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PENNSVALLEY
Lesson 40:
Physical Features of Africa
Younowknow the locationof theAfricancontinent in theEasternHemisphere.Youhavealso learned
some large facts about Africa and located some of continent’s major geographical features. Our next
activitieswill focuson theother important landformsandwaterforms thatmakeup thecontinent ofAfrica.
ACTIVITY 1:
Landforms
Label theactivitymapof Africaonpage79with the landforms that arehighlightedbelow in
boldfaced
print.Use the physical map of Africa in your classroom atlas as a resource.
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1. The
A)AtlasMountains
extend fromMorocco intonorthernAlgeriaandTunisia inAfrica’snorthwesterncorner.
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2. South of the Atlas Mountains in the central Sahara are the
B) Ahaggar Mountains
on Algeria’s
southeast border and the
C)Tibesti Mountains
in northernChad.
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3. Extendingalong theGreat SaharaDesert’ssouthernborder, fromMauritaniaandSenegal on thewest
coast, toSudan in theeast, isaverydrygrasslandareaknownas the
D)Sahel
.Thegrasslandsof the
Sahel are threatened by climate changes, frequent droughts, and by overgrazing of livestock by the
nomadic farmerswho live there.Scientistswho study theSahel, andother grasslandareas that border
deserts, believe that every year asmuchas threeacresof everyhundredacresbecomesdesert land.
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4. The
E) Great Rift Valley
begins as two great arms at Lake Nyasa in southern Africa where the
borders of Mozambique, Zambia, and Tanzania meet. The Rift Valley stretches for nearly 4,500
miles northward through easternAfrica, theRedSea, and intoSyria in theMiddleEast.
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5. Following the western branch of the Great Rift Valley northward are the
F) MitumbaMountains
and
G) Ruwenzori Mountains
.
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6. The
H) Drakensberg Mountains
are the highest
mountains in southern Africa. The Zulu people who live
there refer to theDrakensbergMountains as the “barrier of
pointed spears.”
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7. In easternAfrica the
I) EthiopianHighlands
stretch north
from theGreat Rift Valley.
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8.North of the Ethiopian Highlands, the
J) Nubian Desert
and
K) LibyanDesert
extend from theGreat Sahara.
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9. South of the Libyan Desert, bordering Chad and Sudan, is
the
L) Darfur Plateau
. On Africa’s southwest coast in
Central Angola is the
M)AngolaPlateau
.The
N)Adamawa
Highlands
border Nigeria and stretch throughCameroon.
10. Label the
O) Somali Peninsula
in northeastern Africa.
This peninsula is often referred to as theHorn of Africa.
ACTIVITY 2:
Waterforms
Letters have been placed next to the waterforms that are
boldfaced
in the statements below. 1) As
you read each numbered paragraph below, use the letters to help you find each waterform and label
it in the correct blank space on the bottom of the activity map on page 79. 2) Trace each waterform
with a blue pencil. 3) Use the physical map of Africa in your classroom atlas as a resource.
1. In
Some Large Facts about Africa
(LLB= Lesson 38)
we located theNileRiver and learned that
it is the longest river in the world. Two branch rivers begin the long route of the Nile. The
a)White
Nile
flows north from
b) LakeVictoria
, Africa’s largest freshwater lake
(LLB= Lesson 38)
. Lake
Victoria sits south of theEquator between the arms of theGreat Rift Valley, and sits on the borders
of Kenya, Uganda, andTanzania.
The
Great
Rift
Valley
is the
largest
rift
in theworld.
Geologists tell
us that rifts are
broad, flat-bottomed valleys that
are foundbetween steep
mountain sides. Rifts are large
areas of land that sink as rock
layers in the Earth’s crust shift
andmove, creating cracks, or
faults, in the Earth’s surface.
Africa
