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Landforms of South Africa and Africa

The plateau, the Great Escarpment and the coastal plain, and Africa’s great mountains, deserts and lakes. Read one part at a time and tap “I know this”. Then test yourself in the quiz.

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South Africa’s three parts

  • The plateau: high, flat interior. The Highveld is its high, grassy part; the Karoo the dry part with low bushes.
  • The Great Escarpment: the steep edge where the plateau drops.
  • The coastal plain: low, flat land next to the sea.
Meerkat tip

A town 1 500 m above sea level lies inland, on the plateau. In winter it is colder there than on the coast.

  • A gorge is a deep, narrow valley with steep sides.
  • A mountain pass is a route through or over mountains.
  • A mountain is high land that rises steeply, much higher than the land around it.
  • A mountain range is a long row of mountains joined together, such as the Drakensberg.
  • A hill is raised land that is lower and rounder than a mountain.
  • A valley is low land between hills or mountains, often with a river flowing through it.
  • A plain is a big area of flat land.
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Africa’s great landforms

LandformWhereTo remember
KilimanjaroTanzaniaHighest mountain; a dormant volcano
SaharaNorth AfricaLargest hot desert
NamibNamibia’s coastDesert along the sea
KalahariBotswana and Northern CapeDry, sandy semi-desert
Lake VictoriaEast AfricaLargest lake; source of the Nile
Congo rainforestCentral AfricaThe Congo River flows through it
From the hot desert to the snow on Kilimanjaro.
From the hot desert to the snow on Kilimanjaro.
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Physical or human?

A physical feature was made by nature, such as an escarpment, a mountain or a river. A human activity is something people do, such as mining, farming and building roads.

Rule

The equator is an imaginary line around the Earth’s middle. South Africa lies south of the equator.

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Remember this and test yourself

Remember this: your summary
  • South Africa has a high plateau (the Free State lies almost completely on it), the Great Escarpment and a low coastal plain.
  • The Drakensberg is our highest range; the highest peak in the whole range is Thabana Ntlenyana in Lesotho.
  • Kilimanjaro in Tanzania is a dormant volcano; Lake Victoria is Africa’s largest lake.
  • Deserts: the Sahara (North Africa) and the Namib (Namibia’s coast). The Kalahari is a dry, sandy semi-desert.
  • A gorge is a deep, narrow valley; a mountain pass is a route through mountains.

Write these points in your book. Read them again the night before the test.

Memory trick

Africa’s two great deserts: Sahara up top, Namib by the sea. The Kalahari is only a semi-desert.

Flash cards · Tap to turn over

Important words

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Test yourself · Part 2

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