Major Landforms

• Sahara desert

-covers 1/3 of the whole continent
-largest desert in the world
-almost as large as the United States
-approximately 3,500,000 sq. miles
-Rock-strew plains, rolling sand dunes, many sand seas
-regional deserts are the Libyan, Nubian and Western desert of Egypt
-all deserts lie west of the Nile


• Kalahari desert

-covers the southwestern region of South Africa and all of western Namibia
-approximately 100,000 sq. miles
-covered with reddish sand
-lies between the Orange and Zambezi rivers
-consists of dry lake beds
-Yearly rainfall averages about 5 in. in the southwest where there are active sand dunes and 20 in. of rainfall in the northeast
-can rain heavily one day, then be dry as ever the next
-grazing and agriculture is possible in certain areas
-popular tourist spot for the Kgalagadi Transfrontier park
-considered one of Africa’s last “wildlife paradises”
-includes meerkats, hyenas, lions, many species of antelope, birds, reptiles
-first inhabitants of Kalahari are called the the “San” or “bushmen”
-today, only a small amount of bushmen follow traditional ways of living
-modern civilizations threaten natural resources
-coal, copper and nickel deposits were discovered by mineral companies


• Congo River

-also known as “the Zaire”
-dominates the landscape of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Congo
-flows into Angola, Cameroon and the Central African Republic and Zambia
-approximately 1,400,000 sq. miles
-second longest river in Africa
-fifth longest river in the world
-discharge of 1,500,000 cubic feet of water per second
-consists of freshwater fish that is an important source of protein for the people of central Africa
-best known as a mystical land of mythical beasts, plagues and cannibals
-called “the heart of darkness” by Joseph Conrad
• Atlas Mountains
-located in Tunisia and Morocco
-approximately 1,500 miles
-provides a route between the coast and the Sahara Desert
-lies in northwestern Africa
-highest range found in the southern part of Morocco is called the High Atlas
-highest peak is found in central Morocco which is 11,000 feet
-slopes of the High and Middle atlas have dense forests that include cedar, cork, pine, oak trees
-fertile valleys
-tracts of land where livestock feed
-wide range of mineral deposits that have been rarely touched
-lead, zinc, manganese, iron, antimony, phosphates, gold, silver
-traditionally considered as Berber territory


• Great Rift Valley

-approximately 4,000 miles in length
-expand from the Red Sea area to the South African country of Mozambique
-centuries ago, volcanic eruptions caused chain of geological faults which later created what we call now the Ethiopian Highlands
-also created chains of mountain ridges, perpendicular cliffs, deep lakes, rugged valleys
-Africa’s highest mountains – Mt. Kilimanjaro, Mt. Kenya and Mt. Margherita all front rift valley
-rich source of human fossils that allow the study of human evolution
-bones of hominid (apes) ancestors from modern humans are found


• Nile River

-longest river in the world
-runs about 4,160 miles in length
-drains in the Mediterranean sea
-series of streams, dams, swamps, waterfalls and rapids
-made of major rivers – Albert, Blue, Victoria and White Nile
-average discharge is about 300 million cubic meters per day
-farming, tourism and fishing happens on the Nile River
-you will see traditional Egyptian sailing boats/luxury cruisers traveling up and down
-hundreds of farms along the river, farmers use boats to transfer wheat, cattle, hay, etc.
-fishing is a main source of income and wealth, tons of fish are caught each year


• Sahel

-wide range of land that runs across north-central Africa on the southern edges of the Sahara Desert
-it is the transition zone between tropical places of the south and dry places of the north
-receives very little rain, 6-8 inches a year
-most of the land is a growth of grasses and shrubs
-approximately 2,400 miles
-mainly flat, most of the region lies between 200-400 meters elevation
-home to large populations of endangered mammals
-several kinds of gazelles, cheetahs, lions, African wild dogs, etc.



By Cherry