2. GENERAL INFORMATION
Second largest continent
Atlantic Ocean = West Coast
Mediterranean Sea and Red Sea = North Coast
Made up of 4 subregions
North Africa
East Africa
West Africa
Central and Southern Africa
3. PHYSICAL FEATURES
“Plateau Continent”
Plateau: Large flat area
Basins on the plateau
Basin: low-lying area
North Africa
Sahara: the world’s largest desert
Atlas Mountains in the northwest part of the region
West Africa
Sahel: dry grassland
Niger River: 3rd longest river in Africa
Runs through the western Sahel
Lake Chad
4. PHYSICAL FEATURES CONT’D
East Africa
Great Rift Valley
Lake Tanganyika: longest freshwater lake in the world
Lake Victoria: second largest freshwater lake
Lake Malawi: ninth largest freshwater lake
Mount Kilimanjaro
East of Lake Victoria
Highest point in Africa
Ethiopian Highlands
North of Lake Victoria
Covers 2/3 of Ethiopia
5. PHYSICAL FEATURES CONT’D
Central and Southern Africa
Congo basin: At the center of the continent
Congo River: goes through the Congo Basin and
empties into the Atlantic
Zambezi River: Many waterfalls, including Victoria Falls
Two deserts
Namib desert
Kalahari desert
6. CLIMATE
Equator runs through middle of Africa
Climate is warm all year
Some regions wet
Others very dry
North Africa
Mediterranean climate: warm all year with dry summers
and short, rainy winters.
West Africa
Northern part: arid and semi-arid
Southern part: tropical wet and dry
Near the equator
Coastal areas: tropical wet
7. CLIMATE CONT’D
East Africa
Close to the Sahara: arid or semi-arid
Ethiopian Highlands/Mt. Kilimanjaro
Highlands-higher land is cooler and wetter, lower land is
warmer and drier
Southern part: tropical wet and dry
Central and Southern Africa
Near equator: tropical wet
Farther south: tropical wet and dry → arid or semi-arid
Southernmost part
Coastal areas near Indian Ocean = marine west coast: warm
summers, cool winters, rainfall year-round
8. CLIMATE CONT’D
Central and Southern Africa cont’d
Other coastal areas: humid subtropical = hot summers
with heavy rain, mild winters with some rain
Madagascar (island)
Eastern half: tropical wet
Northwestern and central: tropical wet and dry
Southwestern: semiarid
Vegetation
2/5 of land is tropical grassland: also known as savanna
(short and tall grasses, shrubs, trees)
9. VEGETATION CONT’D
North Africa
Desert scrub: small trees, bushes and other plants
adapted to a dry climate
Along the Mediterranean Sea = chaparral: small trees
and bushes are adapted to long, dry summers.
Broadleaf evergreen forest runts along the Nile River
through Egypt.
Tropical grasslands in the southern edge of the Sahara.
West Africa
Mostly tropical grassland
Some desert
10. VEGETATION CONT’D
West Africa cont’d
Southern part = broadleaf evergreen forest (rainforest)
East Africa
Tropical grassland
Some coastal lands = broadleaf evergreen forests
Ethiopia = highlands: plants change with altitude
Central and Southern Africa
Congo basin = broadleaf evergreen forest
Namib and most of the Kalahari = desert/desert scrub
Eastern Kalahari = tropical grassland
Mountain ranges in Southern Africa = highlands
Southern tip = chaparral