Large landforms of Africa titles. Highlands and plateaus of Africa

Africa is located on the African Plate. Its movement is in the direction of the northeast. In the process of movement, the plate collides with the Eurasian plate. This affects the formation of the relief of Africa.

This process influenced the formation of the Atlas Mountains in the northern part of the African continent.

According to scientists, the natural convergence of tectonic plates can lead to the disappearance of the Mediterranean Sea and the transformation of Africa and Eurasia into a single continent.

Rice. 1. Confluence of Africa and Eurasia

The African plate is not stable.

In the relief of the continent, the main role belongs to the plains of Africa and its plateaus. Lowlands occupy less than 10% of the entire continental area.

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The relief features of the mainland are due to the platform structure. In the northwestern tip of the continent, a deep occurrence of its basement is noted. For the most part, altitudes of less than 1000 m prevail there; for the southwestern part, where the base is raised and exposed in many places, heights exceeding 1000 m are characteristic. Depressions and large forms of the platform correspond to depressions that are impressive in size:

• Kalahari;
• Congo;
• Chad.

The outskirts of Africa, which is located in the east of the mainland, are considered elevated and at the same time fragmented. It includes:

• East African plateau.

Rice. 2. Ethiopian highlands.

Here is the system of East African faults. Interesting: Due to its average height relative to sea level (750 m.), Africa is second only to Antarctica and Eurasia.

The mid-altitude Cape Mountains run along the southern tip of the mainland borders, and the Atlas mountain peaks rise in the northwestern regions, whose northern ranges are considered the only heights of the Neogene-Paleogene age in Africa.

Plateaus here occupy very vast areas. The number of lowlands is not significant. Lake Assal is recognized as the lowest point of the mainland, the height of its depression is 157 meters above sea level. The highest point of the continent is the famous Mount Kilimanjaro. Its height is 5895 meters.

Volcanoes, and, as a result, earthquakes are quite common phenomena for the black continent. In addition to Kilimanjaro, there are volcanoes here: Karisimbi (4507 m) and Cameroon (4100 m).

Rice. 3. Volcano Cameroon.

Tremors are observed both in the north and in the east of the mainland. For the most part in areas famous for tectonic cracks and in areas near the Red Sea.

The highest African peak formed over a million years ago. This was facilitated by excessive volcanic activity. This is indicated by characteristic outlines. Kilimanjaro in its structure is a trio of volcanoes, which time once combined into one.

Relief and minerals of Africa

The continent is famous for the richest deposits of kimberlite pipes, from which diamonds are mined. Africa also has gold reserves. Oil fields are located in Algeria, Libya, and in Nigeria. Active bauxite mining is carried out in Guinea and Ghana.

Phosphorite deposits, as well as manganese, iron and lead-zinc ores are mainly concentrated in the region of the northern coast of Africa. Significant deposits of copper ores are concentrated on the territory of Zambia.

The topic of the relief of Africa in geography is studied in the 7th grade. The relief of Africa is quite complex, although there are no high mountain ranges and lowlands. Basically, the mainland is dominated by plains, the average height of which is from 200 to 1000 meters (above sea level).

Relief types

The African plains were formed in different ways. Some were formed due to the destruction of the mountains that existed here in the Precambrian era. Others were formed due to the rise of the African platform.

The African-Arabian platform, on which Africa stands, is also a relief-forming one for the Arabian Peninsula, the Seychelles and Madagascar.

In addition to the plains in Africa, there are also:

• plateaus ;
• hollows (the largest are located in the states of Chad and Congo);
• faults (It is on this continent that the largest fault in the earth's crust is located - East Africa, from the Red Sea to the mouth of the Zambezi River, through the Ethiopian Highlands).

Fig 1. Map of the relief of Africa

Relief characteristics by regions of Africa

Judging by the height map, all of Africa can be divided into two parts: South and North Africa and East and West Africa. There is one more conditional division: High and Low Africa.

The lower part is wider. It occupies up to 60% of the entire territory of the continent and is geographically located in the north, west and in the central part of the mainland. Peaks up to 1000 meters prevail here.

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High Africa is the south and east of the mainland. The average heights here are 1000 - 1500 meters. Here are the highest point, Kilimanjaro (5895) and slightly inferior to her Rwenzori and Kenya.

Figure 2. Mount Kilimanjaro

If we talk about the characteristics of the reliefs, then they can be briefly represented as follows.

Region	Dominant relief
North Africa	Here is the Atlas mountain range (the longest on the mainland - more than 6 thousand km), quite young, formed at the junction of two lithospheric plates (the highest point is Mount Toubkal, Morocco, 4165 meters). This region also contains part of the Ethiopian highlands with maximum peaks of 4 m (the most seismically region, which is sometimes called the "roof of Africa").
East Africa	Most of this region is occupied by the East African Plateau (or the East African Rift Valley). Here are the highest mountains and extinct volcanoes (Kilimanjaro), as well as the deepest lakes of the continent.
South Africa	In this region, the relief is quite diverse. There are mountains (Cape, Draconian), basins and the South African Plateau.
West Africa	The region is also dominated by mountains (Atlas) and plateaus.

In terms of average height, 750 meters above sea level, Africa ranks third in the world after Antarctica and Eurasia. So, Africa can rightly be considered one of the "highest" continents on the planet.

Relief and minerals of Africa

The minerals of Africa, due to its tectonic structure, are diverse. In addition, the deposits of some of them are the largest in the world.

Since serious tectonic activity took place in Africa at the dawn of its formation, there are a lot of igneous rocks that led to the formation of various ore minerals. These deposits are not deep, especially in South and East Africa, where the crystalline rocks lie close to the surface, so that they are mined in an open way.

The largest deposits are located in South Africa:

• gold;
• uranium;
• tin;
• tungsten;
• lead;
• zinc;
• copper.

North and West Africa is also rich in:

• coal;
• salts (of various types and properties);
• manganese;
• oil (the coast of the Gulf of Guinea; Algeria, Libya, Nigeria);
• natural gas;
• phosphorites;
• chromites;
• bosquitoes.

Deposits of cobalt, tin, antimony, lithium, asbestos, gold, platinum and platinoids were discovered here.

The richest country in Africa is South Africa. Almost all types of natural resources are mined here, with the exception of oil, natural gas and bauxite. There is especially a lot of coal in South Africa, and its deposits here are as superficial as possible, so the extraction of this natural resource does not cause difficulties.

Fig 3. Map of mineral resources of Africa

What minerals is Africa rich in yet? Naturally, diamonds, which are used not only for the manufacture of diamonds, but also in industry due to their exceptional hardness.

What have we learned?

The African relief is complex. Basically, it consists of plains, plateaus and highlands. There are very few lowlands, although there are faults and depressions.

Due to the fact that Africa once experienced the strongest tectonic activity, there are a large number of deposits of a wide variety of natural resources on the mainland.

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Africa is the second largest continent on planet Earth. The first in size is the mainland Eurasia. There is another part of the world, which is also called Africa. This article will consider Africa as the mainland of the planet.

In terms of its area, the size of Africa is 29.2 million km2 (with islands - 30.3 million km2), which is about 20% of the entire land surface of the planet. The mainland of Africa is washed by the Mediterranean Sea on the north coast, the west coast is washed by the Atlantic Ocean, in the south and east the continent is washed by the Indian Ocean, and the northeast coast is washed by the Red Sea. There are 62 states on the territory of Africa, of which 54 are independent states, and the population of the entire continent is about 1 billion people. By clicking on the link you can see the full list of African countries in the table.

The size of Africa from north to south is 8,000 kilometers, and when viewed from east to west, it is approximately 7,500 kilometers.

Extreme points on mainland Africa:

1) The easternmost point of the mainland is Cape Ras Hafun, which is located on the territory of the state of Somalia.

2) The northernmost point of this mainland is Cape Blanco, which is located in the Republic of Tunisia.

3) The westernmost point of the continent is Cape Almadi, which is located on the territory of the Republic of Senegal.

4) And, finally, the southernmost point of the African continent is Cape Agulhas, which is located on the territory of the Republic of South Africa (South Africa).

Relief of Africa

Most of the mainland is made up of plains. The following relief forms predominate: highlands, plateaus, stepped plains and plateaus. The mainland is conditionally divided into High Africa (where the heights of the mainland reach a size of over 1000 meters - the southeast of the mainland) and Low Africa (where the heights reach a size mostly less than 1000 meters - the northwestern part).

The highest point on the mainland is Mount Kilimanjaro, which reaches a height of 5895 meters above sea level. Also in the south of the mainland there are the Drakon and Cape Mountains, in the east of Africa there is the Ethiopian Highlands, and to the south of it is the East African Plateau, in the northwest of the continent are the Atlas Mountains.

In the north of the mainland is the largest desert on the planet - the Sahara, in the south is the Kalahari Desert, and in the southwest of the mainland there is the Namib Desert.

At the same time, the lowest point of the mainland is the bottom of the salt lake Assal, the depth of which reaches 157 meters below sea level.

Climate of Africa

The climate of Africa can be put in first place among all the continents in terms of warmth. This is the hottest continent, since it is completely located in the hot climatic zones of the planet Earth and is crossed by the equator line.

Central Africa is located in the equatorial belt. This belt is characterized by high precipitation and there is no change of seasons. To the south and north of the equatorial belt there are subequatorial belts, which are characterized by a rainy season in summer and a dry season in winter at high air temperatures. If you follow further south and north after the subequatorial belts, then the northern and southern tropical belts follow, respectively. Such belts are characterized by low precipitation at fairly high air temperatures, which leads to the formation of deserts.

African inland waters

The inland waters of Africa are uneven in structure, but at the same time vast and extended. On the mainland, the longest river is the Nile River (the length of its system reaches 6852 km), and the Congo River is considered the most full-flowing river (the length of its system reaches 4374 km), which is famous for being the only river that crosses the equator twice.

There are lakes on the mainland. The largest lake is Lake Victoria. The area of ​​this lake is 68 thousand km2. The greatest depth in this lake reaches 80 m. The lake itself is the second in its area on planet Earth from fresh lakes.

30% of the land mass of mainland Africa is desert, in which water bodies can be temporary, that is, dry up completely at times. But at the same time, usually in such desert regions, groundwater can be observed, which are located in artesian basins.

Flora and fauna of Africa

The African continent is famous for its diversity of both flora and fauna. Tropical rainforests grow on the continent, which are replaced by light forests and savannahs. In the subtropical zone, mixed forests can also be found.

The most common plants in the forests of Africa are palms, ceiba, sundew and many others. But in the savannas, most often you can find thorny shrubs and small trees. The desert is distinguished by a small variety of plants growing in it. Most often these are grasses, shrubs or trees in oases. Many areas of the desert have no vegetation at all. A special plant in the desert is the amazing Velvichia plant, which can live for more than 1000 years, it releases 2 leaves that grow throughout the life of the plant and can reach a length of 3 meters.

Diverse in Africa and the animal world. In savannah areas, grass grows very quickly and well, which attracts many herbivorous animals (rodents, hares, gazelles, zebras, etc.), and, accordingly, predators that feed on herbivorous animals (leopards, lions, etc.).

The desert at first glance may seem uninhabited, but in fact there are many reptiles, insects, birds that hunt mainly at night.

Africa has become famous for such animals as elephant, giraffe, hippopotamus, a wide variety of monkeys, zebras, leopards, dune cats, gazelles, crocodiles, parrots, antelopes, rhinos and much more. This continent is amazing and unique in its own way.

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Africa is distinguished by the predominance of high plains, a variety of minerals on shields and plates, and sharp elevation changes in the channels of many rivers.

The unindented coastline confirms the simple tectonic structure ( relief) Africa. Almost the entire continent is a single huge "block" of the ancient African-Arabian platform. The physical map is dominated by shades of brown, especially in the eastern and southern parts of the mainland. Only along the coasts and in the river valleys there are green spots of the lowlands. In general, the relief of Africa is a system of predominantly elevated plains, and in the eastern part - plateaus.

Plateaus descend to the lower plains in huge ledges (see the relief profile of Africa in Fig. 66). Rivers in such places are overthrown by waterfalls. It is not surprising that the most famous waterfalls are located in Africa: Victoria on the Zambezi River, Livingston on the Congo River, Tugela on the river of the same name (the second highest in the world - 933 m).

Significant areas East African plateaus and Ethiopian uplands, region Guinean highlands, Ahaggar are the shields. Most of Sahara, hollow Congo, desert Namib, the peninsula of Somalia - these are plates where the crystalline foundation is covered by a sedimentary cover. Only Atlas mountains in the north Cape and draconian the mountains in the south are areas of younger structures, but there are no long mountain ranges in Africa. The danger of earthquakes exists in the Atlas Mountains, as well as in the vast, highly elevated belt of the East African Plateau. A volcanic massif is located off the coast of the Gulf of Guinea Cameroon(4100 m) with gentle slopes and numerous side cones and craters.

The highest mountain in Africa is Mount Kilimanjaro (5895 m). Its top is located above the snow line.

The structure of the earth's crust also predetermines the extraordinary wealth of the continent with a variety of minerals. North Africa - the sedimentary cover of the Sahara Plate - and the coast of the Gulf of Guinea are famous for their reserves oil. The shields contain rich ore deposits. Iron ores in the north of the mainland manganese - in the basins of the Congo and Orange rivers, reserves gold in South Africa. material from the site

Along the western foot of the East African Plateau stretches the great copper belt Africa.

Worked on the relief of Africa and external forces. Tropical deserts are the realm of barkhans and dunes. Some dunes reach a height of 400 m. In the humid regions of Central and East Africa, as well as in vast areas of the African savannas, erosional relief dominates - river valleys, ravines and gullies. In the sa-baths there are areas of "termite savannas" - colossal accumulations of termite mounds - up to 1000 pieces per hectare (such a relief is called biogenic).

Everyone remembers that Africa is the hottest continent on the planet. But few people know that Africa is also the "highest" of the continents, since it has the highest average height above sea level. The relief of Africa is very diverse and complex: there are mountain systems, plateaus, large plains, active and long-extinct volcanoes.

The relief of any region, as is known, is closely connected with the tectonic and geological structure of the territory. The relief of Africa and the minerals of this continent are also associated with the tectonics of the mainland. Let's consider this question in more detail.

Plan for describing the relief of the territory of Africa

The relief of any continent is characterized according to a specific plan. The relief of Africa is described according to the following algorithm:

1. characteristics of the mainland.
2. Analysis of the history of the development of the earth's crust.
3. Characterization of external and internal (exogenous and endogenous) factors of relief formation.
4. Description of the general features of the relief of the continent.
5. Highlighting the maximum and minimum height.
6. Minerals and their distribution on the territory of the mainland.

Low and High Africa

The description of the relief of Africa should begin with the fact that the mainland, from an orographic point of view, is divided into two parts: High and Low Africa.

Low Africa occupies more than 60% of the entire area of ​​​​the continent (geographically, these are the northern, western and central parts of Africa). Heights up to 1000 meters prevail here. High Africa covers the southern and eastern parts of the mainland, where the average heights are 1000-1500 meters above sea level. Here are the highest points - Kilimanjaro (5895 meters), Rwenzori and Kenya.

General characteristics of the African relief

Now consider the main features of the relief of Africa.

The main feature is that the relief of the mainland is mostly flat. Mountain ranges border the mainland only in the south and northwest. In East Africa, the relief is predominantly flat.

Such landforms of Africa predominate: plateaus, plains, highlands, plateaus, remnant peaks and volcanic massifs. At the same time, they are located on the territory of the mainland very unevenly: inside it there are mostly leveled surfaces - plains and plateaus, and along the edges - hills and mountain ranges. This feature is associated with the tectonic structure of Africa, most of which lies on the ancient platform of the Precambrian age, and along its edges there are areas of folding.

Of all the mountain systems in Africa, only the Atlas is young. In the east of the mainland, the huge East African Rift Valley stretches for more than 6,000 kilometers in length. Grandiose volcanoes formed in the places of its faults, and very deep lakes formed in the depressions.

It is worth listing the largest landforms in Africa. These include the Atlas, Draconian and Ethiopian highlands, the Tibesti and Ahaggar highlands, the East African plateau.

atlas mountains

The mountainous landforms of Africa are, as already mentioned, only in the south and northwest of the mainland. One of the African mountain systems is the Atlas.

The Atlas Mountains arose 300 million years ago as a result of the collision of the Eurasian and African plates. Later, they were raised to considerable heights due to neotectonic movements that took place at the end of the Paleogene. It is worth noting that earthquakes occur in this area even now.

The Atlas is composed mainly of marls, limestones, and also ancient volcanic rocks. The bowels are rich in metal ores, as well as phosphorites and oil.

This is the largest mountain system in Africa, which includes several almost parallel mountain ranges:

• High Atlas.
• Rif.
• Tel Atlas.
• Middle Atlas.
• Sahara Atlas.
• Antiatlas.

The total length of the mountain range is about 2400 kilometers. The maximum heights are located on the territory of the state of Morocco (Mount Toubkal, 4165 meters). The average heights of the ridges range from 2000-2500 meters.

dragon mountains

This mountain system in the south of the mainland is located on the territory of three states - Lesotho, South Africa and Swaziland. The highest point of the Dragon Mountains is Mount Thabana-Ntlenyana with a height of 3482 meters. The mountains formed 360 million years ago, during the Hercynian era. They got such a formidable name due to their inaccessibility and wild appearance.

The territory is rich in minerals: platinum, gold, tin and coal. The organic world of the Dragon Mountains is also unique, with several endemic species. The main part of the mountain range (Drakensberg Park) is a UNESCO site.

The Drakensberg Mountains are the watershed boundary between the Indian Ocean basin and the upper reaches of the Orange River. They have a unique shape: their tops are flat, table-like, separated by erosion processes into separate plateaus.

Ethiopian highlands

The relief of Africa is strikingly diverse. Here you can find high mountain ranges of the Alpine type, hilly plateaus, vast plains and deep depressions. One of the most famous mainland is the Ethiopian Highlands, within which not only Ethiopia is located, but also 6 other African states.

This is a real mountain system with average heights of 2-3 kilometers and the highest point of 4550 meters (Mount Ras Dashen). Due to the specific features of the relief of the highlands, it is often called the "roof of Africa". In addition, this "roof" often shakes, seismicity remains high here.

The highlands formed only 75 million years ago. It consists of crystalline schists and gneisses overlain from above by volcanic rocks. Quite picturesque are the western slopes of the Ethiopian Highlands, indented by the canyons of the Blue Nile River.

Within the highlands there are rich deposits of gold, sulfur, platinum, copper and in addition, it is also an important agricultural region. It is considered the birthplace of coffee, as well as some varieties of wheat.

Mount Kilimanjaro

This volcano is not only the highest point of the mainland (5895 meters), but also a kind of symbol of all of Africa. The volcano is located on the border of two states - Kenya and Tanzania. From the Swahili language, the name of the volcano is translated as "sparkling mountain".

Kilimanjaro rises above the Masai plateau at a height of 900 meters, so visually it seems that the volcano is unrealistically high. Scientists do not predict the activity of the volcano in the near future (apart from the possible release of gases), although it was recently found that the lava is located 400 meters from the Kibo crater.

According to local legends, the volcano erupted about two centuries ago. Although there is no documentary evidence for this. The highest point of Kilimanjaro - Uhuru Peak - was first conquered in 1889 by Hans Meyer. Today, the speedy conquest of Kilimanjaro is practiced. In 2010, the Spaniard Kilian Burgada set a kind of world record by climbing to the top of the volcano in 5 hours and 23 minutes.

Relief of Africa and minerals

Africa is a continent with huge economic potential, which is characterized by huge reserves of various minerals. In addition, a more or less even, slightly dissected topography of the territory contributes to the development of industry and the construction of roads and other means of communication.

Africa is rich in minerals, on the basis of which metallurgy and petrochemistry can develop. Thus, the continent holds the absolute leadership in the world in terms of total reserves of phosphorites, chromites and tantalum. Africa also has large deposits of manganese, copper and uranium ore, bauxite, gold and even diamonds. On the mainland, they even distinguish the so-called "copper belt" - a belt of high mineral and raw material potential, stretching from Katanga to (DRC). In addition to copper itself, gold, cobalt, tin, uranium and oil are also mined here.

In addition, such regions of Africa as North Africa and West Africa (its Guinean part) are also considered very rich in the presence of minerals.

So you got acquainted with the features of the relief of the hottest continent on Earth. The relief of Africa is unique and diverse, here you can find all its forms - mountain ranges, plateaus and plateaus, highlands, hills and depressions.