PENNSVALLEY
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Lesson 37: (Cont.)
Introducing the Continent of Africa
ACTIVITY 2:
TheMainFeatures of Africa
Whenyouseea
boldfaced
word, label themapof Africaonpage73 in the location theboldfacedword
or phrase describes.Use a globe, largeworldmap, or your classroom atlas as a resource.
1. Thecontinent of Africa isahuge landmasssouthwest of Eurasiaandsouthof the
MediterraneanSea
.
2.The
Equator
roughly divides the continent of Africa in half.
3. The
SuezCanal
, amanmadewaterway, connects theMediterraneanSea to the
RedSea
.From the
RedSea, ashipmust travel through the
Gulf ofAden
to reach theArabianSeaand the IndianOcean.
The IndianOcean is theworld’s third largest ocean.Can you name theworld’s smallest ocean?
4.Off the coast of Africa in the Indian Ocean are a number of small, independent island nations.
Madagascar
, Africa’s largest island, lies off the southeast coast in the IndianOcean.Madagascar
is separated from the mainland by the
Mozambique Channel
.
Seychelles
, northeast of
Madagascar, is made up of 115 islands. At 108 square miles, it is the smallest country in Africa.
Mauritius
(788 square miles) is located to the east of Madagascar.
Comoros
(720 square miles)
lies betweenEast Africa andMadagascar.
5. For larger ships, the IndianOcean has no northern route to reach the Atlantic Ocean and Europe.
The Suez Canal provides a route for smaller ships, but large ships, such as oil tankers from the
MiddleEast, must pass the
Cape of GoodHope
on the southern tip of Africa.
6.Geographers recently recognized the
Southern Ocean
as the world’s fifth ocean. It is the fourth
largest ocean, and is located off the southern tip of Africa and aroundAntarctica.
7.TheAtlanticOcean, theworld’s second largest ocean, extends the length of Africa’swest coast.
8. Bordering the west coast of Africa in the Atlantic are the island nations of
Cape Verde
and
Sao
Tome
and
Principe
. CapeVerde (1560 squaremiles) is a group of islands to the west of Senegal
andMauritania.The islands of SaoTome and Principe (387 squaremiles) are located just north of
theEquator, in theGulf of Guinea.
9. At the northwestern tip of Africa, off the coast of Morocco, the
Strait of Gibraltar
provides a
passageway from theAtlanticOcean to theMediterraneanSea.
Africa
Click
&
Learn
Travel to theSerengeti Plain, theOkavangoBasin, andVolcanoes
National Park using the Internet, school library, and classroom resources
as your guides. In your
travel journal
, document the physical features of
each location and thewildlife you observe. After your return, create a
collage
on poster board of Africanwildlife.Use the Internet, newspapers
andmagazines as resources.Youmay also use your own artwork to
complete the collage.
