africa
DESCRIPTION
AFRICA. Geography. Mediterranean Sea. Strait of Gibraltar. Red Sea. Gulf of Aden. Gulf of Guinea. Indian Ocean. Atlantic Ocean. Mozambique Channel. Africa has a regular coastline Smooth Few natural ports and harbors Limits trade Coastline leads directly to desert or jungle - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Atlantic Ocean
Moz
ambi
que
Chan
nel
Strait of Gibraltar Mediterranean Sea
Red Sea
Gulf of A
den
Indian Ocean
Gulf of Guinea
CoastlineCoastline Africa has a regular
coastline – Smooth– Few natural ports and
harbors – Limits trade
Coastline leads directly to desert or jungle– Limited exploration by
the Europeans– Helps to isolate Africa
Great Rift ValleyGreat Rift Valley 4,000 mile canyon in East
Africa Natural barrier Site of many
archeological discoveries, including “Lucy” or Homo Habilis, by Mary & Louis Leakey.
Great Rift Valley cont’d Great Rift Valley cont’d
Great Rift Valley
It is believed that Ancient man originated here
Skeleton of “Lucy”- Remains of Ancient Female found in GRV
SavannasSavannas Tall, mostly treeless
grasslands that has both a dry and a wet season.
Covers approximately 45% of Africa
The majority of people & wildlife live in the savanna region.
DesertsDeserts
Cover about Cover about 40% of Africa40% of Africa
SaharaSahara KalahariKalahari NamibNamib NubianNubian
MountainsMountains
Atlas Mts.Atlas Mts. Drakensburg Drakensburg
Mts.Mts. Mt. KilamanjaroMt. Kilamanjaro Highest Highest
mountains are mountains are located in located in eastern Africa.eastern Africa.
Climate Climate ZonesZones
Africa has very diverse climate regions.
Desert Steppe Savanna Rainforest Mediterranean
Sahara Desert Located in Northern
Africa Larger than the United
States Occupies 1/3 of Africa Not a sandy desert:
most of the desert is rock and gravel
Causes geographic isolation
Serves as a natural barrier separating the people of the Sahara and Southern Africa
Desertification the process of fertile land
becoming desert.
Causes:– Overuse/over farming,
overgrazing and over cutting of trees for firewood.
– Trees and grasses have root systems that hold topsoil in place, without them erosion blows or washes it away, and the land becomes desert.
Desertification con’tDesertification con’t
Solutions:– Crop rotation: moving one type of
crop to a different field each year.Prevents the soil nutrients from being
depleted year after year.
– Planting tree belts also stops wind erosion
Nile RiverNile River The longest river in
the world at 4,180 miles long.
It flows NORTH from the mountainous region of Lake Victoria to the coastal plains of the Mediterranean Sea.
Cataracts- places where the river becomes shallow, rocks, rapids and waterfalls prevent navigation
Trade/transportation hindered- slowed, prevented by cataracts
““Gift of the Nile”Gift of the Nile” It is an annual,
predictable flood that provides nutrient rich soil for crops to grow surrounded by desert.
Rich soil= silt The Nile River valley
was home to one of the world’s first civilizations: Egyptian civilization– The Egyptians created
their calendar based off the annual overflow of the nile