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Chapter 21 East Africa
Environmental Characteristics:• Tropical and temperate
savanna• Tropical rainforest • Great Rift Valley • Very Dry (lower-lying lands of
northern Kenya and Greater Somalia are )
Positive Attributes:• Good cattle lands• Great lakes (Albert,
Tanganyika, Malawi, Victoria)• Coastal Region (ideal for
trade)
Challenging Attributes:• Unreliable rainfall• Constant fear of drought• Famine • War and civil unrest • No regional community
(The Horn)
The Great Rift Valley
Gre
at R
ift
Val
ley
The Great Rift Valley• Located in Eastern Africa• Largest Rift Valley in the
world• Caused by the diverging
Indian Tectonic Plate• Surrounding lakes and
rivers are very deep
Great Rift Valley• A rift valley is a crack in the Earth’s surface and is a defining feature of
the East African landscape.• The Great Rift Valley is made up of two branches.• The Western Rift Valley cuts through Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda, and
Uganda.• The Western Rift Valley is where Lake Tanganyika is found, which is
one of the longest and deepest freshwater lakes in the world.• The Eastern Rift Valley cuts through Tanzania, Kenya, and Ethiopia.• The Eastern Rift Valley has Africa’s two major mountains: Kilimanjaro
and Kenya.
# 4,000 miles long
#The Great Rift Valley is rich in minerals and metals
#Good soil for farming
#Because of volcanic ash there are well preserved bones and the world’s oldest human fossils have been found there
Mountains of East Africa
Volcanoes• Near rift valleys
• Eastern Congo
• Mt. Kenya
• Mt. Kilimanjaro…
Mountains
• Sub-Saharan Africa does not have large mountain ranges, but there are several tall mountains that are volcanoes.• In East Africa, the mountains are found in the Eastern
Highlands, part of the Ethiopian Plateau.• The tallest mountain is Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania at 19,341
feet.• The second tallest mountain is Mt. Kenya at 17,058 feet.
Mount KilimanjaroAfrica’s most recognized
featureTallest mountain in AfricaFamous snow cap is disappearing
(Will be gone in a few years)
Mount Kilimanjaro:
• Africa’s highest mountain at 19,341 feet
• Located on the Equator in Tanzania near Kenya• Formed by volcanic
activity from the Great Rift Valley
• Only year round snow capped mountain in Africa
• Known in Swahili as “Shining Mountain”
Mt. Kenya
Ruwenzori Mountains
• This is another mountain range found in East Africa.• It divides Uganda and the
Democratic Republic of the Congo.• This mountain range is
covered with snow and cloaked in clouds.• It’s nickname is the
“Mountains of the Moon.”
Lakes of East Africa
Rift Valleys
Often have long, narrow lakes
Lake VictoriaAfrica’s largest lake by area
largest tropical lake in the world
world's second largest freshwater lake by surface area
Africa's largest inland fishery
Lake Victoria• Second largest freshwater lake in the world• Covers an areas of 26,828 square miles.• It is located along the borders of Uganda, Tanzania, and Kenya between the
Eastern and Western Rift Valleys.• It was formed over 10,000 years ago.• Lake Victoria lies at the headwaters of the White Nile River.• It is a shallow lake with a depth of only 270 feet.• Has provided means of transportation between Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania
with ferry ports in each country.• It is nearly twice the size of Lake Tanganyika.
Lake Victoria
• Located in the middle of the Great Rift Valley of Eastern Africa• It is a shallow depression• Largest lake in Africa
Lake Tanganyika
• Is found in the Western Rift Valley.• It is one of the deepest freshwater lakes in the
world.• It is located between Tanzania and the
Democratic Republic of the Congo.• Both Lake Victoria and Lake Tanganyika are
surrounded by rich soil and are known for abundant fishing.• These characteristics have resulted in the area
around both lakes to be heavily populated.
Lake Turkana
• It is found in Kenya along the northern border in Ethiopia.
• It is a source of growing wind-power and hydroelectric industries in Kenya.
• Lake Turkana has rocky shores in the east and south due to volcanic outcrops.
• It lies in a part of the Eastern Rift Valley that get little rain, so it is surrounded by desert.
• The lake had once been part of a larger lake, but due to desertification, it has shrank.
• In the west and north, the lake is marked by sand dunes, sandpits, and mudflats.
Lake Turkana
Plateaus
Continent of Plateaus• Africa as a continent is often described as
“One big Plateau”• Coastal plains go 20 miles inland. • Africa is a series of plateau after plateau &
in between there are escarpments.• The East African plateaus range in
elevation from 500 feet to 8,000 feet or more.• Escarpments- steep cliffs or slopes• Due to the plateaus and escarpments of
East Africa, the rivers are known to have many cataracts (rapids) and large waterfalls.
Plateau’s Impact on Rivers
•Depth varies depending on the season-if it’s the rainy season or the dry season•Plateaus prevent easy navigation due to water falls.•Therefore, the interior of Africa remained Therefore, the interior of Africa remained largely unexplored largely unexplored
Example of East African River: The Nile
• Nile River –• world’s longest (4,000 + miles)• Sources: White Nile (Uganda) &
Blue Nile (Ethiopian highlands) • flows into the Mediterranean
Plateau’s Impact on Rivers
• The rivers in Sub-Saharan Africa are difficult to navigate because they have many waterfalls and rapids.
Blue Nile Falls
Ethiopian PlateauA rugged mass of mountains in
Ethiopia
Sometimes called the “Roof of Africa”Includes gorges, river channels, and
AMBAS, steep-sided flat-topped lands.
Contain grasslands, woodlands and desert areas
Ethiopian Highlands• Canyons carved by water
Highland’s Climate
• Moderate climate with comfortable temperatures and adequate rainfall.• Good for farming.• Lower temperatures than savanna due to the high elevation.• So snow is common at the higher elevations.• Has green farmlands and protected forests.
Savanna
Savanna
• Tropical grasslands with scattered trees.• Rainfall is seasonal alternating between rainy and dry seasons.• The wettest areas are closest to the equator---there are six months of almost
daily rainfall followed by six months of dry seasons.• The annual rainfall is about 35 to 45 inches.• This area is found in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Burundi.• The soil is the savanna is not very fertile.
The African Savanna:13 million sq. mi.
Tropical Wet & Dry Climate: The African Savanna
#The savanna is the largest climate zone in Africa covering over ½ of the continent
#Unpredictable rainfall can lead to drought (long periods with little or no rain)
Serengeti Plain
•One of the world’s largest savanna plains•There are three types of grasses found here: short, medium, and tall.•These grasslands make up a suitable home for millions of animals like zebras, gazelles, hyenas, lions, giraffes, and cheetahs.
Serengeti Plains hosts the largest
mammal migration in the world
contains several national parks and game reserves
diverse species due to diverse habitats ranging from riverine forests, swamps, grasslands and woodlands
Savanna
• Today, the plains boast a wide range of cultures, from Maasai nomads to Kikuyu farmers and Dorobo hunter-gatherers. • For thousands of years, the region's rhythm of life remained
unchanged.• But now, sporadic droughts, soil erosion and overgrazing are tiring
the land out, while demands on it from impoverished human populations continue to grow.
Maasai: Nomadic Herding Tribe in
Savannah
Savanna • Maasai• Nomadic Herding of Cattle
Characteristics of Maasai
• Semi-nomadic pastoralists• Southern Kenya and northern Tanzania
• Tropical Savannah Climate• Semi-arid lands• 61-74 degree F• 20-40 inches rain (November – May)
These are Maasai warriors
They wear a distinctive red checked blanket (shuka)
These are Maasai warriors
They protect their tribe, their cattle and their grazing lands.
Aged 14, boys leave the village and look after cattle far from the village for as much as 8 years
They return as warriors. They return to get married.
Modern Maasai
• Reduced territory, less grazing land• Conflict with farmers• > sedentism(since they are no longer truly nomadic due
to the reduced territory) this has lead to a poor diet and lifestyle
• Access to seasonal wetlands• Have to migrate with cattle
• Politically marginalized• Forced to adopt non-pastoralist economic activities
Natural Resources of East Africa
Natural Resources• Tanzania: major gold and natural gas deposits, diamonds, and tanzanite• Ethiopia: gold• Uganda: copper• Kenya: minerals like soda ash used for glassmaking and agriculture• Burundi: agriculture and known for its coffee• Rwanda: agriculture and natural gas• Tourism: waterfalls like Victoria Falls, climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, going on a
safari in the savanna
Resources:• Cattle • Iron• Oil• Copper• Gold• Uranium (Somalia)• Diamonds (Tanzania)• Steel
East African Economies
• Farming• 70% rural• Cash crops: coffee, tea, sugar• Dependent on world market
• Tourism• Wildlife parks• Game reserves
Farming and Tourism• East Africa is more than 70% rural
• East Africa relies on cash crops such as coffee, tea, and sugar which are grown for direct sale.
• Agricultural production has decreased over recent years…why?
• Tourism is also a money maker in East Africa. Many lands have been turned into national parks to secure the land and safety of animals. How does this interfere with agriculture?
?
Main Idea 1:National parks are a major source of income for Tanzania and Kenya.
More than 2 million tourists visit Tanzania and Kenya each year. One popular reason for visiting is the safari, an overland journey to view wildlife.
Tanzania is rich in gold and diamonds.
Farming is the major activity in both countries. Some people want to farm on national park land, but that would hurt tourism and endanger wildlife.
Kenya also produces geothermal energy, energy produced from the heat of Earth’s interior.