Earth Science 7 Africa 4

Earth Science 7- Regions

Africa

Countries: Algeria Angola Benin Botswana Burkina Faso Burundi Cameroon Canary Islands Cape Verde Central African Republic Ceuta Chad Comoros Côte d'Ivoire Democratic Republic of the Congo Djibouti Egypt Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Ethiopia Gabon Gambia Ghana Guinea Guinea-Bissau Kenya Lesotho Liberia Libya Madagascar Madeira Malawi Mali Mauritania Mauritius Mayotte Melilla Morocco Mozambique Namibia Niger Nigeria Republic of the Congo Réunion Rwanda Saint Helena São Tomé and Príncipe Senegal Seychelles Sierra Leone Somalia South Africa Sudan Swaziland Tanzania Togo Tunisia Uganda Western Sahara Zambia Zimbabwe

Latitude Range and Longitude:

Range:38°N-34°S; 17°W-49°E

Elevation Range:

Highest Spot: Mt. Kilimanjaro, Tanzania (19,334 ft) Lowest Spot: Lake Assal, Djibouti (-509 ft)

Large Bodies of Water:

Longest River: Nile River 4125 mi. Largest Lake: Victoria Lake 26,834 sq. mi

Major Topographic Features:

Mountain Ranges: Atlas Mountains, Drakensburg Mountains Large Basins:The Lake Chad Basin, The Congo Basin, The Niger Basin,The Nile Basin, The Orange Basin,Zambezi Basin

Bordering Oceans and Seas:

Red sea, Mediterranean sea,Arabian sea, Atlantic Ocean, Indian ocean

Africa Climate

Climate Zone

The climate zone of the southern region of Africa is classified on the Köppen climate classification chart as BWh-Dry (arid and semiarid) climates, Am-Tropical Monsoon Climate, Cwa-Humid subtropical climate, BSh-Dry (arid and semiarid) climates, BWh-Dry (arid and semiarid) climates, Aw-Tropical wet and dry or savanna climate, CWb-Maritime Temperate climates or Oceanic climates, Csb-Dry-summer subtropical or Mediterranean climates, Cfb-Maritime Temperate climates or Oceanic climates, and BSk-Dry (arid and semiarid) climates.

There are many cities in Africa, so the average monthly precipiation, rainfall, and high/low temperatures may differ. Here are a few examples of the averages in a southern town called Cape Town.

Cape Town Monthly Temperatures; Maximum and minimum:

Cape Town Temperature	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Annual
Avg. Max Temperature in ºF	77	78	76	72	67	64	62	63	65	69	72	75
Avg. Min Temperature in ºF	63	63	60	56	52	48	47	48	51	54	58	61

Average Precipitation in Cape Town

Cape Town Precipitation	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Precipitation (inches)	0.60	0.60	0.80	1.60	2.70	3.70	3.30	3.00	1.60	0.10	0	0.70

Factors that affect the climate of Africa:

Latitude: Africa latitude of 29° 00' S The specific latitude of Africa suggests its position in Northern Hemisphere and its moderate proximity to the equator. Africa is located towards the southern point of the African Continent. This country is close to the equator, so the region near the equator is hotter because it receives more sunlight. The southern tip of Africa where South Africa is located is not as hot as the region near the equator because it is not receiving vertical, direct rays of sunlight. This is how the latitude affects the climate of Africa. Elevation also affects Africa. The higher up you go, the colder it gets, while the lower you are (like sea level) the warmer the temperature is. The high southern and eastern plateaus, rarely falling below 600 m (2000 ft), have a mean elevation of about 1000 m (3300 ft). The southern region of Africa is also high. Northern Africa is highly elevated, with many mountains like the Atlas Mountains. There are areas with high elevation, like the Lesotho Highlands, while places like the Limpopo Plain are low. The topography of Africa is filled with almost plain and flat high land while the coastal regions are thin. Plains like the Sahel region is one example. Africa has many climates. Some regions are tropical, while some regions are known to be some of the driest places in the world (like the Sahara Desert). The climatic condition of South Africa is mainly arid and dry. Regions that make contact with the ocean usually have temperate conditions and weather. The eastern coastline is dominated by sub tropic weather. The days are usually filled with sunlight and nights are cold.

Prevailing Winds

The prevailing winds are moist winds from the NE and dry winds from the SE causing a varied climate.

Vegetation

There are more than 20,000 different plants located in Africa. The fynbos vegetation zone mainly consists of evergreen hard-leave plants with usually fine, needle-like leaves. The by far biggest part of Africa is grassland. the plant cover is dominated by different grasses, low shrubs and acacia trees, mainly camel-thorn and white-thorn.Towards the north-west the vegetation becomes - due to the low precipitation - sparse.

Proximity of Water

Africa is bounded by the Atlantic ocean in the West, and the Indian Ocean in the East. \

Ocean Currents

The water to the West of Africa spins in a counter-clockwise motion. While on the Eastern side in the Indian Ocean,the currents veer towards the Cape of Good Hope, but if you go out to far, they veer sharply towards Australia.

Pressure Zones

Africa is bounded by two high pressure zones on the east and west sides and has the trade winds passing right through it.

Recent News

October: high temp, over 112 degrees Fahrenheit

Geology

Mining

Africa produces more than 60 metal and mineral products and is a major producer of several of the world’s most important minerals and metals including Gold, PGE’s, Diamonds, Uranium, Manganese, Chromium, Nickel, Bauxite and Cobalt.

Antimony World Production (2009): 187 Mt Production by country: South Africa Major companies: Metorex Key uses: Flame retardants, semi conductors

Bauxite World Production (2009): 201 Mt Production by country: Guinea Major companies: CBG, Rio Tinto Alcan Key uses: Aluminium production

Chromite World Production (2009): 23 000 Mt Production by country: South Africa (9 600) Major companies: Samancor, Assmang Key uses: Stainless steel production, superalloys

Coal World Production (2008): 5845 Mt Production by country: South Africa (236 Mt) Major companies: Anglo Coal, BHP Billiton Key uses: Energy generation

Cobalt World Production (2009): 62 000 t Production by country: DRC (25 000 t), Zambia (2 500 t), Morocco (1 600 t) Major companies: Gecamines, Norilsk Nickel Key uses: Metal alloys

Copper World Production (2009): 15.8 Mt Production by country: Zambia (0.655 Mt) Major companies: ZCCM Key uses: Electrical applications, construction

Diamonds World Production (2008): 168.0 Mct Value US$ (2007): $ 13 billion Production by country: South Africa, Botswana Major companies: De Beers Key uses: Jewellery, abrasives

Gold World Production (2009): 2 350 t Production by country: South Africa (210 t), Ghana (85 t) Major companies: AngloGold, Newmont Key uses: Jewellery, Investments

Iron ore World Production (2009): 2 300 Mt Production by country: South Africa (53 Mt), Mauritania (11 Mt) Major companies: Kumba Iron Ore, SNIM Key uses: Steel industry

Lead World Production (2009): 3.90 Mt Production by country: South Africa (0.05 Mt) Major companies: Rio Tinto Key uses: Motor vehicle batteries, chemical

Manganese World Production (2009): 9.60 Mt Production by country: South Africa (1.30 Mt), Gabon (0.81 Mt) Major companies: Samancor, Assmang Key uses: Ferroalloys

Molybdenum World Production (2009): 200 000 t Production by country: No production in 2009. Key uses: FerroAlloys

Nickel World Production (2009): 1 430 000 t Production by country: Botswana (36 000 t), South Africa (34 000 t) Major companies: Norilsk Nickel Key uses: Stainless steel, batteries, fuel cells

Palladium World Production (2009): 195 000 kg Production by country: South Africa (79 000 kg), Zimbabwe (4 800 kg) Major companies: Anglo Platinum, Impala Platinum and Wesizwe Key uses: Motor vehicle catalysts, electronic

Phosphates World Production (2009): 158 Mt Production by country: Morocco and Western Sahara (24 Mt), Tunisia (7 Mt), Egypt (3.3 Mt), South Africa (2.3 Mt), Togo (0.8 Mt), Senegal (0.7 Mt) Major companies: OCP Key uses: Fertiliser applications

Platinum World Production (2009): 178 000 kg Production by country: South Africa (140 000 kg), Zimbabwe (6 000 kg) Major companies: Anglo Platinum, Impala Platinum and Wesizwe Key uses: Motor vehicle catalysts, jewellery

Silver World Production (2009): 21 400 t Production by country: Minimal production in Africa Key uses: Electronics, photographic, jewellery

Tantalum World Production (2009): 1 160 t Production by country: DRC (100 t), Rwanda (100 t) Major companies: Mostly state owned Key uses: Electronic components; alloys

Tin World Production (2009): 307 000 t (Primary and Secondary sources) Production by country: DRC (12 000 t) Major companies: State owned Key uses: Packaging, alloys

Titanium World Production (2000): 5 720 Mt (Ilmenite and Rutile) Production by country: South Africa (1 100 Mt), Mozambique (206 Mt), Madagascar (60 Mt), Sierra Leone (60 Mt) Major companies: BHP Billiton, Anglo American, Exxaro Resources Key uses: Pigments and alloys

Tungsten World Production (2009): 58 000 t (concentrate) Production by country: No major production Key uses: FerroAlloys, filaments

Uranium World Production (2008): 43 853 tU Production by country: Namibia (4 366 tU), Niger (3 032 tU), South Africa (655 tU) Major companies: Areva Resources Key uses: Power generation, medical

Vanadium World Production (2009): 54.0 Mt (Vanadium pentoxide) Production by country: South Africa (19.0 Mt), Major companies: Highveld Steel and Vanadium Key uses: FerroAlloys

Zinc World Production (2009): 11 100 Mt Production by country: No major production Major companies: Rio Tinto Key uses: Galvanising, alloys

Zirconium World Production (2009): 1 230 Mt Production by country: South Africa (0.395 Mt), Major companies: Exxaro Key uses: Foundry applications, alloys

Rocks

Map of Africa's Geology

Minerals in Africa

Many common minerals found in Africa includes gold, iron, copper, diamonds, uranium, magnesium, and cobalt.