Slide 1:Physical Geography of Africa


Location :Location Where is Africa located? Which hemisphere is Africa located? What major bodies of water surround the continent of Africa?


Slide 3:Africa is the only continent in the world that is located in all four hemispheres!


Slide 4:Atlantic Ocean Mediterranean Sea Indian Ocean Red Sea


Slide 5:Quiz time …. Which country is the only country to border both the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean? Which country is the only country to border both the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean? Morocco South Africa


Slide 6:Cape of Good Hope Cape Agulhas


Slide 7:Cape Agulhas – southernmost point of African continent and dividing line between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans


Slide 8:Quiz time …. Which countries lie in both the northern and southern hemispheres? Which countries lie in both the western and eastern hemispheres? (south of the Sahara) Gabon, Rep. of the Congo, Dem. Rep. of the Congo, Uganda, Kenya, Somalia Mali, Burkina Faso, Ghana


Place :Place (What makes Africa different from other places?) What types of climate does Africa have? What types of physical features are there in Africa?


Slide 10:Mediterranean Mediterranean Desert Desert Desert Rainforest Steppe Savanna


Slide 11:http://www.courses.psu.edu/aaa_s/aaa_s110_tah/AFIM/Main_HTML/M_CL.html Go to above web site to learn about the different climates of Africa.


Slide 12:What are the major physical features of Africa?


Physical features of Africa :Physical features of Africa Atlas Mountains Sahara Desert Kalahari Desert Namib Desert Horn of Africa Great Rift Valley Sahel


Namib Desert :Namib Desert Stretching 1,200 miles in length, but averaging a width of only 70 miles, the Namib Desert is home to the highest sand dunes in the world. Nicknamed the world’s oldest desert.


Slide 15:Dune 7, the highest sand dune in the world


Major rivers and lakes :Nile River Niger River Congo River Lake Victoria Lake Tanganyika Lake Nyasa Major rivers and lakes Zambezi River


Slide 17:Lake Victoria Lake Tanganyika Lake Nyasa The Great Lakes of Africa


Slide 18:Longest lake in the world Lake Tanganyika


Slide 19:Lake Tanganyika –As seen from space


Lake Tanganyika :Lake Tanganyika Second largest lake of Africa Longest lake of the world Deepest lake on the African continent Second deepest in the world (Lake Baikal in Russia is the deepest) Oldest lake in Africa and perhaps in the world


Slide 21:Victoria Falls Located in Zimbabwe on the Zambezi River


Slide 22:Victoria Falls Victoria Falls is twice as wide and twice as deep as Niagara Falls Thus creating the largest curtain of water in the world!


Slide 23:The Zambezi River flowing into Victoria Falls


Slide 24:Mountains of Africa Ethiopian Highlands Drakensberg Mountains


Slide 25:Mt. Kilimanjaro


Slide 26:The snow-capped mountain is located in Tanzania and is the highest point in Africa.


Slide 27:However, Kilimanjaro may not always be snow-capped! The glaciers of Kilimanjaro are melting at an alarming rate!


Slide 28:Why? Humans … global warming, deforestation, and honey! Tribes people collecting honey smoke the bees out of the hives, often starting fires. The loss of foliage reduces moisture in the air, thus reducing much needed cloud cover, thus letting in more sunlight that melts more ice!


Slide 29:If the current rate of melting continues, scientists predict that the glaciers that have covered Kilimanjaro for over 12,000 years will be totally gone by 2020 – less than 15 years from now!


Slide 30:African tectonic plate Arabian tectonic plate Great Rift Valley


Slide 31:Vast geological feature that runs north to south for 6,000 miles From Syria in Southwest Asia to Mozambique in East Africa


Slide 32:As the tectonic plates continue to break apart, the rift will become bigger and bigger until finally breaking off from the rest of the continent of Africa … in about 20 billion years! Thus, creating a whole new island continent!


Slide 33:A few other aspects to look at … …enclave, exclave, and landlocked


Slide 34:What is an enclave? A country that is entirely surrounded, or mostly surrounded, by another country. Lesotho and Swaziland are examples. Lesotho Swaziland


Slide 35:So, what is an exclave? Territory of a country that is separated from the main part of the country by foreign territory. Cabinda is an exclave of Angola.


Slide 36:Landlocked Shut in completely by land … having no direct access to the sea … Rwanda and Uganda are examples


Words and places to know… :Words and places to know… Sahara Desert Savanna Sahel Congo River Nile River Zambezi River Niger River Ethiopian Highlands Drakensberg Mountains Atlas Mountains Kalahari Desert Namib Desert Lake Tanganyika Lake Victoria Lake Nyasa Enclave Exclave Landlocked Great Rift Valley Horn of Africa