KOTEBE UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION,MENELIK I,SCIENCE SHARED CAMPUS GEOGRAPHY NOTE FOR GRADE 10 2017/2024

KOTEBE UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION, MENELIK I, SCIENCE SHARED CAMPUS

SUBJECT: GEOGRAPHY

GRADE: 10

BY:
SHIBABAW WORKU

1 ‘’The best education you will ever get is traveling. Nothing teaches you more than exploring the world and accumulating experience’’.
Mark Patterson
 KOTEBE UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION,MENELIK I,SCIENCE SHARED CAMPUS GEOGRAPHY NOTE FOR GRADE 10 2017/2024

CHAPTER-ONE
Learning geography as an academic discipline serves several important objectives:
1.Understanding the World:
 Geography helps us comprehend the physical layout of the Earth, including landforms, climates, and ecosystems. This knowledge is crucial for
understanding natural processes and how they affect human life1.
2.Analyzing Human-Environment Interactions:
 It examines how humans interact with their environment, including how we adapt to and modify our surroundings. This is essential for addressing
environmental challenges and promoting sustainable development
3.Developing Critical Thinking:
 Geography sharpens critical thinking skills by encouraging the analysis of complex information, recognition of patterns, and understanding of
spatial relationships
4.Cultural Awareness:
 It fosters an appreciation of cultural diversity by studying different regions and their unique characteristics. This helps in promoting global
citizenship and understanding
5.Practical Applications:
 Geographical knowledge is applied in various fields such as urban planning, disaster management, and environmental conservation. It equips
students with the skills to make informed decisions about spatial and environmental issues
6.Historical Context:
 Geography provides historical context by exploring how geographical factors have influenced historical events and societal development
By studying geography, students gain a comprehensive understanding of the world, which is essential for addressing contemporary global challenges and
contributing to a more sustainable future.

Unit outcomes:
 Develop general idea on the major landforms of the world;
 Identify the major landforms and their spatial distribution in Africa;
 Describe the major landscape features of Africa; and
 Recognize the spatial variations in the distribution of the major landforms in Africa
1. LANDFORMS OF AFRICA
1.1 OVERVIEW OF THE WORLD’S MAJOR LANDFORMS:
MAIN CONTENTS:
1.1 OVERVIEW OF THE WORLD‟S MAJOR LANDFORMS
1.2 LOCATION AND RELATED FEATURES OF AFRICA
1.3 MAJOR LANDFORMS OF AFRICA
Landforms:
 Are physical features on the earth’s surface that form terrain of an area
It can also exist under oceans in the form of mountain ranges and basins. The Mariana Trench, the deepest landform on Earth, is in the South
Pacific Ocean (i.e. It is deeper than the earth‟s tallest mountain is tall. Mariana Trench: 11,000 meters deep)
 Are the results of volcanic and tectonic processes

2 ‘’The best education you will ever get is traveling. Nothing teaches you more than exploring the world and accumulating experience’’.
Mark Patterson
 KOTEBE UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION,MENELIK I,SCIENCE SHARED CAMPUS GEOGRAPHY NOTE FOR GRADE 10 2017/2024

How do the major and minor landforms occur?

 Tectonic plate movement and volcanic activities (internal processes) in the Earth‟s interior can create landforms by pushing up
mountains and hills.
 Erosion by water and wind (external processes) can erode land and create minor landforms like gullies, river valleys, and gorges.
 Both processes happen over a long period, sometimes millions of years.
For example, it took a very long period to cut the deep Abbay Gorge between the towns of Goha Tsiyon in North Shewa, Oromyia, and Dejen
in East Gojjam, Amhara National Regional State. The Abbay Gorge thus cuts down about 1000 m deep between the two towns mentioned
above.

Studying different landforms is crucial for several reasons:

1.Understanding Earth’s History:
 Landforms provide valuable clues about the Earth‟s geological history and the processes that have shaped its surface over millions of years1.
2.Environmental Management:
 Knowledge of landforms helps in managing natural resources and planning sustainable development. For example, understanding the topography
of an area is essential for effective water management and soil conservation1.
3.Natural Hazard Assessment:
 By studying landforms, scientists can identify areas prone to natural hazards such as earthquakes, landslides, and floods. This information is vital
for disaster preparedness and mitigation
4.Engineering and Construction:
 Landforms influence construction projects by determining the type of foundation required and the stability of structures.
 Engineers use this knowledge to design safe and efficient buildings and infrastructure1.
5.Agriculture and Settlement:
 Different landforms affect soil fertility, climate, and water availability, which in turn influence agricultural practices and human settlements. For
instance, valleys and plains are often more suitable for farming and habitation1.
6.Biodiversity and Ecosystems:
 Landforms create diverse habitats that support various plant and animal species.
 Studying these landforms helps in understanding and preserving biodiversity
7.Cultural and Recreational Value:
 Many landforms have cultural significance and provide recreational opportunities.
 Mountains, rivers, and coastal areas often hold historical and cultural importance and are popular for activities like hiking, fishing, and tourism
 By understanding and studying landforms, we gain insights into the natural world, which helps us make informed decisions about environmental
conservation, urban planning, and disaster management.

3 ‘’The best education you will ever get is traveling. Nothing teaches you more than exploring the world and accumulating experience’’.
Mark Patterson
 KOTEBE UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION,MENELIK I,SCIENCE SHARED CAMPUS GEOGRAPHY NOTE FOR GRADE 10 2017/2024

QUESTIONS TO DO:
1. What is the land form?
2.list sovereign island countries of the world within their respective continents Africa, Asia ,Europe ,north America and Oceania
3. What are the three major landforms of the world?
4. Why is it important to study about the land forms?
Types of land forms:
 Major land forms
 Minor
Major land forms:
 Are widely distributed on the earth‟s surface.
 The surface of the Earth is covered by land and water.
 The landforms make up continents and the water forms oceans.
 Continents are the largest landmasses in the world.
 The Earth is divided into seven continents, from largest to smallest are; Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe,
and Oceania (Australia)
 Major landforms of the world create unique areas where people around the world want to know, explore, and visit.
Types of major land forms:
Mountain
Plain and
Plateau
1. Mountains:
 Are the largest elevated and most recognizable landforms on the earth‟s surface.
 They have steep sides, and high peaks, that stand out from the surrounding land.
 Are highland area that rises several hundreds of meters (over 600m elevation) from its surrounding
 A highland area which rises under 600masl is not mountain it is rather a hill
 Mountains are usually formed when rock layers are pushed together from opposite sides. Thus, the pressure exerted from the
movement forces the land in the middle to rise
 Also be formed by volcanic activity when lava and other materials build up on the surface
N.B:
 The highest landform on Earth is Mt. Everest. It is a peak in the Himalaya‟s mountain range.
 It is located between Nepal and Tibet. It measures 8,849 meters above sea level. It is part of the Himalaya Mountain range that runs
across several countries in South and Southeast Asia such as India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, China, and Afghanistan. The mountain
range extends 320 to 400 kms in width and 1500 kms in length.
 The Himalayas were formed about 40 to 50 million years ago when the Indian tectonic plates collided with the Eurasian plate.
Mountain ridge: is sometimes known as „mountain range’
 Is a long narrow stretch of higher ground
 Along the crest the mountain ridge there is usually a series of separates with lower sections in between of varying altitudes and width
2.Plains:
 Are large areas of flat low land with no hills or mountains in them.i.e landform with minimal variation in elevation
 Is also areas of low relief with more or less flat surface configurations
 Formed through deposition of sediments by various agents, such as river (stream), glaciers and winds…
 The Great Plains in the mid United States is a good example of a large plain. Plains are very important areas for crop cultivation and
animal husbandry (ranch).
3. Plateaus:
 are large areas of raised land that are flat on top
 It may be formed through process like up warping of the earth‟s crust ,erosion and uplifting …
 Flat (gently rolling terrain),steep cliffs(escarpments along the edges),dissected by rivers, creating deep valleys etc are some of features
of plateaus

4 ‘’The best education you will ever get is traveling. Nothing teaches you more than exploring the world and accumulating experience’’.
Mark Patterson
 KOTEBE UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION,MENELIK I,SCIENCE SHARED CAMPUS GEOGRAPHY NOTE FOR GRADE 10 2017/2024

 A huge plateau covers most of Africa. This is a broad area of high, flat land. This makes it higher in eastern and southern Africa than in
other parts
 Plateaus have been broken (cut) by deep, steep sided river valley and gorge is called dissected (separated) plateau.
 Plateau is represented by contour lines have circular or rectangular shape
Minor landforms include:
Hills,
Gorges,
Valleys, and
Basins.
1.Hill:
 is an area of high ground but is lower than a mountain in elevation
 From the top of the hill the ground slopes down in all directions
 On a topographic map, a hill is shown by contour lines forming concentric circles.
 The inside of the smallest closed circle indicates the hilltop
2.Gorge:
 Is a deep narrow valley with steep sides
 Is usually formed in the upper course of river
 Rock wall located between hills and mountains
 Smaller than canyon
 Shown on the maps by closer contour lines
3.Valley:
 Is a long low-lying area of land, often with a river or stream running through it that is surrounded by higher ground
 is a lowland area between higher lands such as mountains
 It is a stretched out channel in the land, usually formed by streams or rivers.
 A valley begins with high ground on three sides, and usually has a course of running water through it.
Types of valley:
A.V-shaped valley:
 Narrow and steep sided
 Formed by erosion
B.U-shaped valley:
 Wide and gently sloping
 Carved by glaciers
4.Basins:
 Are an open vessel with sloping or curving sides, which holds water
Oceans:
 are large areas of salt water between the continents
 are connected, making them one big ocean, they are divided into five smaller oceans that are separated by their location and the way the
water in them moves
 These oceans are the Arctic ocean, the Atlantic ocean, the Indian ocean, the Pacific ocean, and the Southern ocean
 The oceans together cover huge areas of the Earth.
 They cover 71% of the Earth.
 The Pacific Ocean is both the largest and the deepest ocean, which covers one-third of the Earth‟s surface.
 Oceans are important factors for creating or forming coastal land features such as island‟s, peninsulas, isthmuses.
Island:
 Is a piece of ground that is completely surrounded by water
 Islands can be big or small in any part of the world
 The largest island in the world is Greenland
 Australia is bigger than Greenland but it is so big that it is called a continent instead of an island.

5 ‘’The best education you will ever get is traveling. Nothing teaches you more than exploring the world and accumulating experience’’.
Mark Patterson
 KOTEBE UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION,MENELIK I,SCIENCE SHARED CAMPUS GEOGRAPHY NOTE FOR GRADE 10 2017/2024

Sovereign island countries of the world within their respective continents:

Africa Asia Europe North America Oceania
 Mauritius  Indonesia  Malta  Hawaii  New Zealand
 Comoros  Japan  Iceland  Johnston Atoli  Papua New Guinea
 Cape Verde  Philippines  Republic of Ireland  Kingman Reef  Fiji
 São Tomé and  Sri Lanka  Cyprus etc  Wake  Solomon Islands
Príncipe  Singapore  Midway  Vanuatu etc
 Seychelles  Bahrain
 Mayotte  Brunei
 Reunion  Maldives
Peninsula:
 Is a piece of land that has water on three sides but it is connected on the fourth side to the mainland.
 The two well-known peninsulas are Italy and Florida
Isthmus:
 Is a narrow strip of land with water on both sides connecting two larger pieces of land
 A well-known example is the Isthmus of Panama that connects North America to South America.
Canyon:
 Is a deep valley with very steep sides
 is much deeper and wider valley than a gorge with a river at the bottom
 It is formed in arid and semi-arid areas
 Formed because of lack of sheet erosion, which would normally widen the valley to form a gorge

Coast:
 Is the area where the ocean touches the land.
River:
 Is a long flowing body of water.
Cliff:
 Is an area of rock which has a general angle defined by the vertical or nearly vertical
 Formed by the process of weathering and erosion, with the effect of gravity
 Common on coasts, mountainous areas, escarpment and along rivers
1.2 LOCATION AND RELATED FEATURES OF AFRICA
 Africa lies between 37o21'N and 34o52'S latitudes and between 17o33'W and 51o28'E longitudes. This means that the continent extends for
about 37o to the north of the equator and 35o south of it.
 Africa is bounded by the Mediterranean Sea, the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, the Indian Ocean, and the Atlantic Ocean.
 Africa is the second largest and second most populous continent on earth after Asia in both cases.
 Africa‟s areal size is 30.37 million Km2

6 ‘’The best education you will ever get is traveling. Nothing teaches you more than exploring the world and accumulating experience’’.
Mark Patterson
 KOTEBE UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION,MENELIK I,SCIENCE SHARED CAMPUS GEOGRAPHY NOTE FOR GRADE 10 2017/2024

 Africa‟s total population was estimated to be 1.3 billion people in 2020. Therefore, Africa accounts for about 16% of the world‟s
population.
 Africa is home to 54 recognized sovereign states. This division of Africa into almost two equal parts (lengthwise) across the equator
makes the climatic and physical conditions in the north repeat themselves in the south.
For example: The Kalahari Desert is exactly similar to the Sahara in the southern part of Africa; the Karoo in southern part of the continent
matches the Maghreb, and the conditions in the Cape area are almost identical to those of the Mediterranean region in the north.
The four extreme points of the continent, which mark the extreme points of Africa, are the following.
 Extreme North - Cape Bon (Tunisia) -37o21'N
 Extreme South - Cape Agulhas (Republic of South Africa (RSA)) -34o52'S
 Extreme East - Cape Guardafui (Somalia) - 51o28'E
 Extreme West - Cape Verde (Senegal) - 17o33'W
The absolute location of Africa, we can learn that:
 When we measure Africa‟s greatest north-south and east-west extents, we find that they are almost equal:
 north-south – approximately 8000 kilometers
 east-west – approximately 7,600 kilometers
 The equator crosses Africa almost at its north-south center. The north -south extents above and below it are almost equal, although the
northern area is greater than the southern one. The land area north of the equator is about twice that of the south.
 Africa is the only continent crossed by all of the following: the Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn, the Equator and the Prime
Meridian.
 Almost ¾ of the continent's total area is found within the tropics, and therefore much of the continent experiences tropical climates.
1.3 MAJOR LANDFORMS OF AFRICA
 Landforms are the results of volcanic and tectonic processes
 Africa there are several recognizable major landforms
 Africa‟s land forms consists mountains and hills (4%), plateaus (71%) and plains (25%)
 Landforms provide a physical context for describing the landscape, topography, and ecological units within the environment.
 Landforms are ecologically important elements because ecosystems
 Landforms also affect, modify, and influence climate. The effect can be recognized in both large areas as macroclimate and small areas
as microclimate
Effects of landforms on ecosystem patterns and processes include:
 Landform attributes (elevation, steepness of slope, and aspect) produce many different patterns which determine the ecological
potential of an area.
 Landform regions affect the flow of organisms, energy, and material.
 Landform regions affect the spatial pattern of non-geomorphic disturbance by fire and wind.
 Landforms may resist changes that geomorphic processes create; hence they protect biotic features and processes.
Major regions of landform in Africa:
No Major Landform Regions Physical Regions
1  African Alpine System  Atlas Mountains
 The Sahara
 The Sahel
2  African massif
 The Savanna
 The Tropical rainforest
 The Rif Valley and African Great Lakes
3  East African Highlands and rift system
 The Ethiopian and Eritrean Highlands
4  Southern Africa Platform  Mountains and desert systems of Southern Africa
1.3.1 African Alpine System:
i. Atlas Mountains: contains a range of mountains in North Africa that extends from Morocco to Tunisia. It forms a series of mountain chains
including, the Anti-Atlas, High Atlas, Middle Atlas, Rif Mountains, Tell Atlas, and Sahara Atlas.

7 ‘’The best education you will ever get is traveling. Nothing teaches you more than exploring the world and accumulating experience’’.
Mark Patterson
 KOTEBE UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION,MENELIK I,SCIENCE SHARED CAMPUS GEOGRAPHY NOTE FOR GRADE 10 2017/2024

 The Atlas Mountains make up the Maghrib (meaning „west‟ in Arabic) region including Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia. The mountain range
extends for more than 2,000 kilometers, from the Moroccan port of Agadir in the southwest, to the Tunisian capital of Tunis in the
northeast.
 The topography of the mountain forms a high divide between the Mediterranean Sea in the north and the Sahara Desert in the south.
1.3.2 African Massif
I. The Sahara Desert:
 The Sahara is a desert on the African continent. With an area of 9,200,000 square kilometers, it is the largest hot desert in the world. It
covers the entire region of North Africa, from the Atlantic coast in the west to the Red Sea in the east.
 The Sahara borders the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlas Mountains in the north, extending south into Sudan and a region known as the
Sahel. The Sahara encompasses whole or large parts of ten countries in North Africa.
 These countries are Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Sudan, and Tunisia.
 The landscape of the Sahara is covered with sand.
 The Sahara Desert has enormous quantities of reddish sand dune that is weathered from sandstone.
 This sand makes up a great sand sea, called an erg. Elsewhere in the Sahara, you find a desert pavement of pebbles on top of vast flat-
surfaced sheets of sand. This type of surface is called a reg.
N.B:
 The Sahara is the world‟s largest hot desert (3,500,000 miles).
 It runs across the width of northern Africa and covers 1/3rd of the continent.
 It divides the continent into two distinct regions – North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa.
 The Sahara is covered with sand dunes, rocky hills, and stretches of gravel that continue for miles and miles.
II. The Sahel
 The Sahel is a vast semiarid region of North Africa, to the south of the Sahara that forms a transitional zone at the south of the desert
and comprises the northern part of the region known as the Sudan. Sahel is an Arabic word (sahil) meaning “shore”. It refers to the
5,000 kilometers stretch of savanna that is the shore or edge of the Sahara Desert.
 The Sahel spreads west to east from Mauritania and Senegal to Somalia. Countries in the Sahel include: Mauritania, Senegal, Mali, Niger,
Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Chad, Sudan and Eritrea.
 The Sahel lands are grasslands and savannahs, with scrub areas to the north, alternating areas of trees, mainly acacias in the south
 The semiarid grassland of the Sahel has natural pasture (land covered with grass and other low plants suitable for grazing animals), with
low-growing grass and tall herbaceous perennials. Hence, there is plenty of forage for the livestock (camel, pack ox, and grazing cattle
and sheep)
 The landscape of the Sahel is similar to the savanna type. However, it tends to merge into desert because of human activities and climate
change.
N.B:
 The Sahel is a strip of dry grassland that is located south of the Sahara and north of the equator that separates the desert from
tropical rain forests.
 The word “Sahel” means “border” or “margin”.
 It is a dry, semi-arid region that is slowly turning into desert.
 It gets more rainfall than the desert, but still receives very little (ranging from 6-20 inches).
III. The Savanna
 The Savanna is a transitional region between rainforest and the Sahel grassland.
 The African savanna region is a tropical grassland with few trees and shrubs (a shrub is a woody plant smaller than a tree and has a
very short stem with branches near the ground).
 The trees in the Savanna region are drought resistant trees.
 The tree and shrub species in the savanna usually shed their leaves during the dry season.
 The shedding of the leaves is an adaptation process of the trees to the all year-round hot temperature of the Savanna.
 This adaptation reduces water loss from the plants.

8 ‘’The best education you will ever get is traveling. Nothing teaches you more than exploring the world and accumulating experience’’.
Mark Patterson
 KOTEBE UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION,MENELIK I,SCIENCE SHARED CAMPUS GEOGRAPHY NOTE FOR GRADE 10 2017/2024

N.B:
 The African savannas are hot, dry grasslands that are located near the Equator and cover almost half of Africa.
 They actually cover the regions just north and south of the rainforests that lie along the equator.
 The African savanna is the largest in the world (over 4.5 million square miles).
 There is a large variety of wildlife in the African savannas, including lions, zebras, & elephants.
 Farming is good here, but only if there is good rainfall.
 Grasses and grains like wheat, oats, and sorghum grow in the region.
 The area receives enough rain to support drought resistant undergrowth, but not enough to support forest-type
vegetation.
 Grasses are tall and thick, while trees are short and scattered.
Based on vegetation types, the Savanna region has two important parts:

 Woodland savanna and

 Thorn tree tall grass Savanna
 In Savanna woodland, the trees are widely spaced because there is not enough soil moisture during the dry season to support a full tree
cover
 The open spacing lets a dense lower layer where grasses develop.
 The woodland has an open, park-like appearance.
 In the tropical savanna woodland of Africa, the trees are of medium height.
 Tree crowns are flattened or umbrella-shaped, and the trunks have thick, rough bark.
 Some species of trees are xerophytic forms – adapted to the dry environment with small leaves and thorns.
 Others are broad-leaved deciduous species that shed their leaves in the dry season.
 Fires occur frequently in the savanna woodland during the dry season, but the tree species are mostly fire resistant.
IV. The Tropical Rainforest
 Tropical rainforests occur both to the north and south of the Equator.
 The rainforests near the equator are known as equatorial rainforests.
 These forests are very diverse and contain large number of plant and animal species.
 Flora is highly diverse in the equatorial rainforests where a square kilometer may contain as many as 100 different tree species as
compared to 3 or 4 in the temperate zone.
 Broadleaf evergreen trees dominate the vegetation cover.
 Six African countries – Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, and
Equatorial Guinea makeup the Congo basin of the Tropical Rainforest.
 Other areas where the rainforest is found include; Ghana, Ivory Coast and Madagascar
 The various trees of the tropical rain forests are closely spaced together and form a thick continuous canopy some 25 to 35 meters tall.
 Sometimes the canopy is interrupted by the presence of very tall trees (up to 40 meters) that have wide buttressed bases for support.
Most plants are evergreen with large, dark green, leathery leaves.
 Epiphytic and herbaceous plants as well as vines (lianas) and ferns are very characteristic of the tropical rainforest.
N.B:
 The rain forest covers 1/5 th of the land surface of Africa and touches 37 countries.
 The rainforest climate is wet all the year or it has a short dry season.
 Annual rainfall, which exceeds 2000 to 2250 millimeters, is evenly distributed throughout the year
 Temperature and humidity are relatively high throughout the year.
 Decomposition is rapid in the tropical rainforests because of high temperature and high moisture. Meanwhile, due to the frequent
and heavy rainfall in the area, tropical soils are subject to extreme chemical weathering and leaching. These environmental
conditions also make tropical soils acidic and nutrient poor.

9 ‘’The best education you will ever get is traveling. Nothing teaches you more than exploring the world and accumulating experience’’.
Mark Patterson
 KOTEBE UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION,MENELIK I,SCIENCE SHARED CAMPUS GEOGRAPHY NOTE FOR GRADE 10 2017/2024

1.3.3 East African Highlands and Rift System

I. The Rift Valley and African Great Lakes:
 The Rift Valley of East Africa was formed by normal faulting.
 It was formed as the land stretched by forces moving in opposite direction creating rupture and splitting apart the land in between.
 This creates an area called graben.
 The Rift Valley System is a unique feature of Africa‟s physiography. It begins from the Red Sea and extends through the Ethiopian
landmass to the Lake Victorian region where it subdivides into an east and west segment and continues southward through Lake Malawi
to Mozambique. Its total length is estimated to be 5,600 km.
 The average width of the Rift Valley System ranges between 32 km and 80 km.
 The Rift Valley lakes are series of lakes in the East African Rift valley that runs through eastern Africa from Ethiopia in the north to
Malawi in the south, and includes the African Great Lakes in the south.
 Many of the lakes are freshwater lake with great biodiversity in them, while others are alkaline or salty lakes.
 The Ethiopian Rift Valley lakes are the northernmost of the African Rift Valley lakes.
 In central Ethiopia, the Main Ethiopian Rift, also known as the Great Rift Valley, splits the Ethiopian highlands into northwestern and
southeastern halves, and the Ethiopian Rift Valley lakes occupy the floor of the rift valley between the two highlands.
 Lake Victoria lies at an elevation of 1,134 meters above sea level, with an area of 68,800 square kilometers is the largest lake in Africa. It
is not in the rift valley, but instead occupies a depression between the eastern and western rifts formed by the uplift of the rifts to either
side.
N.B:
 The Great Rift Valley is an important landform in east Africa. It is made of deep, wide cracks in the Earth‟s surface. Many lakes
are in this valley. This is a portion of the GRV in Kenya.
II. The Ethiopian and Eritrean Highlands:
 Ethiopia has some of the most spectacular scenery in Africa.
 Much of the country is set on a high plateau, with a massive central highland complex of mountains divided by the deep Great Rift Valley
and a series of lowlands along the periphery (edges) of the higher elevations.
 The wide diversity of terrain produces regional variations in climate, natural vegetation, soil composition, and settlement patterns
 Ethiopia‟s northwestern highlands extend into Eritrea, reaching elevations of more than 2,000 meters above sea level. Eritrea shares the
northeast section of the Ethiopian high plateau, which in appearance looks more like a set of rugged uneven mountains.
 The plateau, also known as the Northwestern Highlands, rise on the western scarp of the Great Rift Valley and projects northward from
Addis Ababa in Ethiopia to the Red Sea coastline in Eritrea
 It descends to the Red Sea coast in a series of hills.
1.3.4 Southern Africa Platform
I. Mountains and Desert Systems of Southern Africa
 The region of the African continent south of the Congo and Tanzania is named Southern Africa.
 This landform region has a very diverse landscape. It includes escarpment, mountains, grassland, and desert landscapes.
 The Tropic of Capricorn runs straight through the middle of the region, indicating that the southern portion is outside the tropics or there
is a temperate part in the region.
 The Ukhahlamba (Drakensberg) escarpment is the most recognizable landscape in the region.
 The average altitude of the escarpment is almost 3,000 m above sea level.
 Two important deserts form large part of southern Africa.
 The first one is the Kalahari Desert, which lies mainly in Botswana. It is an extensive desert region with an arid mixture of grasslands and
sand.
 When there is adequate rainfall, the grasslands provide excellent grazing for wildlife. The Kalahari is home to game reserves and national
parks.
 The second is Namib Desert, found along the west coast of Namibia.
 It is a desert land affected by the cold ocean current of Benguela that borders the area.
 Hence, the Namib desert was formed partly because of the cold ocean current nearby.
 The high veld is the portion of the South African inland plateau.

10 ‘’The best education you will ever get is traveling. Nothing teaches you more than exploring the world and accumulating experience’’.
Mark Patterson
 KOTEBE UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION,MENELIK I,SCIENCE SHARED CAMPUS GEOGRAPHY NOTE FOR GRADE 10 2017/2024

 The Highveld slopes gently downwards and is bounded by the Great Karoo to the south, the Kalahari Desert to the west and the Bushveld
to the north.
 The highveld is home to some the South Africa‟s most important commercial farming areas, as well as its largest concentration of
metropolitan centers, especially the Gauteng conurbation, which accommodates one-third of South Africa‟s population.
 The continuation of the Great Escarpment to the south separates the Highveld from Kwa-Zulu-Natal.
 The southeastern portion of the Great Escarpment or the Ukhahlamba (Drakensberg) forms the boundary between KwaZulu-Natal and
Lesotho.

11 ‘’The best education you will ever get is traveling. Nothing teaches you more than exploring the world and accumulating experience’’.
Mark Patterson