Notes on African Geography and Borders

Africa is the second-largest continent in the world.
The northern part is mainly desert, while the southern part consists of jungle, rainforest, and plains.

A border is the edge or boundary of a country.
Borders are drawn on maps to show the land belonging to each country.
Border lines are not physically drawn on the ground but are visible on maps.
Borders can be straight or irregular; irregular borders often follow natural features like rivers, mountains, or coastlines.
Walls or fences are sometimes built along borders to prevent people from crossing.
People crossing borders must pass through a border post for passport checks.

The Great Wall of China is a famous border, built to protect the northern border of China from enemies.
It stretches 8850 km.

Pretoria: Executive capital; the country is run from the Union Buildings; the office of the president is located here.
Cape Town: Legislative capital; laws are made at the Parliament Buildings; the official residence of the president, Garden House, is located here.
Bloemfontein: Judicial capital; laws are carried out in the Supreme Court.

Political maps show country names, borders, and capital cities.
They use colors to show the exact area of countries next to each other.
Physical maps show the landforms on Earth, including mountains, rivers, lakes, oceans, seas, deserts, forests, and valleys.

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:
1. Mountains
2. Hills
3. Valleys
4. Deserts
5. Plains
6. Plateaus

A plateau is a high, flat area of land, similar to a mountain with a flat top or a "tableland."
Formed by volcanoes or movement of the Earth’s crust.
Can be large and stretch across a large area.
Found in places like the Highveld in South Africa.

A mountain is a tall, rocky part of the Earth's surface rising much higher than the surrounding land.
Formed when the Earth’s plates push together, causing the ground to rise and crumple or by volcanoes.
Features:
- Tall and pointy or round and wide.
- Often covered in snow at the top.
- Full of trees, rocks, and sometimes animals.
Importance:
- Provide clean water from melted snow.
- Habitats for animals like eagles, goats, and bears.
- Offer opportunities for hiking and skiing.
Fun Fact: The tallest mountain is Mount Everest; oxygen tanks are needed to breathe at the top.

A hill is a high piece of land, but it’s not as tall or steep as a mountain.
Features:
- Round or gently sloped.
- Covered in grass, trees, or flowers.
Formed by wind, rain, or moving Earth shaping the land slowly over time; some are made by lava or from worn-down pieces of mountains.
Importance:
- Habitats for animals like rabbits, deer, and birds.
- Good for farming and growing food.
- Offer recreational activities.
Fun Fact: Rolling hills look like soft waves across the land.

A valley is a low area of land between hills or mountains.
Features:
- Long and low, with high land on both sides.
- Sometimes flat and green.
- Often has a river or stream running through it.
Formed by rivers wearing down the land over a long time or by glaciers sliding through the land.
Importance:
- Great places for people to live and farm.
- Rivers provide water.
- Habitats for animals like deer, birds, and fish.

A desert is a place that gets very little rain.
They are hot and dry most of the time, with few plants or trees.
Features:
- Lots of sand, rocks, or dry ground.
- Few plants like cacti or small bushes.
- Some deserts have sand dunes.

A river is a long, flowing stream of water.
It starts in the mountains and moves across the land until it reaches a lake or the ocean.
Features:
- Long and wiggly like a snake.
- Some are wide, some are narrow.
- Moving water called a current.
Rivers start in high places and flow downhill, ending in oceans, seas, or lakes.
Habitats for animals like fish, frogs, ducks, and otters, as well as insects and plants like water lilies and reeds.
Fun Fact: The longest river in the world is the Nile River in Africa!

Few people live on high mountains due to difficulty in accessibility and unsuitable soil for crops.
Not many people live in deserts due to the hot climate and lack of water for growing 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, supporting crop cultivation, tree planting, and animal farming.
Many people live next to warm oceans because the climate is comfortable, and rainfall is good for growing crops.
Fewer people live next to cold oceans because the climate is less comfortable, and rainfall is less, making it difficult to grow crops.
In South Africa, most people live in Gauteng province and the cities of Durban, Port Elizabeth, and Cape Town.