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 ofbranches, 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 2nd 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.