Fouta DjallonLake Chad
The 3 major rivers in Africa are the Niger, Senegal, & Volta.
Niger River: This river is the third longest river in Africa;it stretches about 2600 miles long! It is starts in Guinea,then runs through (Timbuktu)Mali,Niger,Benin and ends in Nigeria into the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean. The name "Niger" means big or great; it is used in by the early europeans who used maps to reach mosern Nigeria. The Niger river is a "clear" river because it headlands are located in ancient rocks that provide little silt.This river floods yearly in September and ends in May. This river is useful for agriculture and fishing. People also use it to cross with thier cattles for grazing land.The Niger bend is an important area because it's the closest source of water to the Sahara Desert.President Umaru Yar'Adua created a project called "all-year-round navigability" in hope that it will be one of the twenty most industrialised nation in the world by 2020.
Senegal River: The Senegal river is 1,110 miles long in West Africa and forms a border between Senegal and Mauritania. The drainage basin is 186,557sq miles and estimated 8,000,000 cubic kilometer annual discharge. It runs through the countries Guinea,Mali,Mauritania,& Senegal. The Senegal seperate from the Atlantic Ocean by Langue de Barbarie before it pours into the ocean itself. It is called "Bambotus" by the Claudius Ptolemy, which means hippopotamus. The Senegal is considered a sweet watered river. The Maka-Diama dam and the Manantali Dam in Mali are two large dam that run along Senegal's course. Manantali was built as a reservoir, while the Maka-Diama was built to prevent access of salt water into the inner country.
Volta River: The Volta is located in Ghana. It is the world's largest man-made lake from Akosomo Dam to Yapei Ghana about 400km north. It is 45 feet in depth.This river in western Africa is divided into 3 parts, the Black, White, & Red. It drains into the Gulf of Guinea. Before the country was renamed Burkina Faso in 1984; The river gave its name to French Upper Volta & Republic of Upper Volta. The name "Volta" comes from the portuguese word meaning "twist" or "turn". Its useful for transportation, fishing, irragation, and it provides electricity. During the Renaissance, the Portuguese purchase much gold from inhabitants of this region.
The Sahel, Adamawa Highlands & Lake Chad
The Sahel: The Sahel is located south of the Sahara Desert. It stretches from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea running 3862km long and covers an area of 3,053,200 square km . It covers the countries Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Burkina, Faso, Niger, Nigeria, Chad, Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia & Eritrea. This region is mainly flat (200-400meters elevation)and has several isolated plateaus and mountains with shrubs and different types of plants and animals. It recieves about 200mm of rainfall in the north and 600mm in the south. This is a encoregion of sem-arid grasslands ,steppes,and savannas.Most of the advanced kingdoms have benefit from trade across this desert. Around 4000 BCE, huge problem in Africa today is Desertification; this is when deserts get drier and hotter, causing the lakes and rivers to dry up and shrink. This makes it more difficult to farm and make settlements. There were also droughts in the 1900's which caused migration farming and grazing unsuitible.
Adamawa Highlands: These highlands were named after Fulani Muslim leader Modibo Adama. It is in the west-central region stretching to the southeastern Nigeria and through Cameroon to the north toward the Central African Republic. It is the source to many waterways and has the elevation of 8700 feet. Most people raise cattle as an occupation because the vegetation is mostly savanna.The most popular part of this plateau lies in Nigeria. It is called the Gotel Mountains. This plateau also deposits bauxite.
Lake Chad: This lake is one of the most important and largest lakes in the world; it provides more then 20 million people with water in the countrie it surrounds.(Chad, Cameroon, Niger Nigeria.) Today it is the 4th largest lake in Africa.It has grown and shrunk over the past 13,000 years caused by climate change. It has reached 4000,000km² around 4000BC & it nearly dried up around 5899BC during dry periods. It is far west of Chad connected with the Chari, Logone, & Yobe River that provides 90% of the water for lake Chad. The name "Chad" means "large expanse of water" It is a fresh water lake with half of the area taken up by small islands, mudbanks swampland. This lake is very shallow, only reaching 34ft deep. It only recieves occasional rainfall from june to october so it is a dry climate. Because of irrigation and humans using a lot of the water, about half of the lake is gone and it is guessed that the lake will disappear altogether in the 21st century. There are more then 1000 species of algae and wildlife in this lake where the swamps are located.
Fouta Djallon
Fouta Djallon: In the center of Guinea is a highland region called Fouta Djallon. It is mainly rolling grassland and has average elevaton of about 900m. The highest point is Mount Loura that rises to 1,515m. It recieves a huge amount of rainfall from 3 major rivers, the Niger, Gambia & Senegal River, sometimes known as the watertower. The people who live there are called the Fula or Fulani; they speak the language of Pular which is dialect of Fula. They graze animals such as sheeps and cattlesin open areas and grow crop such as rice for a living. The largest town in this region is Labe.
Niger River: This river is the third longest river in Africa;it stretches about 2600 miles long! It is starts in Guinea,then runs through (Timbuktu)Mali,Niger,Benin and ends in Nigeria into the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean. The name "Niger" means big or great; it is used in by the early europeans who used maps to reach mosern Nigeria. The Niger river is a "clear" river because it headlands are located in ancient rocks that provide little silt.This river floods yearly in September and ends in May. This river is useful for agriculture and fishing. People also use it to cross with thier cattles for grazing land.The Niger bend is an important area because it's the closest source of water to the Sahara Desert.President Umaru Yar'Adua created a project called "all-year-round navigability" in hope that it will be one of the twenty most industrialised nation in the world by 2020.
Senegal River: The Senegal river is 1,110 miles long in West Africa and forms a border between Senegal and Mauritania. The drainage basin is 186,557sq miles and estimated 8,000,000 cubic kilometer annual discharge. It runs through the countries Guinea,Mali,Mauritania,& Senegal. The Senegal seperate from the Atlantic Ocean by Langue de Barbarie before it pours into the ocean itself. It is called "Bambotus" by the Claudius Ptolemy, which means hippopotamus. The Senegal is considered a sweet watered river. The Maka-Diama dam and the Manantali Dam in Mali are two large dam that run along Senegal's course. Manantali was built as a reservoir, while the Maka-Diama was built to prevent access of salt water into the inner country.
Volta River: The Volta is located in Ghana. It is the world's largest man-made lake from Akosomo Dam to Yapei Ghana about 400km north. It is 45 feet in depth.This river in western Africa is divided into 3 parts, the Black, White, & Red. It drains into the Gulf of Guinea. Before the country was renamed Burkina Faso in 1984; The river gave its name to French Upper Volta & Republic of Upper Volta. The name "Volta" comes from the portuguese word meaning "twist" or "turn". Its useful for transportation, fishing, irragation, and it provides electricity. During the Renaissance, the Portuguese purchase much gold from inhabitants of this region.
The Sahel, Adamawa Highlands & Lake Chad
The Sahel: The Sahel is located south of the Sahara Desert. It stretches from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea running 3862km long and covers an area of 3,053,200 square km . It covers the countries Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Burkina, Faso, Niger, Nigeria, Chad, Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia & Eritrea. This region is mainly flat (200-400meters elevation)and has several isolated plateaus and mountains with shrubs and different types of plants and animals. It recieves about 200mm of rainfall in the north and 600mm in the south. This is a encoregion of sem-arid grasslands ,steppes,and savannas.Most of the advanced kingdoms have benefit from trade across this desert. Around 4000 BCE, huge problem in Africa today is Desertification; this is when deserts get drier and hotter, causing the lakes and rivers to dry up and shrink. This makes it more difficult to farm and make settlements. There were also droughts in the 1900's which caused migration farming and grazing unsuitible.
Adamawa Highlands: These highlands were named after Fulani Muslim leader Modibo Adama. It is in the west-central region stretching to the southeastern Nigeria and through Cameroon to the north toward the Central African Republic. It is the source to many waterways and has the elevation of 8700 feet. Most people raise cattle as an occupation because the vegetation is mostly savanna.The most popular part of this plateau lies in Nigeria. It is called the Gotel Mountains. This plateau also deposits bauxite.
Lake Chad: This lake is one of the most important and largest lakes in the world; it provides more then 20 million people with water in the countrie it surrounds.(Chad, Cameroon, Niger Nigeria.) Today it is the 4th largest lake in Africa.It has grown and shrunk over the past 13,000 years caused by climate change. It has reached 4000,000km² around 4000BC & it nearly dried up around 5899BC during dry periods. It is far west of Chad connected with the Chari, Logone, & Yobe River that provides 90% of the water for lake Chad. The name "Chad" means "large expanse of water" It is a fresh water lake with half of the area taken up by small islands, mudbanks swampland. This lake is very shallow, only reaching 34ft deep. It only recieves occasional rainfall from june to october so it is a dry climate. Because of irrigation and humans using a lot of the water, about half of the lake is gone and it is guessed that the lake will disappear altogether in the 21st century. There are more then 1000 species of algae and wildlife in this lake where the swamps are located.
Fouta Djallon
Fouta Djallon: In the center of Guinea is a highland region called Fouta Djallon. It is mainly rolling grassland and has average elevaton of about 900m. The highest point is Mount Loura that rises to 1,515m. It recieves a huge amount of rainfall from 3 major rivers, the Niger, Gambia & Senegal River, sometimes known as the watertower. The people who live there are called the Fula or Fulani; they speak the language of Pular which is dialect of Fula. They graze animals such as sheeps and cattlesin open areas and grow crop such as rice for a living. The largest town in this region is Labe.
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