Geography of Africa South of the Sahara

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Geography of AfricaSouth of the Sahara

• Many variations in land and climate

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Variety of Lands

• Africa is a large continent
• 2/3 size of Asia
• 3 times larger than Europe
• North to south-5000 miles
• Equator cuts the continent in half

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• Africa is the second largest continent
• Asia has 4 times more people than Africa
• Europe has 5 times more people per square mile

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• More than ¼ of Africa is desert.
• Sahara
• Kalahari
• Namib

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• Scientists believe that the climate in the Sahara
  has changed because drawings of animals that
  could not survive there today have been found on
  the walls of the Tassili plateau.

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• Kalahari Desert-drier than Sahara
• As large as the state of Oregon.
• Namib Desert-located on the south west coast,
  much cooler.

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• Savanna- grasslands, with scattered trees
• Herds of large animals graze there
• Farming
• Receives most rain in summer, winters are dry

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• Sahel-Border between the Sahara and the savannas
• When rain is plentiful, cattle, sheep, and goats
  can graze on the Sahel.
• When too many animals are allowed to graze on the
  dry grasslands, they destroy the vegetation.
  Deforestation robs the land of cover-strong winds
  blows the topsoil away. The desert is growing.

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• A large part of Africa lies between the Tropic of
  Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn.
• Lands along the equator are called equatorial.
• Equatorial parts of Central Africa and West
  Africa receive lots of rain and are covered with
  dense rain forests that produce valuable
  hardwoods such as ebony.

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• The tallest mountains are in East Africa.
• Mount Kenya
• Mount Kilimanjaro
• Snow covers the summit because of its high
  elevation

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• 3 rivers found south of the Sahara are the Niger,
  the Zambezi, and the Congo.
• Three lakes found south of the Sahara are Lake
  Chad, Lake Victoria, and Lake Tanganyika.