Secondary resources > Geography KS3 > Africa
Overview - Climate - Water - Cities - Resources - Sustainability - Fashion
Join presenter, Chioma, for an introduction to the physical geography of the continent of Africa, from the Sahara Desert in the north, to the Cape region in the south.
I’m Chioma, and I’m standing here, near Cape Town, at a very special place – an amazing place – Cape Point! To the east, we’ve got the Indian Ocean… If I face west, I’m looking out to the Atlantic Ocean. And here in front of me – I have the whole continent of Africa in front of me! Africa is the world’s second largest continent - it’s more than three times bigger than all of Europe! And of all the people on Earth today, 18 percent of them live here in Africa – a population of 1.5 billion, in 54 different countries – that’s more countries than any other continent. And, as you’d expect on such a huge landmass, there are many different regions, with a wide variety of climate and terrain.
The Sahara Desert covers more than 9 million square kilometres – it’s the world’s largest hot desert. Along with the River Nile, it defines the region known as North Africa…Some areas in the Sahara don’t receive a single drop of rain for years. So it’s not an easy place to live, but that doesn’t mean it’s empty – it’s home to complex systems of giant sand dunes, rock plateaus, and oases. Many species of reptiles, birds, and mammals live there – as well as around 2.5 million people.
To the south, stretching from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea, is the Sahel region. It’s a zone of semi-arid grasslands and savannas. ‘Sahel’ means ‘the shore’ in Arabic. That might seem like a strange name for a place that’s largely dry. But the whole area is like a shoreline between the deserts of North Africa, and the rainforests and wooded savannas to the south – and it’s a meeting place of many cultures.
The Congo Basin is a massive, bowl shaped depression – covering 1.3 million square miles! It’s known as the freshwater heart of Africa – because this tropical, green area is fed by an extensive network of rivers – nearly all of which flow down into the deepest river in the world – the Congo. It’s surrounded by the Congo Basin Rainforest. Which is not just a beautiful place that’s home to thousands of unique species, it’s also the world’s largest carbon sink - and so, incredibly important for our planet’s carbon cycle!
The East African Rift is a lowland area which is slowly growing all the time – because the tectonic plates which form the continent are moving apart. It’s a volcanically active zone where some of the world's tallest free-standing mountains have formed, and the huge valleys here hold some of the world’s biggest lakes… And the Rift Valley has shaped the landscape of the Serengeti plains… they’re home to unique ecosystems – and one of the few places in the world where large-scale, seasonal migrations of land animals still take place.
The central Southern African plateau is an enormous region of high, flat ground, formed by tectonic forces hundreds of millions of years ago. It’s mostly savanna - on the Eastern side is the vast, dry expanse of the Kalahari Desert - which means ‘great thirst’ in the local Tswana language. And around the edges of the plateau is The Great Escarpment - thousands of miles of cliffs, where the land drops suddenly to the much lower ground level of the coastal areas.- like here, the Cape area - the very tip of an incredible, rich, and varied continent!
The video
Overview of physical geography
Download/print a transcript of this episode (pdf).
Join presenter, Chioma, as she begins her exploration of Africa and its geography - beginning with an overview of physical geography.
The video begins in Cape Town, South Africa, before visiting the vast and incredible expanses of The Sahara Desert, The Sahel, The Congo Basin, The East African Rift, The Serengeti, The Central Southern Africa Plateau and the Great Escarpment, before returning to Cape Town.
Teacher Notes
Download/print the Teacher Notes for this episode (pdf).
Teacher Notes prepared in partnership with the Geographical Association.
Before watching the video
- Explain that Africa is a vast continent of 54 very different countries, each with their own physical and human features.
- Locate Africa on a map and ask students what physical features they can name in Africa - for example, they are likely to name Mount Kilimanjaro and the River Nile.
- Show a map of the main biomes of Africa to illustrate the differing physical landscapes of Africa. Ask students to describe what they can see.
- Introduce key terms such as:
Terrain: the characteristics of a particular piece of land - for example, it could be mountainous or flat.
Plateau: an area of level high ground.
Savanna: a large open plain of long grass with scattered trees found in tropical and subtropical regions. The savanna is a biome.
Carbon sink: an area that absorbs more carbon that it releases, such as a rainforest.
Tectonic: The movement of plates underneath the Earth’s surface that causes volcanic and earthquake activity.
While watching
You may wish to stop at relevant points during this short film to pose questions and check understanding, or wait until the end. Useful questions might include:
- How much larger is Africa than Europe?
- How many people live in Africa?
- How large is the Sahara Desert?
- Which river runs through the Sahara Desert?
- How many people live in the Sahara Desert?
- What does the word ‘Sahel’ mean in Arabic?
- What is migration?
- What types of animals migrate?
- What does ‘Kalahari’ mean in the Tswana language?
- Why do the physical landscapes differ so much in Africa?
After watching
- Create a map of the physical geography of Africa using the locations in the video and an atlas to add further locations such as Mount Kilimanjaro, Mount Nyiragongo and The Namib Desert.
- Describe what the map shows. Is there a pattern to the locations of physical features in Africa - for example, the deserts and the tropical rainforest.
- Students could be split into groups to complete research on one area - for example, the Sahel or the Serengeti - to find out more about it. This could include research into the people that live there, how the area is used and the wildlife that can be found there.
Where next?
- Our presenter, Chioma, joins us from South Africa. Just outside of Johannesburg is a location called ‘The Cradle of Humankind’ where fossils have been discovered which are evidence that human life originated there. Some of the fossils date back over three million years. The fossils are of several human ancestors and they tell us a lot about human evolution. They were first discovered when the area was being mined for lime.
- Research ‘The Cradle of Mankind’ and find out more about why it was such a significant discovery. How different might the landscape have looked at the time in which our ancient ancestors were living, compared to today?
Links
Deserts:
https://truemac.vn/bitesize/topics/ztgw2hv/articles/znnhp4j#zswq2v4
Global biomes:
https://truemac.vn/bitesize/topics/ztgw2hv/articles/zhh6trd#zqwwjsg
Desertification:
https://truemac.vn/bitesize/topics/ztgw2hv/articles/zyysf82
Curriculum notes
This clip will be relevant for teaching Geography at KS3 in England and Northern Ireland, 3rd/4th Level in Scotland and Progression Step 4 in Wales.
In the English National Curriculum this video can be used to help teach the following:
- Using maps of the world to focus on Africa, focusing on the environmental regions, hot deserts, key physical features, countries and major cities.
Resources
Teacher Notes
Download/print a copy of the Teacher Notes for this episode (pdf).
Transcript
Download/print the transcript of this episode (pdf).
Secondary resources > Geography KS3 > Africa
Overview - Climate - Water - Cities - Resources - Sustainability - Fashion