Grade 10 Geography (Welcome to Grade 10 Geography) PDF

Welcome to Grade 10 th Geography  Introduction In the previous grade, you have studied many important features of our country – Ethiopia. Here in grade ten, you will primarily study about our wonderful continent – Africa. Under Geography of Africa, you will study ab...

Welcome to Grade 10 th Geography  Introduction In the previous grade, you have studied many important features of our country – Ethiopia. Here in grade ten, you will primarily study about our wonderful continent – Africa. Under Geography of Africa, you will study about – the nature of Africa’s landforms, climate, natural resource bases, population, economic and cultural activities. – The Human environment interactions in Africa – The geographic issues and public concerns in Africa ,and – The geospatial information and data processing and other important issues and skills Therefore, successful completion of the geography subject at this grade level helps you to develop an understanding and acquire knowledge of basic geographic concepts, principles, and theories – focusing on Africa.  UNIT ONE 1. LANDFORMS OF AFRICA  Under this unit you are going to learn 1.1. Overview of the World’s Major Landforms = 2p 1.2. Location and Related Features of Africa = 1p 1.3. Major Landforms of Africa = 3p Objectives / Learning Outcomes: By the end of this unit, you will be able to: – develop general idea on the major landforms of the world; – identify the major landforms and their spatial distribution in Africa; – describe the major landscape features of Africa; and – recognize the spatial variations in the distribution of the major landforms in Africa  1.1 OVERVIEW OF THE WORLD’S MAJOR LANDFORMS At the end of this section, you will be able to: explain the formations of major landforms of the world; locate the major landforms of Africa; and explain the spatial variations in the distribution of the major landforms in Africa  Start up questions What are landforms? What are the two types of landforms? What are the three major landforms of the world? How do major and minor landforms occur? List down the landforms you can identify in your surrounding. How many continents and ocean in the world do you know? List them dawn  What are landforms?  Landforms are physical features on the Earth’s surface that form terrain of an area.  Landforms can be categorized in to two types – These are major landforms and minor landforms Major landforms- Mountains, plateaus, and plains. Minor landforms - gorges, river valleys, and basins /gullies  How do landforms occur? Major types of landforms are formed by Tectonic movement and volcanic activities (internal processes) in the Earth’s interior by pushing up mountains and hills. Minor landforms are formed by Erosion through water and wind (external processes)- can erode land and create minor landforms like gullies, river valleys ,and gorges.  …. Both internal and external processes happen over a long period , sometimes millions of years. For example, it took a very long period to cut the deep Gorge between the towns of Goha Tsiyon in North Shewa and Dejen in Eastern Gojam, The Abay Gorge - cuts down about 1000 m deep between the two towns  … The 2nd period Landforms and water body The surface of the Earth is covered by landforms and water bodies The landforms make up continents and the water bodies form oceans. a. Continents They are the largest landmasses in the world. There are seven continents in the world. These are : Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, and Oceania (Australia) from largest to smallest ( see fig 1.2) They all together cover 29% of the earth Figure 1.2: Map of the World B, Oceans They are large areas of salt water between the continents There are five major oceans in the world These are: the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Southern Ocean and Arctic Ocean from the largest to smallest. See fig 1.2 The Pacific Ocean is both the largest and the deepest ocean, which covers one-third of the Earth’s surface They all together cover huge areas of the Earth – about 71% of the Earth  …. Oceans are important factors for creating or forming coastal land features such as islands peninsulas, isthmuses etc a. Island It is a piece of ground that is completely surrounded by water. It can be big or small in any part of the world. The largest island in the world is Greenland. Australia is bigger than Greenland but it is so big that it is called a continent instead of an island.  b, peninsula It is a piece of land that has water on three sides and connected to the mainland on the fourth side. It is a large landmass projecting in to a water body The two well-known peninsulas are Italy and Florida. c. Isthmus It is a narrow strip of land with water on both sides connecting two larger pieces of landmass. A well-known example is the Isthmus of Panama that connects North America and South America. Major types of Landforms of the World Mountains Plateaus Plains  I. Mountains They are the largest elevated and most recognizable landforms on the Earth’s surface. They have steep sides, and high peaks, that stand out from the surrounding land. Around mountains, we may find smaller, less steep landforms called hills. Mountains are usually formed when rock layers are pushed together from opposite sides. Thus, the pressure exerted from the movement forces the land in the middle to rise.  …. The low areas between mountains are called valleys. Mountains may also be formed by volcanic activity when lava and other materials build up on the surface, but mountains are not the only landforms that can be made by volcanoes. Mount Everest It is the highest landform on Earth It is a peak in the Himalaya’s Mountain range. It is part of the Himalaya Mountain range It is located between Nepal and Tibet. It measures 8,849 meters above sea level. It runs across several countries in South and Southeast Asia such as India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, China, and Afghanistan. It extends 320 to 400 kms in width and 1500 kms in length.  Formation of Himalayas The Himalayas were formed about 40 to 50 million years ago when the Indian plates collided with the Eurasian plate. When the two continental plates with the same density collide, pushing upwards at their edges formed the Himalayan Mountains. Figure 1.3: Landforms of the World – Mountains  … Landforms can also exist under oceans in the form of mountain ranges and basins. The Mariana Trench, the deepest landform on Earth, is in the South Pacific Ocean.  II. Plateaus They are large areas of flat topped raised land They may be formed by volcanic activity beneath the earth’s surface. Sometimes the pressure of the magma beneath is not strong enough to break through the crust and create a volcano, hence, instead, the land is pushed upwards, plateaus may stand all by themselves in otherwise flat land or may sometimes be close to other plateaus.  III. Plains Another major type of landform is plain. Plains are large areas of flat low land with no hills or mountains in them. The Great Plains in the mid United States is a good example of a large plain. Plains are very important areas for crop cultivation and animal husbandry (ranch).  The importance of studying land forms Understanding landforms is very important because as part of a landscape, landforms greatly affect human perception and interactions with the environment. Landforms provide a physical context for describing the landscape, topography, and ecological units within the environment. Understanding the physical and historical context of the landscape is necessary in order to understand the temporal and spatial scales of ecosystems.  Landforms are ecologically important elements because ecosystems (which consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact) develop within landform regions, and material and energy flows occur within the landform system. Landforms also affect, modify, and influence climate, both at large areas as macroclimate and small areas as microclimate.  In addition it helps people to determine the economic potentials of an area (for example, agriculture, pastoralism, etc.). understand the occurrences of disasters, its causes, and mechanisms to withstand damages and to take precautions in case of a possible disaster. understand the weather patterns of the landforms. Effects of landforms on ecosystem and processes a. Landform attributes (elevation, steepness of slope, and aspect) produce many different patterns which determine the ecological potential of an area. b. Landform regions affect the flow of organisms, energy ,and material and the spatial pattern of non-geomorphic disturbance by fire and wind. c. Landforms may resist changes that geomorphic processes create; hence they protect biotic features and processes. Stabilization Review the main ideas and concepts of the lesson Landforms are physical features on the Earth’s surface that form terrain of an area Landforms are formed by internal and external processes. The surface of the Earth is covered by land and water features. These features make up continents and oceans respectively. Evaluation What are the three common major landforms of the world? How many percent of the Earth’s surface is covered by oceans? Assignment: list Sovereign island countries of the world within their respective continents.  1.2 LOCATION AND RELATED FEATURES OF AFRICA At the end of this section, you will be able to: identify the location and size of Africa in relation to the other continents and major water bodies  Startup questions: Where is Africa located? Both relative and absolute location List continents and other major water bodies bordering Africa. What is the size and shape of Africa? How many countries are there in Africa?  1.2.1. Location of Africa Relative location of Africa It is bounded by the Mediterranean Sea in north the Red Sea in NE the Gulf of Aden in East the Indian Ocean –in SE the Atlantic Ocean- in West Africa is found – South of Europe and South of Mediterranean Sea – SW of Asian and SE of Red sea – NW of Australia and Indian Ocean and – East of South America and Atlantic Ocean Africa's Relative Position in the world  Absolute/ Astronomical location of Africa Astronomically, Africa lies between – 37o 21'N and 34o 52'S latitudes and – 17o 33'W and 51o 28'E longitudes From this absolute location, we can understand that the continent has four extreme points: Extreme North - Cape Blanc (Tunisia) - 37o 21'N Extreme South - Cape Agulhas (South Africa) - 34o 52'S Extreme East - Cape Guardafui (Somalia) - 51o 28'E The four extreme points of Africa  … Equator divides Africa into almost two equal parts, this makes the climatic and physical conditions in the north repeat themselves in the south For example, the Kalahari Desert in southern is exactly similar to the Sahara in the northern part of Africa; the Karoo in southern part of the continent matches the Maghreb, and the conditions in the Cape area are almost identical to those of the Mediterranean region in the north  1.2.2. Size of Africa Africa has a total area of 30.37million km2 With this area, the continent is 2nd largest continent in the world 6% of the total surface area of the earth and 20% of land area of the world 2/3rd of Asia and 3.4 times larger than Europe. 1.2.3. Shape of Africa – The north-south extension of Africa is– approximately 8000km – The east-west extension of Africa is – approximately 7,600km – This is shows that Africa has almost balanced east-west and north-south extent or it has more or less equal north- south and east-west distance. – Therefore, it has relatively compact shape 1.2.3. Population size of Africa With total population of 1.3 billion people in 2020. Africa accounts for about 16% of the world’s population. the second most populous continent on earth after Asia Africa is home to 54 recognized sovereign states 54 countries of Africa  Stabilization- to Review the main ideas and concepts of the lesson. The continent of Africa is bounded by the – Mediterranean Sea in north – Red Sea in north east – Indian Ocean in South East – Atlantic Ocean in west Africa is Astronomically located between – 37o21’ N and 34o52’ S latitude and – 17o33’ W and 51o28’ E longitude. Africa ‘has areal size of 30.37 million Km2. Africa covers 20% of the Earth’s total surface area Africa is the second largest continents on earth after Asia Africa has estimated total population of 1.3 billion people in 2020. the second most populous continent on earth after Asia  Evaluation What is the areal size of Africa? 30.37msq.km How many sovereign states are there in Africa? What is the significance of the Equator in dividing Africa into different parts? List five big countries and five small countries in Africa;  1.3 MAJOR LANDFORMS OF AFRICA Content- The major Landform regions of Africa At the end of this section, you will be able to: Explain the spatial variations and the distribution of the major landforms in Africa Identify how landforms are formed and Identify major landform regions of Africa. Describe the major physical regions  Start up questions How many landform regions are found in Africa? What are they? list 8 physical regions of the landforms of Africa and identify to which it belongs to the landform regions of Africa. Where are Atlas mountains and Sahara Desert found in Africa? Describe the main features of the Sahara desert Major land forming regions of Africa There are four major land forming regions in Africa, which contains eight major physical regions 1. African Alpine System – contains the Atlas Mountains Range physical region 2. African massif- contains 4 major physical regions the Sahara desert region the Sahel region the savanna region and the rainforest region 3. East African Highlands and rift system - contains 2 physical regions The Rift Valley and Great Lakes of Africa The Ethiopian and Eritrean Highlands 4. Southern Africa Platform – contains mountains and desert systems of South Africa.  a, The Atlas Mountain range region of Africa It belongs to the African Alpine System landform of Afr. it forms a series of mountain chains in north Africa, that includes the Anti-Atlas, High Atlas, Middle Atlas, Rif Mountains, Tell Atlas, and Sahara Atlas Fig 1.6.The Atlas Mountain range.  It makes up the Maghrib (meaning …. ‘west’ in Arabic) region (i.e. Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia) It extends from Moroccan port of Agadir in the SW to the Tunisian capital, Tunis, in the NE, for more than 2,000 kilometers It covers the largest proportion in Morocco, and followed by Algeria and Tunisia. It forms a high divide between the Mediterranean Sea and the Sahara Desert  b, The Sahara Desert region of Africa Sahara is the largest hot desert with total area of 9.2 million square kilometers in the world It extends from the Atlantic coast in the west to the Red Sea in the east and covers the entire region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlas Mountains in the north and Sudan and the Sahel region in the south. It encompasses countries like Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Sudan, Mauritania, Mali, Niger and Chad Figure 1.7: The Sahara  The main features of Sahara Desert The Sahara landscape is covered with sand that makes up a great sand sea called erg (a large mass or enormous quantities of reddish sand dune that is weathered from sandstone) Figure 1. 6: Sahara Desert. Figure 1. 8: Erg The sand dunes are fixed to a certain place, even though winds often sweep over its surface  Elsewhere in the Sahara, you find a desert. pavement of pebbles called Reg on top of vast flat-surfaced sheets of sand. Reg is a stony and rocky desert surface. It forms large, seemingly endless plains that look like a lunar landscape. Figure 1.9: Reg  c, The Sahel region It belongs to the African Massif land forming region It is a vast semiarid region of North Africa, to the south of the Sahara desert It forms a transitional zone between the Sahara and the Savanna Sahel is an Arabic word (sahil) meaning “shore”. It is the shore or edge of the Sahara Desert. It stretches across the south part of Northern Africa between the Atlantic Ocean and the Red Sea. It spreads from Mauritania and Senegal to Eritrea for about 5000kms. There are 9 Countries in the Sahel region. They are : Mauritania, Senegal, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Chad, Sudan and Eritrea.  … Figure 1.10: The Sahel region  The lands of the Sahel are covered with …. – semiarid grasslands and scrubland to the north, – Savannah and alternating trees, mainly acacias in the south. The semiarid grassland of the Sahel has natural pasture land covered with low-growing grass and tall herbaceous perennials. Hence, there is plenty of forage for the livestock (camel, pack ox, and grazing cattle and sheep) - it is suitable for grazing animals. The landscape of the Sahel is similar to the savanna type. However, due to its semi-arid climatic condition, being a transition zone, human activities and climate change, it is very vulnerable to desertification/it tends to merge into a desert d, The Tropical Savanna region Start up questions Where savanna is found in Africa and to which African landform regions it belongs? What are some basic features of the Savanna region of Africa? Why do we find many parks in Savanna region Africa?  The Tropical Savanna region: It belongs to the African Massif landform region It is a transitional zone between rainforest and the Sahel region. it is a tropical grassland with few trees and shrubs (a shrub is a woody plant smaller than a tree and has a very short stem with branches near the ground). The trees and shrubs are drought resistant- They have an adaptation process to the all year-round hot temperature of the region. They usually shed their leaves during the dry season to reduce water loss from their body through transpiration Figure 1.11: The Savanna Region  Parts of Tropical Savanna region Based on vegetation types, the Tropical Savanna region of Africa has two important parts i. The Tropical Woodland savanna and ii. The Thorn tree tall grassland Savanna. i. The Tropical woodland Savanna, here – the trees are widely spaced because there is not enough soil moisture during the dry season to support a full tree cover – It has an open, park-like appearance. Figure 1.12: The Savanna Woodland  ii, The Thorn tree tall grassland Savanna The trees are medium in height. Tree crowns are flattened or umbrella-shaped, and have thick trunks and rough bark. Some tree species are Xerophytic– plants with small leaves and thorn bushes to adapt the dry environment and high temperature Some tree species are deciduous plants- with broad-leave - shed their leaves in the dry season. Fire occurs frequently during the dry season, but the tree species are mostly fire resistant Figure 1.13: Thorn Tree Tall Grassland Savanna  Why do we find many parks in the Savanna region in Africa? The savanna region is characterized by grasses with dispersed trees that do not form a closed canopy, allowing sunlight to reach the ground. Hence, there is abundant growth of grasses on which many game animals depend. The game animals in turn become prey for other carnivores animals. Therefore, the wide diversities of the animals found in the Savanna helped governments to establish national parks. Eg Serengeti, masay Mara, Kenyan national park  e. The Tropical Rainforest region of Africa what are some basic features of the Tropical Rainforest region? why do plants in the Tropical Rainforest region grow tall and faster?  The Tropical Rainforest region of Africa It belongs to the African massif It occurs both to the north and south of the Equator. It is known as the equatorial rainforest- ound near the equator It has very diverse and large number of plant and animal species. Flora is highly diverse in the equatorial rainforests where 1km2 may contain as many as 100 different tree species as compared to 3 or 4 in the temperate zone..Figure 1.16: The Tropical Rainforest of Africa  Six African countries makeup the Congo … Basin of the Tropical Rainforest. These are – 1. Cameroon 2. Central African Republic - CAR 3. Republic of the Congo, - RC 4. Democratic Republic of the Congo, DRC 5. Gabon, and 6. Equatorial Guinea Other areas, where the rainforest is found in Africa include; – Ghana – Ivory Coast and – Madagascar  Tree species of the tropical rain forests Closely spaced together- tightly packed together grow rapidly to great heights (25 to 35m) tall This is because they are all competing for sunlight. The taller the tree, the more the lights it will receive. form a thick continuous canopy, Sometimes the canopy is interrupted by the presence of very tall trees (up to 40 meters) have wide buttressed bases for support. Broadleaf evergreen trees dominate the region. Evergreen with large, dark green, leathery leaves. Epiphytic and herbaceous plants as well as vines (lianas) and ferns are very typical of the tropical rainforest  The Climate of the tropical rain forest It is wet all the year or it has a short dry season. Its annual rainfall very high, it exceeds 2000 to 2250mm and evenly distributed throughout the year. Its temperature and humidity are relatively high throughout the year. Decomposition is rapid here because of high temperature and high moisture. The soil of the tropical rain forest are subjected to extreme chemical weathering and leaching- due to the frequent and heavy rainfall in the area Acidic and nutrient poor - due to these environmental conditions  Stabilization Tropical rainforest occurs both to the north and south of the Equator It has very diverse and large number of plant and animal species. It is wet and hot all year round Its soil is acidic and poor in nutrient  III, The East African Highlands and Rift system Start up questions What important landform feature divides Ethiopia into different physiographic regions? how was the Rift Valley formed? how can you describe the Ethiopian and Eritrean Highlands? how can you describe the mountains and Desert Systems of Southern Africa? f, The Rift Valley and African Great Lakes i, The Rift Valley of East Africa (GEARV) – formed by normal faulting as forces moving in opposite direction stretches the land and create a rupture and splitting the land apart, the land in between two parallel faults moved downward and creates an area called graben – It is part of the world’s Great Rift Valley system, which stretches from Syria, in the Middle East, to Mozambique, over a distance of about 7,200 km, by touching 15 African countries. Figure 1.17: Formation of Graben or Rift  It is a unique feature of.. Africa’s physiography. It begins from the Red Sea and extends through the Ethiopian landmass to the Lake Victoria, where it subdivides into an east and west segments. The eastern branch runs from Lake Turkana in northern Kenya, crossing Tanzania to the east of Lake Victoria. The Western Branch runs from Uganda in north, to southwards through the DRC, Rwanda and Burundi and then converge with the Eastern Branches at Malawi, and continue southward to port Biera in Mozambique. Its total length is estimated to be 5,600 km. Its average width ranges between 32 km and 80 km. What is the role of the Rift Valley in the classification of Ethiopia into different physiographic regions Rift Valley has the following structural (physiographic) effects: It divides the Ethiopian Plateau into two (the Western Highlands and Associated Lowlands and the Southeastern Highlands and Associated Lowlands) It creates basins and fault depressions on which the Rift Valley lakes are formed  ii, the Great lakes of Africa The Rift Valley lakes - series of lakes in the East African Rift valley that runs through eastern Africa from Ethiopia in the north to Malawi in the south They Include The Ethiopian Rift valley lakes - the northernmost African Rift Valley lakes, They are: Abe, Zway, langano, Abijata, Shalla, Hawasa, Abaya, Chamo and Chaw bahir  lake Edward, Albert and Tanganyika – in the western branch of RV  lake Turkana in the eastern branch of RV, and  lake Malawi in the southernmost part of the RV Many of them have freshwater with great biodiversity, while some others have alkaline or salty water Figure 1.18: The Rift Valley and African Great Lakes  Lake Victoria Africa's largest lake with total area of 68,800 km2 The 2nd largest freshwater lake in the world after lake Superior in North America. It is part of three African Countries (KUT) It trapped between the western and eastern branches of the Rift Valley. It lies at an elevation of 1,134 meters a.s.l It is non rift valley lake, but instead occupies a depression between the eastern and western rifts formed by the uplift of the land to either side of RV  g, The Ethiopian and Eritrean Highlands Ethiopia has some of the most spectacular scenery in Africa. Much of the country is set on a high plateau, with a massive central highland divided by Great Rift Valley and a series of lowlands along the periphery (edges) The wide diversity of terrain produces regional variations in climate, natural vegetation, soil composition, and settlement patterns in Ethiopia Figure 1.19: Ethiopian and Eritrean Highlands. The northwestern highlands of Ethiopia extend northwards up to Eritrea and SW parts of Ethiopia to the south, reaching elevations of more than 2,000 meters above sea level. Eritrea shares the northeast section of the northwestern high lands, which in appearance looks more like a set of rugged uneven mountains. The Northwestern Highlands rise on the western scarp of the Great Rift Valley and project northward from Addis Ababa in Ethiopia to the Red Sea coastline in Eritrea. It descends to the Red Sea coast in a series of hills. IV. Southern Africa Platform It includes Mountains and Desert System in Southern region of Africa It is found south of the Congo and Tanzania It has a very diverse landscapes such as escarpment, grassland, desert and mountain landscapes. The Tropic of Capricorn runs through the middle of the region, indicating that the southern portion of the region is outside the tropics means there is a temperate part in the region.eg Highveld is temperate grassland  a, The Escarpment of the region The Great escarpment of Ukhahlamba (Drakensberg escarpment) – It is the most familiar landscape in the region with average altitude of almost 3,000 m asl – It forms the boundary between KwaZulu-Coastal plain and Lesotho in southeastern portion of Africa – It separates the Highveld grassland from KwaZulu-coastal plain by it its southward continuation  b, The Highveld grasslands – It is the portion of the South African inland plateau, slopes gently downward It is bounded by the: – Great Karoo to the south – Southern Africa Bush veld to the north, – Kalahari Desert to the west and – Great escarpment to the east It is home to some of the most important commercial farming areas of South Africa and it is area of the largest concentration of metropolitan centers, especially the Gauteng conurbation, which accommodates one-third of South Africa’s population  c, Deserts of the regions of southern Africa There are two important deserts in southern regions of Africa. i.e. The Kalahari and Namib Deserts i, The Kalahari Desert It is mainly found in Botswana. It is widespread desert with an arid mixture of sand and grasslands, the grasslands provide excellent grazing for wildlife, when there is adequate rainfall. It is home to game reserves and national parks. ii, Namib Desert, It is found along the west coast of Namibia. it was formed partly because of the cold ocean current of Benguela that borders the area. Figure 1.20: Landforms of Southern Africa  Unit summary The major landforms of the world create very unique areas where people around the world want to know, explore and visit. Hence, landforms generally divide continents and countries into different physiographic regions Landforms are the results of volcanic and tectonic processes or internal and external processes.These processes form major landforms of the world. i.e Mountains, plateaus and plains Understanding landforms is very important because as part of a landscape, landforms greatly affect human perception and interactions with the environment.  Landforms are ecologically. important elements because ecosystems (which consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact) develop within landform regions, and material and energy flows occur within the landform system. Landforms also affect, modify, and influence climate on both large area as macroclimate or small area as microclimate. Africa has several recognizable major landforms. The landforms of our continent can broadly be categorized into four major regions: African Alpine System, African massif, East African Highlands and rift system and Southern Africa Platform.  … Each of this region contains eight major physical regions Each of the regions has a unique landform feature that distinguishes it from the other. The regions also vary in terms of the area they cover. Hence, the African Alpine System covers a small area compared to the African massif which covers a very large area of the continent.  Home work REVIEW QUESTIONS 1. What are the major landforms of the world? 2. Why is it important to study about landforms? 3. In which of the major landforms of Africa are many of the national parks found? why 4. What important landform feature divides Ethiopia into different physiographic regions?