The Physical Geography of Sub-Saharan Africa – Flashcards
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Name the bodies of water that surround the African continent.
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Gulf of Aden, Indian Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Red Sea, Mediterrainian Sea, and Gulf of Guinea.
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What are the Eastern Highlands? Where can they be found? Name two major peaks that are found there.
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Mountainous region of East Africa. Kilimanjaro and Mount Kenya.
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What are the "Mountains of the Moon"? Why are they covered in clouds and snow? What two countries do they divide?
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Ruwenzori Mountains. Moist air from the Indian Ocean creates the clouds that wrap around these mountains. Uganda and Congo.
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What range forms part of the escarpment on the southern edge of the African continent?
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The Drakensberg Range
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What are the boundaries of the Great Rift Valley? How was it formed?
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Formed by splitting the African fault lines into two (plate tectonics). The boundaries are from Syria to Mozambique.
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Name two lakes and one volcano that can be found bordering the Great Rift Valley.
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Lake Tanganyika, Lake Victoria, and Kilimanjaro.
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How does plate tectonics affect the waterways in Africa?
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They create rifts that can create water transportation throughout Africa and even some lakes and waterfalls.
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Name two reasons that Lake Victoria is significant.
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Good for transportation and has good soil. (It's the second largest lake in the world and largest lake in Africa)
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What happened as a result of the formation of Lake Volta? Was the creation of this lake successful? Why was it created in the first place?
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This lake destroyed many people's homes (10,000). But it provided a massive reservoir of water to Ghana. It was created to help with the flood in the dam of the Volta River. It was created in the 60s to make hydroelectric power.
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How are Niger and Zambezi Rivers similar? How are the different?
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They both form deltas but Niger goes into the Atlantic Ocean and Zambezi goes into the Indian Ocean.
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Why is Congo River an important waterway? What makes travel on it difficult in places?
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It provides transportation for big ships but there are waterfalls.
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Why did most Europeans conduct their trade with Sub-Saharan countries from offshore islands or coastal forts?
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Difficult barriers such as cataracts made travel difficult. There were also good resources on the coast of Africa.
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Name six important natural resources found in Sub-Saharan Africa.
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Diamonds, Gold, Water, Minerals, Uranium, and Solar power.
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What in factor is the biggest determinant of climate in Africa?
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Rain
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How are tropical rain forests and tropical savanna alike? How are they different?
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Both are warm but tropical savanna has a a dry season.
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How are agriculture and clear-cutting affecting the rain forests in Africa?
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They are causing animals to lose their homes and the land to be destroyed by the elements due to the loss of the protection from the trees.
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What is the Sahel? Where can it be found?
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The Sahel is the transition zone from the Sahara into the rest of Africa, it is right below the Sahara desert.
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Name two deserts found in Africa other than Sahara. Where are they found?
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Kalahari Desert (most of Botswana and Namib Desert, both are in South Africa.
