Africa: Continent and Borders
Amazing Africa
- Africa is the second largest continent in the world.
- The northern part is mainly desert.
- The southern half is mostly jungle, rainforest, and plains.
Borders Between Countries
- A border is the edge or boundary of a country.
- Borders are drawn on maps to show the land that belongs to each country.
- Border lines are not drawn on the ground but are seen on maps.
- Borders can be straight or irregular.
- Irregular boundary lines often follow rivers, mountains, or coastlines.
- Border walls or fences are sometimes built.
- People must pass through a border post with passport checks.
Vocabulary
- Boundary: A line, imaginary or drawn on a map, showing the edge of an area.
- Irregular: Without a repeated pattern.
- Landlocked: Countries not next to the sea or ocean, surrounded by land.
- Plateau: A large flat area of land usually high above sea-level.
- Coastline: The area between the land and the sea.
Did you know?
- The Great Wall of China was built to protect the northern border, and it is 8850 km long.
Fascinating Facts
- There are 54 countries in Africa.
- 16 countries in Africa are landlocked:
- Botswana
- Burkina Faso
- Burundi
- Central African Republic
- Chad
- Ethiopia
- Lesotho
- Malawi
- Mali
- Niger
- Rwanda
- South Sudan
- Swaziland
- Uganda
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe
- 5 African countries are islands:
- Cape Verde
- Madagascar
- Comoros São Tomé and Príncipe
- Seychelles
- Mauritius
- The equator passes through six African countries:
- Gabon
- Congo
- Democratic Republic of Congo
- Uganda
- Kenya
- Somalia
South Africa’s Neighbouring Countries
- Namibia
- Zimbabwe
- Botswana
- Lesotho
- Mozambique
- eSwatini (Swaziland)
Capital Cities
- A capital city is where the government is usually located.
- Capital cities are often the oldest and biggest in the country.
- The government runs the country from the capital city.
Capital Cities of Some African Countries
- Cairo is the capital of Egypt with 15 million people, started as a trading town.
- Kinshasa is the capital of DRC with 8 million people, started as a trading town.
- Nairobi is the capital of Kenya with 4 million people, started as a trading town.
South Africa’s Capital Cities
- Pretoria is the executive capital; the country is run from the Union Buildings.
- Cape Town is the legislative capital; laws are made at the Parliament Buildings.
- Bloemfontein is the judicial capital; laws are carried out in the Supreme Court.
Political & Physical Maps
- These maps show country names, borders, and capital cities.
- Colors are used to show the area of the country next to its neighbors.
Physical Maps
- Physical maps show what the land looks like on Earth.
- They help us see:
- Mountains
- Rivers and lakes
- Oceans and seas
- Deserts
- Forests and valleys
- Mountains
- Hills
- Valleys
- Deserts
- Plains
- Plateaus
- How is a landform defined? Shape, size, location and what it’s made of.
- What causes a rock to erode? Water, wind and ice.
- What is the name of the plates that push up mountains and hills? Tectonic plates
- Name the different landforms.
- Mountains.
- Hills.
- Valleys
- Deserts.
- Plains
- Plateaus
Coastal Plains
- Coastal plains are flat, low lands next to the ocean or sea.
- Like wide, smooth areas along the coast.
- Found in:
- KwaZulu–Natal
- Western Cape
- Eastern Cape
Plateau
- A plateau is a high, flat area of land, like a big mountain with a flat top.
- Higher than the surrounding land, called “tableland”.
- Formed by volcanoes or movement of the Earth’s crust.
- Can be very big.
- Found in places like the Highveld in South Africa.
Mountains (Physical Feature)
- Mountains are tall, rocky parts of the Earth's surface.
- Form when the Earth’s plates push together.
- Can also be made by volcanoes.
- Look tall and pointy or round and wide.
- Covered in snow at the top (especially in cold places).
- Full of trees, rocks, and animals.
- Give us clean water from melted snow, home to animals, great for hiking and skiing.
- Mount Everest is the tallest mountain.
Hills
- A hill is a high piece of land, not as tall or steep as a mountain.
- Look round or gently sloped.
- Covered in grass, trees, or flowers.
- Can form when wind, rain, or moving Earth shapes the land.
- Some are made by lava or worn-down mountain pieces.
- Animals like rabbits, deer, and birds live there.
- Good for farming and growing food.
- Fun to play on.
- Some places have rolling hills.
Valleys
- A valley is a low area of land between hills or mountains.
- Long and low, with high land on both sides.
- Sometimes flat and green.
- Often has a river or stream running through it.
- Usually formed by rivers or glaciers.
- Great places for people to live and farm.
- Rivers in valleys give us water.
- Many animals live there.
Deserts
- A desert is a place that gets very little rain.
- Hot and dry, with few plants or trees.
- Lots of sand, rocks, or dry ground.
- Few plants—maybe some cacti or small bushes.
- Some deserts have sand dunes.
Rivers
- A river is a long, flowing stream of water.
- Starts in the mountains and moves across the land.
- Some are wide, some are narrow.
- They have moving water.
- Rivers start in high places and flow downhill, ending in oceans, seas, or lakes.
- Animals like fish, frogs, ducks, and otters live there.
- The Nile River in Africa is the longest river in the world!
How the physical landscape in South Africa affects people’s lifestyles
- Few people live on high mountains because it is difficult to access and the soil is unsuitable for crops.
- Not many people live in deserts due to heat and lack of water for crops.
- More people live in valleys because the soil is good and water is readily available from the rivers.
- Valleys are good catchment areas for rivers.
- Many people live next to warm oceans because the climate is comfortable and the rainfall is good for growing crops.
- Fewer people live next to cold oceans because the climate is less comfortable and the rainfall is less.
- Most people in South Africa live in Gauteng, Durban, Port Elizabeth, and Cape Town.