2. Background Information
• Africa is the world’s second largest
continent.
• It is about four times the size of the
mainland United States.
• The African terrain varies from desert to
tropical rainforest, to mountainous regions
and fertile river valleys.
3. The Sahara Desert
• It’s the largest desert in the world taking
up over 25% of Africa’s land and is
continues to grow.
• The Sahara was formed thousands of
years ago because of a shift in the earth’s
tilt on the axis and it caused great climate
changes.
• The desert is expanding because of the
misuse of the surrounding land.
4. Sahara & Sahel
• The sahel region is located south of the
Sahara and is being cleared for farming
and is overgrazed by herds of animals.
• Destruction of plants has led to wide-
spread soil erosion, which has resulted in
more land for farming and herding.
• As the land continues to erode it is
becoming one with the desert to the north.
5. The Nile River
• It is the largest river in the world and is over
4,000 miles long extending from south of the
equator northward to the Mediterranean Sea.
• Throughout history people have lived in Egypt
and Sudan have settled along the banks of the
Nile which flooded yearly depositing rich silt on
the land.
• The floods also brought destruction and death
when they came at the wrong time or too
fiercely.
• At times the floods would not come at all and
great droughts would result.
6. Levees and Dams
• In an attempt to control the water levees and
dams have been built for thousands of years.
• In the 1960’s a large dam was built near the
town of Aswan, Egypt.
• The Aswan Dam peaks at more than 12,000 feet
and hold nearly 6 trillion cubic feet of water in its
reservoir, Lake Nasser.
• The dam has been able to prevent flooding, but
allows for year-round irrigation.
7. Negative Effects of the
Aswan Dam
• The rich silt that was once deposited on the land
and to deltas is no longer carried downstream,
but instead builds up behind the dam.
• Without the 40 tons of silt being deposited
farmers have had to utilize chemical fertilizers,
which can be harmful to the land in the future.
• The loss of silt has led to erosion of the river-
banks and the delta.
• The loss of nutrients has led to the decline in the
animal life near the river.
8. Extinction of Animals
• Another environmental concern is the
number of animals facing extinction
through the lost of habitat (home) and
hunting.
• Many of the species located in Africa are
now endangered.
9. Wildlife & Land in Africa
• Flamingos are attracted to the lakes of the Great
Rift Valley because they contain alkaline, which
is known as baking soda.
• Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania is the highest
mountain in Africa.
• Madagascar is the 4th largest island in the world.
• Today, efforts are being made to preserve what
is left of the forest and exotic animals.
10. Human Conflict
• Humans’ needs for food and income by farming
and herding drive them to destroy the land.
• Extreme poverty leads starving people to
destroy the natural plant life, which protects the
soil and provides habitats.
• The worst problems persists the most where the
population is greatest.
• Environmentalists are trying to work with people
to preserve what is left of the land and animals.
11. Checking for Understanding
1. Generally describe the physical geography of Africa.
2. Explain how desertification occurred and continues to
occur in the Sahara Desert.
3. Explain the importance of the Nile river and the
controversy surrounding the Aswan Dam that was built
to control it.
4. Describe the great rift Valley and how it was formed.
5. Describe some of the environmental problems facing
the African continent AND why they are difficult to
solve.
6. Explain factors that affect the population density of the
African continent. Include examples to support your
claim.
