Sub-Saharan Africa

Sub-Saharan AfricaPhysical Geography

LandformsCreate a Word Wall •Plateaus -1•Escarpments -2•Basins -3•Rivers -4•Rift Valleys -5

Word Wall Directions:• Front: 1. Word in Big Bold Color2. Part of speech3. Your Name Top Inside:4. Description of word 5. Word written in a

complete sentence.Bottom Inside:6. Illustration (drawing) of

your word / sentence.

Plateau: Africa is a large plateau with escarpments on the edges.

Basins• A large, bowl-shaped

depression in the land’s surface

• Also: an area drained by a single river system

• Major African Basins:▫ Congo Basin (Congo

River)▫ Sudan Basin (Nile

River)

Rivers

• Major Rivers▫ Niger River▫ Congo River▫ Zambezi River▫ Orange River

• Limitations▫ Cataracts▫ Meandering courses

Rivers

Rift Valleys Rift Valleys

extend from Red Sea to South Africa

Several large lakes have formed at the bottom of rift valleys Lake

Tanganyika

Climate

Vegetation: GrasslandsSavanna

Steppe

Vegetation: Rainforests• Located around the

equator in the Congo River Basin

• Massive amount of trees blocks sunlight from reaching forest floor

• Daily rain makes the air very hot and moist

• Most animals live in the canopy

Human-Environment Interaction #1: RAINFOREST

• Farmers use slash-and-burn techniques to clear land for agriculture

• Over time, deforestation occurs

• What is the impact of deforestation on the environment? On the people?

Human-Environment Interaction #2: Desertification

Human-Environment Interaction #3: Drought