Year 8 Half term 3 – Africa

We are learning about the continent of Africa because of its varied physical and human
Geography including the largest hot desert on Earth (the Sahara). 16% of all the people in
the World live in this continent. Development in many African countries has been affected
by colonial rule by countries including Britain and the impacts of the global slave trade.
Title New Knowledge
Site and The continent of Africa is located to the South of Europe.
situation of Accurate location of the continent of Africa on a World map.
Africa The continent is surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean and the
Mediterranean Sea. Mt Kilimanjaro is Africa’s highest point.
Mapping the The River Nile is a transboundary river.
River Nile The White Nile and the Blue Nile are both tributaries of the River Nile.
The River Nile flows into the Mediterranean Sea at its mouth.
Erosional Waterfalls are an erosional feature formed where water meets a less resistant
features of geology.
the Nile Plunge pools and gorges can be formed as a waterfall develops.
V shaped valleys are an erosional feature formed by vertical erosion where the
river cuts down into the land.
Depositional Deposition is the laying down of material.
features of Rivers deposit material when they lose energy.
the Nile Deltas are depositional landforms.
Deposition by the river has to be greater than erosion by the sea for a delta to
form.
Deltas are fertile agricultural land.
Uses of the The landscape of the Nile changes as it flows from source to mouth. Humans
Nile use the Nile for many different reasons including irrigation for agriculture,
leisure and religion.
Coastal Definition of coastline. Coastlines have different functions (uses)
Africa Examples of functions of coastlines in Africa include ports, tourism, settlement
and leisure.
Coastal Africa Coastal landforms are categorised as ‘erosional’ or ‘depositional’
EROSIONAL DEPOSITIONAL
Arch Spit
Stack Bar
Cave Beach

A coastal arch is a curved structure left when the sea erodes the inside of a cave
away.

Coastal arches can take a long time to form – initially the sea will widen and
deepen a crack in a headland to form a cliff. Further erosion will lead to the cliff
widening and deepening. Eventually the cliff will erode all the way through the
headland to form an arch.
Biomes in The biome that dominates the north of Africa is the hot (Sahara) desert. This
Africa biome can have varied landscapes. There are a variety of ways in which humans
use the hot desert.

Climate The enhanced greenhouse effect is having significant impacts in the Sub Saharan
change and Sahel region – including desertification, the shrinking of Lake Chad and the
the Sahara pressure placed on food and water supplies.
Climate Humans can take action to deal with the impacts of climate change. The Great
change and Green Wall is a programme that has been put in place to the south of the Sahara
the Sahara Desert. A wall of trees has been planted in the hope that they will retain more
moisture in the soil and prevent soil blowing away therefore slowing or
preventing desertification.
The Great Rift The Great Rift Valley is a physical feature in Africa, home to a wide range of
Valley unique animals such as giraffes and flamingos. It is located in the east of Africa
stretching from Djibouti in the north to Malawi in the south. The valley formed
at a diverging plate boundary where the African and Somali plates move apart
from each other creating new land.
Development Life expectancy and GDP per capita vary across Africa. HDI is a composite measure of
in Africa people’s quality of life including life expectancy, education and standard of living. The
nearer to 1 a country scores the more developed it is. HDI scores vary across Africa.
Using HDI as a measure of development is more reliable than using life expectancy or
GDP per capita as it is a COMPOSITE measure which includes several different
development indicators.
Colonisation The level of development in a country can be affected by several factors: Natural
in Ghana resources (Coal) – the country can trade these to make money. Climate- the right climate
to be able to grow crops Peace – Money does not need to be spent on wars. Industry –
Countries can manufacture they own goods rather than paying money to buy them from
elsewhere.

Despite Ghana being a country with plentiful natural resources it is a developing country.
The main reason for this is colonisation by the British. In more recent times debt
repayments and the fluctuating sale price of cocoa have also held the country back.
Influence of There are a huge number of different languages spoken across Africa with many
colonial countries having more than one language. Evidence of languages spoken can be
powers found by looking at evidence on maps (street names, school names, names of
buildings etc).

Anglophone = English speaking

These languages are a legacy of colonial rule in the country. Language is just one
way that former colonial rulers still influence these countries today.
Reducing the Countries can be supported to develop in several different ways. These
development strategies can vary in their effectiveness.
gap
Aid: This could be short term to help in an emergency situation or longer term to
help fund various projects (for example in education or healthcare).
Fairtrade: Making sure that farmers get a fair price for the crops they grow will
bring more money into the country and have a positive multiplier effect.
Debt relief: Cancelling all, or some, of a country’s debt will free up money to
spend on other things (eg education or healthcare).
Tourism: Attracting more tourists to a country will create more jobs and this will
have a positive multiplier effect.
Investment and industrial development: By encouraging TNC’s to locate in
developing countries jobs will be created and there will be a positive multiplier
effect.
International There is conflict within several countries in Africa – including the Democratic
migration Republic of Congo, Sudan, South Sudan and Somalia. These conflicts have led to
the displacement of people. Sometimes people have been forced to seek asylum
in another country. An asylum seeker is someone who has applied for asylum
(safety) in a different country. A refugee is someone who if fleeing their country
because of conflict or natural disaster.
Trade Trade is the exchange of goods, money and services between countries and
regions. Countries have varying needs and buy and sell different goods. Most of
the trade from African nations is with China.

Africa’s exports (goods or products that a country sells to another country) are
mainly primary goods (raw materials) eg: Copper from the DRC, Coffee from
Kenya, Sugar from South Africa, Cotton from Mali and Iron ore from Liberia.

Most of Africa’s imports (good or products that a country buys from another
country) support the development of industry (for example machinery).
Megacities Urban areas in African countries are growing rapidly – it is predicted that Africa is where
the most rapid urban growth will take place in the future. Currently there are 4
megacities in Africa: Cairo (Egypt), Johannesburg (South Africa), Kinshasa (DRC) and
Lagos (Nigeria). The population of Lagos has grown rapidly from less than 1 million in
1950 to 14 million in 2017. Evidence of this growth can be seen on satellite images.

There are huge differences in quality of life for people living in Lagos with some
incredibly wealthy people living in luxury while 60% of the population live in slums
(shanty towns). This is similar to any large urban area in a developing or emerging
country. In contrast there is less difference in developed country megacities such as New
York or Tokyo.