Africa

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Africa

• Physical Geography

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Plateaus

• Africa is a gigantic plateau. One plateau
  follows another as the land rises from the west
  to east in a series of steps.
• Separating the plateaus are steep cliffs called
  escarpments.
• Rivers that spill over the escarpments in
  waterfalls are known as cataracts.

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Plateaus
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Escarpments
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Cataracts
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Mountains

• Despite the high elevations, Africa possesses few
  mountains.
• Drakensburg Mtns.
• Ruwenzori Mtns.
• Mount Kilimanjara is Africas highest mountain.

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Mount Kilimanjaro
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Great Rift Valley

• One of the worlds natural wonders, the valley
  stretches from the Jordan River in Southwest Asia
  to the Zambezi River in Mozambique.
• Y-shaped trench 3500 miles long with escarpments
  more than a mile high.
• Cuts in the Great Rift Valley form the
  continents largest lakes.

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Great Rift Valley
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Water Systems Lakes

• Lake Victoria is the second largest freshwater
  lake in the world and the source of the White
  Nile.
• Tanganyika is the worlds longest freshwater lake
  at 420 miles long.
• Lake Malawi is the 3rd greatest lake in Africa
  and is known for its many types of fish.

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Lake Victoria Satellite Image
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Lake Victoria
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Lake Tanganyika Satellite Image
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Lake Tanganyika
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Lake Tanganyika
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Water Systems Rivers/Falls

• There are four major rivers in Africa Nile,
  Zaire, Niger, and Zambezi.
• Victoria Falls, named after a British Queen, is
  more than twice the height of Niagara Falls.

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Victoria Falls
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Physical Map AssignmentLabel the following
features

• Congo Basin
• Ruwenzori Mtns.
• Kalahari Desert
• Victoria Falls
• Great Rift Valley
• Mt. Kilimanjaro
• Serengeti Plains
• Drakensberg Mtns.
• Atlantic Ocean
• Indian Ocean
• Mozambique Channel
• Gulf of Aden

• 13. Red Sea
• 14. Mediterranean Sea
• 15. Strait of Gibraltar
• 16. Gulf of Guinea
• 17. Lake Victoria
• Lake Tanganyika
• Lake Malawi
• Nile River
• Niger River
• Zaire River
• Zambezi River
• Sahara Desert
• Ethiopian Highlands