Physical Geography of Sub-Saharan Africa

Serengeti Plain

Tropical GrasslandNorthern TanzaniaIt’s dry climate and hard soil prevent the growth of trees and many crops, but they are perfect for growing grass

It is the place where the largest numbers of land mammals still make annual migrations

Mountains Mount Kilimanjaro is Africa’s highest mountainMount Kenya and Mount Kilimanjaro are both volcanoes

Volcanic activity also produced the Ethiopian Highlands and Mount Cameroon in West Africa

Volcanic rock covers the Great Escarpment in Southern Africa

An escarpment is a steep slope with a nearly flat plateau on the top

Rift ValleysEast AfricaAs continental plates pulled apart over millions of years, huge cracks appeared in the earth

The land then sunk to form long, thin valleys called rift valleys

Stretch over 4,000 miles

Great Lakes in AfricaCluster of lakes formed at the bottoms of some of the rift valleys

Lake Tanganyika is the longest freshwater lake in the world

Lake Victoria is Africa’s largest lake and the world’s second largest lake

Kalahari Desert Located in Southern AfricaDoes receive small amounts of rainfallTemperatures in the summer are very hot

SahelA narrow band of dry grassland that runs east to west along the southern edge of the Sahara

People use the land for farming and herding

Rivers

The 2,900-mile-long Congo River forms the continent’s largest network of waterways

The Niger River begins in West Africa and flows north toward the Sahara, where it forms an interior delta and turns to the southeastIt then cuts through Nigeria and forms another huge delta as it empties into the Gulf of Guinea

Tropical Zone

Tropics - Africa has largest tropical area of any continent

- 90% of Africa lies between tropics of Cancer & Capricorn

- High temperatures year around

Rain ForestThe major rain forests of Africa sit on the equator in the area of the Congo Basin

One square acre of rain forest can contain almost 100 different kinds of trees

Because the canopy (upper layer of branches) is so thick with plants, leaves, and trees, the air below the canopy is so hot and humid that vegetation quickly decomposes