The Geography of Africa

Physical Geography PHYSICAL

FEATURES Sahara Desert smooth coastline lack of navigable

rivers Great Rift Valley high plateau

RESULT Groups are kept

separate - - 800 different

languages are spoken in modern Africa

Diversity leads to Imperialism

Raw materials and resources lead to European interest in Africa

Africa’s geographical divisions prevents the Africans from cooperating to resist

Interesting Statistics 2nd largest

continent- - 11,700,000 square miles!

That’s 20.2% of the earth

And 3x the size of the USA

778,000,000 people 55 countries

Topography

Deserts 40% of the land surface of Africa slows cultural diffusion - does not totally

prevent it

Sahara -- North Africa 1/3 of the continent (= to the USA!!) majority is rock and gravel

Kalahari--Southwest Africa

Mountains

East Africa- caused by volcanic activity section of the land sank - causing the

Great Rift Valley Atlas (NW) Drakensberg (SE) Ethiopian Highlands Famous peaks - Mt. Kenya & Mt.

Kilimanjaro

Rivers

Depth varies depending on the season

Plateaus prevent easy navigation

Therefore, the interior of Africa Therefore, the interior of Africa remained largely unexplored remained largely unexplored

4,180 miles long (world’s longest!!) flows NORTH Source - - Lake Victoria Delta - - Egypt Floods annually

One of the most densely populated region in Africa

Waterfalls and rapids prevent easy navigation

Congo - 3000 miles long Niger - ancient civilizations flourished

here Zambezi - Victoria Falls, used for

hydro-electric power

Coastline

Smooth Few natural harbors - hard to land

ships

Climate - determined by rainfall, latitude and elevation

Savanna - 40%, safari!! Tropical Rainforest - 8%, Desert - 40% Mediterranean - 12%, good farm land

About 85% of the land is not suited to About 85% of the land is not suited to farmingfarming

Natural Resources

Farming peanuts, cotton, cocoa, coffee

Minerals diamonds, gold, copper, cobalt

Water hydroelectric power