Africa’s Physical Geography

Plateau and Basins  Most of Africa is elevated 1,000 feet above sea level. A plateau covers most of the continent causing this rise.  Basins are depressions, or dips, in the plateau.

Rivers  Niger – Located in West Africa. It is 2,600 miles long.  Congo – Located in Central Africa. It is 2,900 miles long.  Nile – Located in North Africa. It is 4,160 miles long. It is the longest river in the world.

Aswan High Dam  Nile goes through flood and drought seasons. The Aswan High Dam was built to help the farmers with irregular water supply. It’s construction created a false lake. It has disrupted the successful Nile cycle.

Mountains  Ahaggar Mountains – North Africa  Tibesti Mountains – North Africa  Atlas Mountains – North Africa  Mt. Cameroon – over 13,000 ft. in Central Africa  Mt. Kenya – over 17,000 ft. in East Africa  Mt. Kilimanjaro – over 19,000 ft. in East Africa. It is the tallest mountain in Africa.

Deserts  Kalahari Desert – Southern Africa, approximately 100,000 square miles in size  Namib Desert – Southern Africa, slightly larger than the Kalahari. It is located to the West of the Kalahari.  Sahara Desert – North Africa. It is the largest desert in the world at 3,500,000 square miles and growing.

Forests  Africa has the largest tropical land area of any continent, because it sits on the equator.  The largest rainforest is in Central Africa. It is mostly in the Congo Basin.  The canopy is where most animals in a rainforest live. It is the top layer of branches, approximately 150 ft. high.  Slash-and-burn farming has nearly wiped out Madagascar’s rain forest.  Oak and pine forests grow near the Atlas Mountains

Rift Valleys  Long thin valleys formed by tectonic activity. East Africa is leaving the rest of Africa. Africa’s rift valleys are over 4,000 miles long.  Lake Tanganyika – is the longest freshwater lake in the world. It is a result of the rift valleys.  Lake Victoria – Africa’s largest lake. Also a result of the rift valleys. World’s 2 nd largest freshwater lake.  Victoria Falls – It’s spray can be seen from 50 miles away. It is the largest waterfall in the world.

Plains  Serengeti – is a grassland. Some of the grasses grow taller than the average person. It is in East Africa.  Serengeti National Park – protects an area and allows for tourism.  Sahel – means “shore of the desert”. It is a narrow bit of grassland by the Sahara. It is mostly in West Africa.  Desertification – the expansion of the desert into moist areas near the desert

Resources  Mineral – World’s largest producer of chromium. Africa also has a lot of gold, platinum, cobalt, copper, phosphates, diamonds, and various other minerals.  World’s leader in Petroleum production. Nigeria has a lot of debt from mismanagement of their large oil supply.  World’s largest producer of cocoa beans.  Agriculture is the primary economic activity in Africa.