1. Physical Geography Notes
Sub-Saharan Africa
Physical Geography Notes

2. Africa south of the Sahara is more than 2.5x larger than the US
It is divided into 4 sub-regions
West Africa
East Africa
Central Africa
Southern Africa

3. climate
Climates in the region range from damp rain forests to vast grasslands to hot deserts.
Africa south of the Sahara has four main climate regions:
tropical wet
tropical dry
steppe
desert
Rain forests are found along the Equator in Central and West Africa.
Small areas on the coast of Southern Africa and the highlands of East Africa have moderate climates.
Similar climate zones appear north and south of the Equator in the region.

4. landforms
Most of the region is a series of plateaus or steppes that rise up from 1,000-2,000 ft.
Mountains
Ethiopian Highlands
Mt. Kilimanjaro (19,000 ft.)
Mt. Kenya (17,000 ft.)
Great Rift Valley
Break in the earth’s crust formed by shifting tectonic plates, stretches over 4,000 miles
Contributed to jagged mountains and deep lakes

5. Waterways Rivers Lakes
Used for transportation as well as fresh drinking water
Nile
Congo
Niger
Zambezi
Lakes
Most are in eastern part in GRV
Lake Chad (west)
Varies in size depending on season from 3,800 sq. miles to 10,000 sq. miles
Lake Tanganyika (east)
Longest freshwater lake in world
Lake Victoria (east)
Africa’s largest, 2nd largest in world

6. Mineral resources Gold Platinum Diamond
Ruby
Emerald
Sapphire
Petroleum is abundant and serves as main energy export for the continent
Natural gas
Coal
Hydroelectric power along rivers
Iron ore
Chromium (smooth metal finish)
Uranium
Copper