African Landscapes by Marisa Moffa

Northern Africa

marisa_moffa1 — 2024-01-11 08:45:05 UTC

There are three main geographic features in North Africa: the Sahara desert, the Atlas Mountains and the Nile River and delta. Though these various climate types can be found in the Northern region of Africa, arid and dry traits are more dominant and generally observable.

Large areas of the region are uninhabited desert, and cold temperatures are present at night at the high elevations, with moderate temperatures at the bases. During the day the dryness persists and takes the form of scorching heat. People in Morocco, Egypt, Tunisia, Libya and Algeria are ‘more dependent on the availability of water than on the availability of oil.’

Western Africa

marisa_moffa1 — 2024-01-11 09:06:37 UTC

The West African region extends, as the name suggests, westward to the Atlantic Ocean. What distinctly separates WA from North Africa or Central Africa, is the African Transition Zone with borders the edge of the Sahara Desert. West Africa contains extremely diverse regions including rainforests, coastal plains, lowland plateaus, deserts, stunning islands (Capo Verde) and isolated highlands, such as the Guinea Highlands. A main feature of this part of Africa is the Niger River- the third longest river in the continent.

Central Africa

marisa_moffa1 — 2024-01-11 09:34:16 UTC

Central Africa is one of the most diverse physical spaces in the continent, with mountain ranges, equatorial temperatures and even lush rainforests! It is intriguing to note that this diversity naturally requires a large geographical area- covering the same area as about 3/4 the United States. The Northern part is arid, there is an active volcano Mount Cameroon. In Chad, a large lake (also called Mega-Chad) is an incredible phenomenon as the size expands and contracts based on seasonal rainfall. Human interference in the lake and climate change have caused the water levels to decrease rapidly, and it could entirely disappear at the end of this century!

East Africa

marisa_moffa1 — 2024-01-11 09:55:24 UTC

East Africa extends through many countries and it is an incredibly popular tourist destination for safaris in Tanzania, Kenya, gorilla trekking in the Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda.

The world’s second- largest lake is Lake Victoria: a fresh- water source which provides sustenance through water for many communities and millions of people in the region.

Another large geographical beauty is Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa, located in Tanzania.

In Ethiopia, the highlands restrict moisture and precipitation to the east. The little rainfall has over time created dryness, and a savannah landscape, with sporadic trees, open plains and grasslands (see the Great Rift Valley).

Southern Africa

marisa_moffa1 — 2024-01-11 10:00:54 UTC

Home to a number of environmental systems, the Tropic of Capricorn runs through the middle of Southern Africa, indicating that the southern portion is outside the tropics. The Kalahari Desert in Botswana has a mixture of desert and grassland. Home to many national parks and reserves, the Namib Desert of Nambia is much more dry than the Kalahari. At Cape Point in South Africa, the southern-most part of Africa, an interesting phenomenon occurs between the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean. From the viewpoint, it is possible to see both oceans meeting but never mixing. In this manner, the light blue color of the Indian Ocean and the deeper blue of the Atlantic are clearly visible.