Exploring East Africa’s Physical Environment

Africa is an incredibly diverse physical region that is rich in wildlife. The savannah region covers more than 30% of the continent and the grasslands and tropical rainforests converge in East Africa forming a horseshow shape that stretches from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Indian Ocean in the east. This physical region is home to one of the richest populations of wildlife in the world making it an ecotourism haven. Generally speaking, Sudan, Eritrea, Djibouti, Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Madagascar make up what is known as East Africa. We will focus our studies on Kenya and Tanzania.

Use the Oxford School Atlas to learn more about the physical geography of East Africa.
MAPPING NATURAL VEGETATION REGIONS (page 98)

  1. Shade the savannah region on your map of Africa.
  2. Shade the tropical rainforest region in Kenya and Tanzania a different colour.
  3. Using the legend on page 120 and the pictures from the region, describe what the savannah and tropical rainforest regions look like from a physical geographic perspective.
  4. Identify the Serengeti Plain that stretches from Tanzania into Kenya using page 97 and/or 146. You may also want to look at page 94 in Canada Travels for a clear visual. Shade this area red.
  5. Read “The Natural Environment” on page 94 in Canada Travels and describe the location and physical characteristics of the Serengeti in your own words. Using the text and the visuals, describe why this region is ideal for wildlife.

ANALYZING CLIMATE DATA (p. 120)

  1. Analyze the climate regions map on page 116. Identify and describe the types of climate(s) found in Kenya and Tanzania. Now look at page 114 and identify the average temperatures for January and July for these countries.
  2. Examine the land use map on page 99. What crops are commonly grown in East Africa?
  3. Use the climate data provided at your table and calculate the following for Nairobi, Kenya:
  • Annual average temperature
  • Range in temperature
  • Total annual precipitation
  1. Analyzing the data for Nairobi, how do you think the rainfall patterns in this region can affect tourism? Consider how precipitation in the savannah affects the physical environment.

THE TOURISM CONNECTION(p. 142-143, 146)

  1. Examine the earnings from tourism map on page 142. Identify the three countries in East Africa that earn the most money from tourism. How much did they make in this year?
  2. Using the insert tourism map (Kenya) on page 146, what do you notice about the prevalence of National Parks in the region? Why might this pattern exist?
  3. Identify four National Parks and three Sites of Natural Beauty in Kenya and Tanzania (a selection from each). We will investigate the in more depth in upcoming lessons.

THE HUMAN CONNECTION

  1. Examine the Life Expectancy map on page 130. What is the average life expectancy in East Africa? What can this tell us about the standard of living in this region?
  2. Look at the Human Development Index (HDI) map on page 131. How does East Africa rank in terms of social and economic development?
  3. Based on your answer in #2, explain what you think the value of tourism might be to the local people in the region.