Theory question 109
Geography of Africa(a) Draw an outline map of Africa. On the map, show and name one area of: (i) Equatorial climate (ii) Tropical continental climate (iii) Mediterranean climate (iv) One important town each in 9(a)(i) and (ii) above. (b)(i) Name the type of vegetation associated with the Tropical Continental Climate. (ii) Outline four ways in which the vegetation named in 9(b)(i) above has adapted to the climatic characteristics of the area.
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(a) Equatorial: Congo Basin or Guinea coast (Kisangani, Libreville, Douala); tropical continental: savanna belt of West Africa or Sudan (Kano, Bamako, N'Djamena, Khartoum); Mediterranean: north-west Africa (Algiers, Tunis) or the south-west Cape (Cape Town).
(b)(i) Savanna (tropical grassland with scattered trees).
(ii) Deciduous trees shed leaves in the dry season to reduce water loss; long tap roots reach underground water; thick bark resists fire and drought; small, waxy or thorny leaves reduce transpiration; grasses die back in the dry season and sprout with the rains; some trees (baobab) store water in swollen trunks; umbrella-shaped crowns.
Link each adaptation to the long dry season.