Theory question 107
Geography of Africa(a) Draw a sketch map of Africa and on it show: (i) latitudes 30°N and 35°S; (ii) longitudes 15°W and 20°E; (iii) one area each of equatorial climate, tropical continental climate and desert climate; (iv) one major town in each climatic belt. (b) Explain any four ways in which the tropical continental climate affects the vegetation in the area.
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(a) 30°N through southern Morocco, Algeria, Libya and Egypt (near Cairo); 35°S just south of the Cape; 15°W off the Senegal coast (near Dakar); 20°E through Libya, Chad, Central African Republic, DR Congo, Angola and Namibia/South Africa. Equatorial: Congo Basin (Kisangani) or Guinea coast; tropical continental: Sudan/savanna belt (N'Djamena, Kano, Ibadan area); desert: Sahara (Tripoli edge, In Salah) or Kalahari.
(b) Seasonal rain gives deciduous trees that shed leaves in the dry season; low and unreliable rainfall gives grassland with scattered trees; long dry season leads to adaptations such as long tap roots, thick bark and small or thorny leaves; length of the rainy season decides how luxuriant the grass is; height of grass and trees falls as rainfall decreases northward; grass dries and burns in the dry season and sprouts again with the rains.
Draw the latitude and longitude lines straight and labelled.