5.7—Southern and Eastern Africa Chapter Atlas

Vocabulary

• Great Rift Valley—a long valley in Eastern Africa formed by two tectonic plates moving away from each other

Physical Features

• Unlike Western and Central Africa which has few mountains and is mostly flat, Southern and Eastern Africa have more diverse landscapes.

• Much of Southern Africa is a high plateau, while Eastern Africa is dotted by large lakes. The Great Rift Valley is a thousands-of-miles-long valley being formed in Eastern Africa as two tectonic plates move away from each other, ripping the land apart. Many of Eastern Africa’s lakes are being formed by the rift.

Physical Features

Great Rift Valley

Physical Features

• Eastern Africa, especially in Ethiopia, has many mountains. Africa’s highest mountain, Mt. Kilimanjaro, is located in this region.

• Mt. Kilimanjaro was once famous for it’s snow—it was the only place on the entire continent that regularly got snow. However, because of climate change over the past 20-30 years much of the snow has melted, and very soon there may be no more “snows of Kilimanjaro”.

Mt. Kilimanjaro

Natural Resources

• Southern and Eastern Africa—especially Southern Africa—is incredibly wealthy in natural resources.

• Mining is a very big industry in Southern Africa. Most of the world’s diamonds, and a large amount of gold and silver are found in Southern Africa. Many of the metals found in our electronics, like coltan, are also mined in these countries.

• There is also more arable land in Southern and Eastern Africa than in other parts of the continent. However, there are still some nomadic herders in arid regions, like the Kalahari desert in the south.

Southern Africa’s Mines

Farming and Herding

Vocabulary

• Serengeti Plain—most famous part of Eastern Africa’s savannas found in Kenya and Tanzania

• Poaching—illegal hunting• Ecotourism—tourism based on learning about

the environment and how to conserve it

Ecosystems and the Environment

• Like in Western and Central Africa there is a wide variety of climates in Southern and Eastern Africa. However, much of Southern and Eastern Africa is at a higher elevation, and is thus cooler than Western and Central Africa.

• Savannas, which we learned about a couple weeks ago, are a major environment in Southern and Eastern Africa

Ecosystems and the Environment--Climate

Ecosystems and the Environment--Savannas

• As we’ve already learned, savannas are home to Africa’s most famous wildlife: giraffes, elephants, lions, etc. The Serengeti Plain in Kenya and Tanzania is the most well-known part of the East African savannas.

• Poaching some of these animals is an ongoing problem in Eastern Africa: hunters are trying to harvest things like elephant ivory or rhinoceros horns for various reasons. This is causing many of the animals to go extinct.

• In recent years ecotourism has become a big part of the economies of Kenya and Tanzania as awareness of poaching and how many animals are endangered has increased.

• Video!

Assignment!

Complete the “Word Wise” notes page on the back of your vocabulary. Due at the beginning of

class tomorrow.