Africa Physical Geography

  • 4 main physical areas
  • Desert - 30% of Africa. Hot, dry. Cover most of the north and a large portion of the southern tip Sparse vegetation. Rocky or sandy soil.
  • Semiarid - area between savannah and deserts, some agriculture is possible.
  • Savannah - Largest and most varied biome. Grasslands, large grazing herds and hunting predators. Zambezi to Lake Victoria
  • Rainforest - Central region, Congo/Gabon. Low nutrients left in soil, little agriculture.
  • Major Physical Features:
  • Atlas Mountains - NW mountains and plateaus of Morocco and Algeria Sahara Desert - Worlds largest desert, 3.5 million sq miles. Stretches entire width of Africa. Some sandy areas, mostly rocky.
  • Sahel Region - between Sahara and Savannah in south. Used for agriculture Nile River - 4,160 miles, longest river in the world. Supplies most of water to Egypt and Sudan. Delta in Mediterranean Sea.
  • Red Sea - long narrow seas between Egypt and Arabian Peninsula, surrounded by deserts, reaches 85 deg F.
  • Lake Victoria - Largest lake in Africa, source of Nile. On a plateau. Densely populated region.
  • Serengeti Plain - Plateau region 3000 - 6000 ft elevation. Savannah, more than 500 species. Safari country.
  • Great Rift Valley - Fault from Syria to Mozambique. Heavy thermal activity. Several deep canons and lakes formed by it.
  • Mount Kilimanjaro - Africa's Highest mountain. Extinct volcano in NE Tanzania.
  • Victoria Falls - Largest falls in the world, not highest. Between Zambia and Zimbabwe on Zambezi River.
  • Kalahari Desert - Arid plateau, reddish sand covers 100,000 sq miles. Some rainfalls and seasonal rivers. Grazing herds.
  • Congo River - One of Largest rivers in the world. 4-10 miles wide at some parts. Drainage basin covers majority of central Africa. 2nd largest basin after Amazon. Deepest river in world. Very diverse fish types.

  • Countries of Note
  • Nigeria - Most populated in Africa. 8th in world. 1st populated in black. One of fastest growing economies in world. 8 cities over million Lagos has 8 mil
  • Morocco - Arabic speaking. Strong Arab and Spanish cultural influences. Across from Gibraltar and Spain. Muslim. Casablanca is largest city over 3M
  • Egypt - Ancient history. Majority of its 40 mil pop lives along Nile. Much of land is unlivable Sahara. Primarily Muslim. Fast growing economy.
  • Sudan - Largest African country 10th in world. North is Arabic Muslim, south is black Christian and indigenous. Oil is 39% of GDP. Ancient Nubia.
  • Darfur – Sudan’s West region of black Africans, caught in middle of civil war. Genocide by northern Arabs and Janjaweed militias.
  • Ethiopia - One of oldest countries and civilizations. Retained independence from Europe. Adopted Christianity in 4th century.
  • Somalia - One of oldest Muslim settlements. Once a strong economy, decimated by civil war in 1991. Piracy followed collapse.
  • Kenya - Safari land known for amazing wildlife. Maasai - Nomadic Tribe known for body modification and use of cows
  • Rwanda - Tiny country known for mountain gorillas and genocide of 1994. 800,000 people killed. Economy has grown and nation is becoming successful
  • South Africa - 3 capitals, one ach branch. Apartheid - segregation of blacks by European colonists. Apartheid ended in 1990 led by Nelson Mandela.
  • Madagascar – 4th largest island in world. Holds 5% of worlds wildlife, 80% of them are found ONLY on Madagascar, such as the lemur.
  • Liberia – Small country on West coast. Set up by U.S. abolitionists in 1821 as a country for freed slaves from America or slave ships.