the world. Examples: Nile, Niger, Congo, Zambezi.

The Nile is the longest river in the world and the Congo basin provides drainage for the Congolese rain forest.

Severe rapids along the rivers make them a poor choice from transportation across the continent.

Waterways

Deserts

Because Africa straddles the equator, it also coincides with both the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn.

The Sahara desert is as large as the United States. Covers over 30% of Africa.

Congolese Rain Forest

The Congo River Basin is the dominate feature in central Africa.

It runs through six different nations, primarily in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Savanna

The African Savanna covers most of the Western countries.

The tropical region begins to dry out and the forest disappear as grass becomes the major vegetation in the region.

Colonial Partition

Cultures

• Traditional – African languages, religions, and ethnic groups that developed before the arrival of other cultures.

• Islam and Christianity were introduced by outside cultures.

Early African Kingdoms

There is little written history about these kingdoms.

They became rich by trading with Asia and Europe.

The slave trade coincides with their downfall.