The Physical Geography

of Africa South of the Sahara

Chapter 20

Section 1: The LandLandforms: region is 9.5 million square

miles in area (3 times that of the US)

Plateaus, Highlands, & MountainsPlateaus

rise in elevation from the coast inland and west to eastrange from 500 ft in west to 8,000 feet or greater in the eastconsidered to be a series of steps

Escarpmentssteep, often jagged slopes or cliffsfound at edges of the African continent’s plateausless than 20 miles from coastrivers that cross dive down sides of escarpments in cataracts - towering waterfalls

Plateaus, Highlands, & Mountains

Mountainsvery few mountain ranges, except on eastern coastEastern Highlands stretch from Ethiopia to Cape of Good Hope, South AfricaMt. Kilimanjaro -19,340 ft

- tallest mt. in AfricaMount Kenya

Plateaus, Highlands, & Mountains

Ruwenzori Mountains — between Uganda and Dem. Rep. Of the Congo•often called “Mountains of the Moon” because of the clouds that wrap around them

Drakensberg Range — found in South Africa and Lesotho; form part of the sharp escarpment along southern edge of Africa

Plateaus, Highlands, & Mountains

The Great Rift Valley — stretches from Syria in the Middle East to Mozambique in SE Africa

rift valley - large crack in the earth’s surface formed by shifting tectonic platesvolcanic eruptions & earthquakes created the landscape along the fault2 branches - volcanic mountains on the eastern sidedeep lakes on the western side or branchWater Systems - shaped by the changing land

LakesMany found along branches of the Great Rift Valley

Lake Tanganyika — one of longest and deepest lakes in world

Lake Malawi — surrounded by mountains and also very deep

Lake Victoria — largest lake in Africa; 2nd largest freshwater lake in world

Outside the Great Rift Valley - only 2 major lakes:

Lake Chadshrinking in size because of drought, arid climate

Lake Voltalocated in West Africaone of largest man-made lakes in worldCreated in 1960 as part of hydroelectric project for an aluminum plantVolta River dammed off, flooded the area, creating a lakeNow supplies water for irrigation and generates electricity used throughout Ghana

Lakes

Rivers & River BasinsEscarpments and rivers break their paths making them hard to navigate from mouth to source

“great river”; main river in West Africasource is in Guinea and drains into the Atlantic at coast of Nigeriaimportant to agriculturemajor means of transportationsplits into a vast inland delta (Niger Delta), stretching 150 miles long, 200 miles wide

Niger River

Delta - triangular section of land formed by sand and silt carried downriver

south, central Africaalso meets the ocean in a deltamany waterfalls along its courseVictoria Falls, most famous, very steep drop (2x that of Niagara Falls)

Zambezi River

Congo Rivercentral Africameets the Atlantic Ocean through an estuary —a passage where freshwater from a river meets seawaterthe estuary is 6 mi. wide and navigable by boatsforms largest network of navigable waterways on the continentrapids, waterfalls and cataracts form major barriers to travel from the estuary upriver

- mineral resources are abundantOil Reserves — Angola, Nigeria, Gabon, & CongoGold — South Africa supplies 50% of world’s gold; also Zimbabwe, DR of the Congo, Tanzania, GhanaUranium — found with goldDiamonds — South Africa, Botswana, Congo River basin, Angola, DR of the Congo, Sierra Leone

Natural Resources

WaterAn abundant resource, but not fully developed because of the physical geography and financial restraints

Unused hydroelectric power potential

Undeveloped - especially along Congo River