Africa Physical Geography Plateaus Africa is a gigantic

Africa Physical Geography

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.

Plateaus

Escarpments

Cataracts

Mountains • Despite the high elevations, Africa possesses few mountains. – Drakensburg Mtns. – Ruwenzori Mtns. • Mount Kilimanjara is Africa’s highest mountain.

Mount Kilimanjaro

Great Rift Valley • One of the world’s 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 continent’s largest lakes.

Great Rift Valley

Water Systems: Lakes • Lake Victoria is the second largest freshwater lake in the world and the source of the White Nile. • Tanganyika is the world’s longest freshwater lake at 420 miles long. • Lake Malawi is the 3 rd greatest lake in Africa and is known for it’s many types of fish.

Lake Victoria: Satellite Image

Lake Victoria

Lake Tanganyika: Satellite Image

Lake Tanganyika

Lake Tanganyika

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.

Victoria Falls

Physical Map Assignment Label the following features: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 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. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. Red Sea Mediterranean Sea Strait of Gibraltar Gulf of Guinea Lake Victoria Lake Tanganyika Lake Malawi Nile River Niger River Zaire River Zambezi River Sahara Desert Ethiopian Highlands