Geography

1. Geography SSWG4 The student will describe the interaction of physical and human systems that have shaped contemporary Sub-Saharan Africa. a. Describe the location of major physical features and their impact on Sub-Saharan Africa.

2. Facts • 2nd largest continent • Over 11 million sq miles • Over 900 million people • Largest city: • Cairo, Egypt • Largest country: • Sudan

3. Natural Wonders of Africa • The Nile River • The Great Rift Valley • Lake Victoria • Victoria Falls • Mt. Kilimanjaro • Serengeti Plains • Table Mountain • The Sahara Desert

4. The Nile River • Longest river on Earth 4,160 miles • Head waters: Burundi • Mouth: Mediterranean Sea • Flows North • 2 main sources: 1. Blue Nile 2. White Nile

5. Nile River

6. Where is the Nile River?

8. Aswan High Dam (1970) • Created 300-mile Lake Nasser to regulate the water supply along the Nile • Benefits - Provides regular supply of water for farmers & holds back Nile floodwaters for irrigation • Egypt’s farmable land increased by 50% (now have two or three harvests a year)

9. Aswan High Dam (1970) • Problems - River no longer deposits rich silt—sediment—on farmland • Mosquitoes thrive in Lake Nasser, spread malaria, other diseases • Millions of gallons of fresh water lost yearly to lake evaporation

10. The Great Rift Valley • What is the Great Rift Valley? • A line of weakness along the African Continental Plate that is slowly tearing apart

11. The Great Rift Valley • Valley acts as a trap for water • Stretches 3,700 miles • Gulf of Aden in North • Mozambique

12. Where is the Great Rift Valley?

13. Lake Victoria

14. Lake Victoria • Lies in an enormous basin • Between the East and Western branches of the Rift Valley • Largest fresh water lake in Africa • Source of the Nile River

15. Victoria Falls

17. Victoria Falls • Named after Queen Victoria in 1855 by David Livingstone • 1st European to sight the Falls • Among the most spectacular falls in the world • 300 feet in height • Empties into the Zambezi River

18. Where are Lake Victoria and Victoria Falls located?

19. Mt. Kilimanjaro

20. Mt. Kilimanjaro • Africa’s highest mountain 19,340 ft • Dormant volcano • Located in North East Tanzania

21. Serengeti Plains

22. Serengeti Plains • Most famous for its animal migrations • Located in north-central Tanzania

25. Where are Mt. Kilimanjaro and the Serengeti?

26. Table Mountain

27. Table Mountain • One of Africa’s most famous land marks • Located in Western Cape, South Africa • Often covered by a white mist known as a “Table Cloth”

29. The Sahara Desert

30. The Sahara Desert • World’s largest “hot desert” • 3,000,000 sq miles • Covers North Africa from East to West • 3 distinct regions 1. Western Sahara 2. Central Plateau 3. Eastern Sahara

31. Western Sahara

32. Central Plateau

33. Eastern Sahara

34. Sahara Desert • Little rain • Temperatures can vary from 136 degrees in the summer and freezing at night • Fewer than 2 million of Africa’s population live in the Sahara

36. Assignment • Imagine you are a Journalist for National Geographic • You are to write a newspaper article about one of the places we just discussed. • In this article, you are to describe the location, characteristics and the surrounding countries. • This will be due at the beginning of class tomorrow!

37. Our Map of AfricaDay 2 • Using the material provided, you and your group will construct a map of Africa. • Here is the list of geographical features that your group will map: • The Sahara Desert, The Nile River, Lake Victoria/Victoria Falls, Table Mountain, Serengeti Plains, The Great Rift Valley and Mount Kilimanjaro. • Please be neat, use the maps around the room and be as accurate as possible. We will continue to add to these maps as we discover more of Africa!!