South African plateau. East Africa Where is East African

Armenia is the second largest continent after Eurasia. Area 29.2 million km2 (with islands 30.3 million km2, about 1/5 of the land area the globe). Population 328 million. (1967).

The main features of orography
The relief of Armenia is dominated by plains, plateaus, and plateaus lying at an altitude of 200–500 m above sea level (39% of the area) and 500–1000 m above sea level (28.1% of the area). Lowlands occupy only 9.8% of the area, mainly along the coastal outskirts. In terms of the average altitude above sea level (750 m), Armenia is second only to Antarctica and Eurasia.

Almost all of Africa to the north of the equator is occupied by the plains and plateaus of the Sahara and Sudan, among which the Ahaggar and Tibesti highlands rise in the center of the Sahara (Mt. m). On the northwest. the Atlas Mountains (Mt. Toubkal, 4165 m) rise above the Sahara Plains, and the Etbay Ridge (Mt. Oda, 2259 m) stretches east along the Red Sea. The plains of Sudan are framed in the south by the North Guinean Upland (Bintimani, 1948 m) and the Azande flatlands; from the east, the Ethiopian Highlands rises above them (Ras Dashan, 4620 m). It drops abruptly to the Afar depression, where the deepest depression of Armenia is located (Lake Assal, 150 m). Beyond the Azande Plateau lies the Congo Basin, bounded in the west by the South Guinean Upland, in the south by the Lunda-Katanga Plateau, and in the east by the East African Plateau, on which the highest peaks of Armenia, Mount Kilimanjaro (5895 m), rise. , Rwenzori town (5109 m).

South Africa is occupied by the high Kalahari plains, bordered by the Namaqualand, Damaraland, and Kaoko plateaus in the west, and by the Drakensberg Mountains (Tabana-Ntlenyana, 3,482 m) in the east. The middle-altitude Cape Mountains stretch along the southern edge of the mainland.

The predominance of a leveled relief on the mainland is due to its platform structure. In the northwestern part of Africa, with a deep basement and widespread sedimentary cover, heights of less than 1,000 m prevail (Nizkaya A.); in southwestern Armenia, where the ancient foundation has been raised and exposed in many places, the heights of St. 1000 m (High A.). The troughs and ledges of the African Platform correspond to large depressions (Kalahari, Congo, Chad, etc.) and the uplifts separating and bordering them. The eastern edge of Africa is most elevated and fragmented within an activated section of the platform (the Ethiopian Highlands, the East African Plateau), where a complex system of East African faults stretches.

In the uplifted regions of Vysokaya A., the largest area is occupied by basement plains and basement block mountains that frame the depressions of the Vosto grabens. A. (including Rwenzori) and Katanga. In Nizkaya A., basement ridges and massifs stretch along the coast of the Gulf of Guinea and protrude in the Sahara (in the Lhaggar and Tibesti highlands, and the Etbay ridge). Lava plateaus and cones are widespread in the Ethiopian Highlands and in the East. A. (Kilimanjaro, Kenya, etc.), are crowned by the peaks of Ahaggara and Tibesti, are found in Sudan (Marra), Cameroon (Cameroon volcano, Adamawa mountains), overlap the Drakensberg Mountains in Lesotho. Plated denudation plains and plateaus occupy most of the area in Low Africa (Sahara, Sudan); in Vysokaya A. they are confined to the deposits of the Karoo syneclise and form the Drakensberg Mountains, adjacent to them from the west of the Veldov Plateau and lying to the south of the river. Orange Top. Karoo. Accumulative plains are found mainly in Low A .: in the middle reaches of the Niger, in the Chad and White Nile basins, in the Congo basin; in Vysokaya A. they occupy the Kalahari depression. The Cape Mountains and the interior regions of the Atlas belong to the folded-block mountains. The northern ridges of the Atlas are the only folded mountains in Africa of the Neogene-Paleogene age.

The relief of Africa is dominated by surfaces of the Neogene cycle of denudation and accumulation, dissected by the present-day Congo cycle. Above them, the remnants of the offered surfaces, worked out by more ancient cycles (up to the Gondwana), rise.

Geological map

Geological structure and minerals.
Almost all of Armenia, except for the Atlas Mountains in the northwest. and the Cape Mountains in the extreme south, is an ancient platform, which also includes the Arabian Peninsula and about. Madagascar with the Seychelles. The basement of this African-Arabian platform, composed of Precambrian rocks, mostly folded and metamorphosed, protrudes in many regions of Africa, from Antiatlas to the northwest. and Zap. Arabia in the north-east to the Transvaal in the south. The basement contains rocks of all Precambrian age subdivisions - from the Lower Archean (more than 3 billion years) to the Upper Proterozoic. The consolidation of most of Africa was completed by the middle of the Proterozoic (1.9–1.7 billion years ago); in the Late Proterozoic, only peripheral (Mauritanian-Senegalese, Arabian) and some internal (Ugarta-Atakor, West Congolese, Namakvalend-Kibar) geosynclinal systems developed, and by the beginning of the Paleozoic the entire area of ​​the modern platform was already stabilized (according to the latest data, deposits, shown on the geological map south of the Sahara as Cambrian, turned out to be Upper Proterozoic). In areas of early consolidation, deposits of the Late, and in some places even the Early or Middle Proterozoic (the Transvaal, Zimbabwe massifs, and some others) already belong to the platform cover. The rocks of the Early Precambrian basement are represented by various crystalline schists, gneisses, metamorphosed volcanic formations, which are replaced by granites in large areas. They control deposits of iron ores of sedimentary-metamorphic origin, gold (in connection with granites), chromites (in ultrabasic rocks). Large accumulations of gold and uranium ores are known in the coarse-detrital rocks of the base of the sedimentary cover in the south of Africa. Younger, weakly metamorphosed rocks of the Upper Proterozoic of intra-platform folded zones (Katanga, Zambia, Southwest Armenia, and others) contain deposits of tin, tungsten (in granites or near them), copper, lead, zinc and uranium ores.

The Phanerozoic sedimentary cover is developed over the Precambrian basement, mainly in the western and central parts of North Africa (Sahara Plate), in the large depressions of Equatorial and South Africa (Congo, Okavango, Kalahari, Karoo), in the Mozambican trough of the eastern coast and between the mainland and about ... Madagascar as well as in the strip Atlantic coast from Mauritania to Angola. Early and Middle Paleozoic marine sediments collected in folds are distributed mainly in the region of the Sahara Plate, where they contain large deposits of oil and gas (Algeria, Libya), as well as in the Atlas and Cape geosynclines. Formations of the Upper Paleozoic and Triassic are continental almost everywhere; in Equatorial and South Africa they begin with glacial deposits (the upper Carboniferous - lower Permian) - witnesses of the ice sheet of a large part of the continent - and continue with the Lower Permian coal-bearing deposits, which are associated with the main coal resources of Africa (South Africa, South Rhodesia, and others). In northern Africa, the Middle Carboniferous is coal-bearing, above which the red-colored continent is widespread, and lagoon sediments (in the Triassic, with large strata of salts and gypsum).

The beginning of the Jurassic includes powerful volcanic eruptions and intrusions of basic (basaltic) magma, which are most widespread in southern Africa, but also occur in the western part of northern Africa. During the Jurassic and Early Cretaceous, most of Africa was uplifted; continental deposits accumulated in the inner depressions; in the late Jurassic - early Cretaceous, the intrusion of alkaline granites and carbonatites with deposits of rare elements (niobium, tantalum, etc.) took place, as well as the formation of kimberlite pipes, which are associated with diamond deposits - primary and redeposited in younger sediments and placers (South Africa, Angola , Democratic Republic of the Congo, the countries of the northern coast of the Gulf of Guinea). By the same time (the end of the Jurassic - the beginning of the Cretaceous) the formation of the modern contours of the Atlantic belongs to ... Madagascar split from the continent at the end of the Paleozoic. At the same time, there is an intensive subsidence of the modern coast of Tunisia, Libya with the formation of oil deposits in the Cretaceous and Eocene sediments. In the middle and end of the Cretaceous, a significant transgression swept the Sahara Plate: sea straits arose that connected the Mediterranean Sea with the Gulf of Guinea and existed until the middle of the Eocene.

From the end of the Eocene to the beginning of the Oligocene, Africa (mainly the eastern and southern regions) experienced an intense uplift, accompanied by the formation of mountainous terrain, the emergence of the East African rift zone and grabens-rifts of the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, Ethiopia, lakes Rudolf, Albert, Rukwa, Tanganyika, Nyasa, etc. The outbreak of volcanic activity, continuing in certain areas and in the modern era ( Kenya, Kilimanjaro, volcanoes of the Virunga region). Rise and volcanic activity also manifested itself in the Ahaggar and Tibesti highlands in the Sahara, Cameroon (Cameroon volcano) and in some areas of the Atlantic coast (Cape Verde).

At the end of the Miocene, the folded structure of the Atlas Mountains arose; in the Pliocene, its central part descended along faults into the Alboran depression Mediterranean Sea.

Armenia possesses large reserves of iron ores (total reserves are estimated at approximately 16-23 billion tons), manganese ores (about 400 million tons), chromite (500-700 million tons), bauxite (3.3 billion tons), copper (reliable and probable reserves of about 48 million tons), cobalt (0.5 million tons), phosphorites (26 billion tons), tin, antimony, lithium, uranium, asbestos, gold (A. gives about 80% of the total production of capitalist and developing countries), platinum and platinoids (about 60% of production), diamonds (98% of production). After World War II, large reserves of oil (total reserves are estimated at 5.6 billion tons) and natural gas were discovered in Afghanistan (mainly in Algeria, Libya, and Nigeria).

Tectonic map

That is why mountain building processes on the mainland are very poorly developed - young mountains grow only in the north of the continent.

More than 4/5 of Africa is occupied by plateaus. Lowlands on the mainland are virtually absent. Not only the mainland is located on the African-Arabian platform, but also Madagascar, Seychelles and the Arabian Peninsula.

The African highlands are located in the southeastern part of the mainland. Average heights here exceed 1000 m above sea level. In this region, the African-Arabian platform rises somewhat.

The Ethiopian Highlands are located in the southeast of Africa. This part of the mainland is called High Africa, it is here that the highest peak of the continent is located - Mount Kilimanjaro.

These areas are characterized by frequent earthquakes, which provoke the eruptions of the volcanoes Karisimbi and Cameroon. Highlands are also found in the Sahara Desert, the highest of which are the Tibesti and Ahaggar Highlands.

Mountains of africa

The Cape and Drakensberg Mountains are located on the coast of the Indian Ocean - their height decreases towards the center of the mainland. The Cape Mountains were formed during the Upper Paleozoic.

The region of the Cape Mountains is characterized by a Mediterranean type of climate. The Cape Mountains are a vivid example of the revived mountains that formed on ancient destroyed mountain systems and inherited from them the folded structure that can be traced in modern relief.

The highest peak of the Cape Mountains is Mount Compassberg, whose height reaches 2500 m. In the north of the mainland, as a result of the displacement of the spirit of the lithospheric plates, the young Atlas Mountains were formed.

These mountains are an extension of the young mountains of Europe, which are located in the Gibraltar region. The length of the mountain ranges of the Atlas Mountains is 2500 km: they originate in the north of Morocco and stretch as far as Tunisia.

The highest peak of the Atlas Mountains is Mount Toubkal (4100m). Due to tectonic faults, earthquakes often occur in the Atlas Mountains region.

Lowlands of Africa

Lowlands of Africa occupy only 9% of its territory. The lowest point of the continent is the Assal salt lake, which is located on the territory of the state of Djibouti (Red Sea coast). Lowlands are also common in some countries of Central Africa.

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Africa is part of the world. Geography of African countries

Mining regions of Africa

Over the past decades, Africa has become one of the the largest producers of mineral raw materials.

Its share in the world mining industry is about 1/7, but in the production of diamonds, gold, cobalt, manganese ores, chromites, uranium concentrates, phosphorites, it is much higher. A lot of copper and iron ore, bauxite, oil and natural gas are also mined.

Let us add that Africa dominates the market for such “metals of the 20th century” as vanadium, lithium, beryllium, tantalum, niobium, germanium. Almost all of the extracted raw materials and fuel are exported from Africa to economically developed countries, which makes its economy very dependent on the world market.

This is especially true for countries such as Algeria, Libya, Guinea, Zambia, Botswana, where the mining industry provides more than 9/10 of all exports.

For the development of the mining industry, Africa has very favorable natural prerequisites.

Its minerals are genetically related, firstly, with the outcrops of the folded basement of the African Platform, secondly, with sedimentary deposits of the cover of this platform, thirdly, with areas of Paleozoic, Mesozoic and Cenozoic (Alpine) folding, and fourthly, with sedimentary sediments of foothill and intermontane troughs, fifthly, with laterite weathering crusts and, finally, sixth, with intrusions of igneous rocks.

In this case, for example, deposits of iron and copper ores can be found both in the outcrops of the crystalline basement and in the cover of sedimentary deposits, and iron ore - also in the laterite weathering crust.

It should also be borne in mind that the subsoil of Africa has not yet been sufficiently studied. In recent decades, prospecting and exploration work has expanded and led to a significant increase in the reserves of most minerals.

But nevertheless, many, especially deep, horizons in this sense still remain "terra incognita", which opens up prospects for new great geological discoveries - just as it happened in the 1950-1960s. with African oil.

In total, Africa can be distinguished seven major mining areas.

Three of these are in North Africa and four in sub-Saharan Africa (Figure 149).

Two of the North African mining regions originated before World War II and have developed further in recent decades.

This is the region of the Atlas Mountains, where rather large deposits of iron, manganese, and polymetallic ores are associated with the mineralization processes that took place during the period of the Hercynian folding.

But the main wealth of this region is the world's largest phosphorite belt, which stretches along the southern slopes of the Atlas through Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. The thickness of the phosphorite suite here reaches 80-100 m, and the total reserves of phosphorites (in terms of P205) are 22 billion tons, of which 21 billion are in Morocco. In terms of the extraction of phosphorites, this country is second only to the United States and China, and in terms of their export it ranks first in the world.

Second mining region North Africa It is located in Egipt e. Here, deposits of oil and natural gas, iron, titanium and other ores, phosphorites, rock salt and other fossil raw materials are associated with the sedimentary cover of the Nubian-Arabian massif and with the rift depressions of the Red Sea.

Rice. 149.

Mining areas in Africa

But, of course, the main mining region of North Africa is the youngest of them, located within the Algerian and Libyan parts of the Sahara Desert.

The territorial combination of mineral resources in it is much more limited and is represented in fact only by oil and natural gas, but in terms of the size of their reserves, production and the general role of the region in the world economy, it is far ahead.

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Physical and geographical characteristics of South Africa.

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High Africa. South Africa occupies a high part of the mainland south of the watershed plateaus between the Congo and Zambezi river basins. The relief is dominated by plateaus and plateaus. The country is distinguished by a wide variety of landscapes due to the sharp contrasts of moisture and relief of individual regions.

The main part is occupied by the South African plateau, to which the Cape Mountains adjoin from the south. A particular natural area forms the island of Madagascar.

South African plateau lies within the Precambrian African Platform, occupying the Kalahari and Karoo syneclises. The Precambrian basement in the Kalahari syneclise is shallow and in places comes to the surface, forming protrusions and uplifts; The sedimentary cover is represented by horizontally lying continental deposits of the Upper Cretaceous and Cenozoic, mainly sandstones and sands (Kalahari Formation).

Syneclise Karoo is a foothill trough of the platform, which arose in connection with the formation of the Cape mountain system; within its limits, the crystalline basement is deeply lowered and hidden under a thick stratum of lagoon sediments of the Permian-Triassic age, mainly sandstones and shales (Karoo Formation); in some places these rocks are broken by lavas.

The deposits of the Karoo Formation compose the southern and southeastern plateaus.

In terms of surface structure, the South African Plateau has much in common with the Congo Basin, but it is located much higher. Plains occupy the central part of the plateau Kalahari Basins, lying at an altitude of 900-1000 m; here red and white sands are widespread on the surface, hilly into low dunes.

The Kalahari Basin is surrounded on all sides by marginal plateaus and uplands with numerous island remnants and mountains.

They gradually rise to the outskirts up to 1200-2500 m and more. The plateau is widest in the east and south of the region.

In the east are the Matabele and Veld plateaus, in the south - the Upper Karoo plateau.

Matabele plateau lies between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. The plateau is composed of crystalline rocks; its surface is slightly hilly, there are individual island mountains. The marginal parts of the plateau are strongly dissected by river erosion and stand out sharply above the neighboring plains.

South of the Limpopo River is the Weld plateau. It is a series of stepped plateaus (High, Middle, Shrub and Low Veld) descending towards the Kalahari Basin and the Limpopo River Valley.

The plateaus are composed of sandstones, shales and conglomerates of the Karoo Formation, in places intrusive and volcanic rocks.

Upper Karoo, located south of the Orange River, closes the Kalahari basin in the south, descending to it in several steps.

The plateau is composed of horizontally lying sandstones and shales, pierced by numerous intrusions, forming remnant heights, sometimes sharp peaks.

In the west of the plateau, the strip of the marginal plateaus narrows. The plateau is composed of crystalline rocks and continental deposits. They are crowned with island mountains and remnant massifs, reaching the highest height in the Comas plateau, where dislocated shales and quartzites are exposed.

The marginal plateaus of the South African Plateau in the west, east, and south drop abruptly to the coastal plains and trough Great Karoo by the Great Ledge, the outer slopes of which are deeply dissected by river erosion.

The escarpment reaches its greatest height in the east, in the Drakensberg Mountains. The southern part of the mountains - the Basuto Highlands, which has basaltic lavas, is the highest massif of the Kalahari ring framing. Its peak Tabana-Ntlenyana (3482 m) is the highest in South Africa.

The edge plateau in the east is adjoined by an extensive Mozambican lowland.

It is composed of Cretaceous and Tertiary sediments and is divided by tectonic cracks in the northern part. In the west of the plateaus, the marginal plateaus break off to the coastal plain. Its section between the rivers Kunene and Orange is the Namib Desert. The desert stretches from north to south for more than 1,500 km, occupying a narrow strip of ancient crystalline peneplain, shattered by faults.

The plateau lies in the subequatorial, tropical and subtropical climatic zones.

However, tropical climates prevail. In the summer of the Southern Hemisphere, a local baric depression forms over the Kalahari.

The north of the region (up to the middle reaches of the Zambezi) is irrigated by the summer equatorial monsoon. All Eastern is influenced by the southeast trade wind, bringing humid tropical air from the Indian Ocean, heated over the warm Mozambican Current.

Heavy rainfall occurs in the Mozambique Lowlands, the slopes of the Great Ledge, and the eastern edge plateaus. To the west of the Great Ledge and the marginal plateaus, the marine tropical air quickly transforms into continental air and the amount of precipitation decreases.

The western coast is under the influence of the South Atlantic Anticyclone, amplified by the powerful cold Benguela Current. Atlantic air warms up above the surface of the mainland and almost does not emit precipitation.

On the western fringe plateaus there is a front between maritime Antlantic and continental tropical air; here the amount of precipitation increases slightly.

In the winter of the Southern Hemisphere, a local anticyclone forms over the plateau, which merges with the South Atlantic and South Indian baric maximums. Downward currents of air create a dry season; precipitation does not fall.

The South African Plateau is an area of ​​relatively high temperatures, significant daily and annual fluctuations. But on the plateau, temperatures are tempered by significant heights. Over most of the plateau, summer temperatures are + 20- * + 25 ° С, without rising above + 40 ° С; winter temperatures are +10 - + 16 ° С.

On the Upper Karoo plateau, there are frosts in winter, and snow falls on the Basuto Highlands.

The plateau is an area of ​​predominantly scarce precipitation, which is distributed very unevenly over its territory. Their number decreases when moving from east and north to west and south. In the north of the region, up to 1500 mm of moisture falls per year; here the rainy season, brought by the equatorial monsoons, lasts up to 7 months. A lot of precipitation falls on the east coast, where the barrier role of the Great Ledge is especially pronounced.

Precipitation is brought here by the southeastern summer trade wind (over 1000 mm per year, and on the slopes of the Basuto Highlands - over 2000 mm). The most frequent and heavy rainfall occurs from November to April. On the eastern marginal plateaus, the amount of precipitation decreases on the Veld plateau (750-500) and Matabele (750-1000 mm). Summer maximum precipitation persists in the interior regions, but their annual amounts are decreasing.

In the central Kalahari plains, the rainy season is reduced to 5-6 months, the annual precipitation does not exceed 500 mm. To the southwest, the amount of precipitation decreases to 125 mm per year. The driest part of the region is the coastal Namib desert (less than 100 mm of precipitation per year). Little precipitation will fall on the western edge plateaus (up to 300 mm per year).

The river network on the plateau is poorly developed.

Most of the channels of the Kalahari, western and southern marginal plateaus do not have permanent streams. The largest river is the Zambezi.

The large rivers of the region - Orange and Limpopo collect their waters from the Matabele and High Velda plateaus. The Okovango River is the main water system of the internal flow of the Kalahari Basin. During the rains, the Okovango basin sometimes fills with water, its excess is sent from Okovango to the Zambezi and the Makarikari salt flats.

The large size of the South African plateau, differences in topography and climate create a variety of landscapes.

Almost all landscapes of the mainland are represented in South Africa.

Along with zonal differences, sectoral differences also appear.

In the region, the eastern humid oceanic, mid-continental and western relatively cool desert oceanic sectors are well expressed. In the eastern sector, where there is a lot of precipitation, zones of seasonally moist forests change from north to south: subequatorial (up to 20 ° S), tropical (20-30 ° S) and subtropical monsoon forests.

On the slopes of the Drakensberg mountains, the altitudinal zonation of the forest-meadow type is well expressed. Seasonally humid forests occupy windward slopes up to an altitude of 800-1000 m. Above, there are shrub thickets and mountain-valley, mainly coniferous forests, meadows, rocky placers; similar vegetation is characteristic of the Basuto Highlands (thickets of bushes, individual trees, meadows and stony placers).

In the middle continental sector (the Kalahari Basin and the marginal plateaus) developed natural areas savannas, woodlands and shrubs of subequatorial and tropical zones, tropical and subtropical semi-deserts, subtropical mountain steppes.

However, semi-desert landscapes dominate.

Lowlands, plains, plateaus

Rare vegetation consists of xerophytic grasses, shrubs and individual acacias, euphorbia, aloe. The Kalahari is characterized by wild watermelons, the stems of which cover large areas.

In the western oceanic sector is the tropical desert Nami b. In its southern part, along the valleys of dry channels and in places of shallow bedding of groundwater, rather dense vegetation of succulent shrubs and half-shrubs, low-growing acacias and hard grasses is developed.

The most interesting plant the northern part of the desert is an ancient relic of Welwitschia.

The South African Plateau, with its wide variety of landscapes, has a rich and varied fauna.

But the number of wild animals has now significantly decreased, and many of their species are disappearing. The number of herbivorous animals - antelopes, zebras, giraffes - has especially decreased, and predators have also been greatly exterminated. Lions, leopards, wild cats have almost completely disappeared, hyenas and jackals are more common. The largest nature reserve in the region is the Kruger National Park in South Africa. Almost all African animals are collected here.

Cape Mountains located in the extreme southwest and south of the mainland, between the mouth of the Oliphants River in the west and the city of Port Elizabeth in the east.

They stretch along the coast for 800 km, their average height 1500 m. From the Great Ledge of the South African Plateau, they are separated by the Great Karoo Depression.

Folding processes here took place from the second half of the Carboniferous to the second half of the Triassic, to which their main phases are attributed.

Therefore, in terms of age, the Cape Mountains are somewhat younger than typical Hercynian structures. They were subsequently destroyed and smoothed out, and then rejuvenated by later uplifts.

The Cape Mountains consist of several anticlinal ridges with a blocky character. The ridges are separated by wide longitudinal synclinal valleys and narrow transverse gorges.

The main part of the Cape Mountains is the southern system of ridges in a latitudinal direction.

Here are the highest (up to 2324 m) and longest mountains Zvartberg (Small and Bolshoi) and Langeberg, between which lies the intermountain Small Karoo plateau. To the east, the ridges decline and break off into the sea with rocky capes. In the extreme south, they break up into small isolated ridges and massifs that rise among the coastal plain. Another system of ridges stretched along Atlantic Ocean in the north-northwest direction.

In the south-west and south, the mountains approach at an angle to the coast, indented by convenient bays.

The climate of the Cape Mountains is subtropical. In the southwest, it is of the Mediterranean type, with rainy, warm winters and dry, hot summers. Temperatures are moderated by altitude and sea. In Cape Town, the average January temperature is + 21 ° С, in July + 12 ° С. The rains begin in April, are plentiful from June to September, and then stop, as the humid westerly winds are replaced by the winds of subtropical anticyclones.

Snow falls on the tops of the mountains in winter. In the western part of the mountains, on their windward slopes, the greatest amount of precipitation falls (up to 1800 mm per year). To the east, their number decreases to 800 mm. East 22 ° E in the precipitation regime, the typical features of the Mediterranean climate disappear, and the summer maximum begins to prevail due to the penetration of humid oceanic monsoons onto the continent.

There is little rainfall on the coastal plain (in Cape Town - 650 mm per year). The climate of the inner parts of the mountains is subtropical continental.

The Cape Mountains are mainly covered with Mediterranean vegetation with a predominance of evergreen stiff-leaved shrubs and herbaceous perennials.

The landscapes here have a lot in common with the Atlas Mountains. They are also characterized by brown (typical and leached) and mountain-forest brown soils.

However, the floristic composition of the vegetation is different, specific to the Cape flora. Very characteristic times

personal heathers, proteas, pelargoniums, mesembryanthemums, aloe, cactus-like milkweed, fat women, etc. Interesting are Cape nightshade with yellow poisonous fruits, a silver tree with silvery fluffy leaves, Cape water lily with red flowers, wild watermelon, etc.

There are few trees among the Cape flora. The dominant species are evergreen shrubs and perennial grasses.

Thickets of evergreen stiff-leaved shrubs form the finbosh formation (an analogue of the Mediterranean maquis), which arose on the site of the cleared forests that previously covered the mountain slopes.

The finbosh includes representatives of the Proteaceae family (including the silver tree), heathers, legumes, bellflower and rue.

Forests have survived only on inaccessible, well-moistened mountain slopes.

In the west, in deep and inaccessible valleys, you can find few groves of southern conifers (podo-carpus, etc.), in the east, on the slopes of the mountains, there are dense monsoon mixed forests, consisting of coniferous and evergreen deciduous (lava-leaf olive, Cape beech, etc. .) trees. Palm groves grow on the coastal lowlands.

Vast areas in the Cape Mountains are covered with herbs with a predominance of bulbous, tuberous and rhizomatous forms from the amaryllis, iris, orchid and labiate families.

Immortelles, cineraria and other Asteraceae are characteristic. Semi-desert landscapes with succulent shrubs and semi-shrubs are developed on especially dry and hot leeward slopes and in depressions. In the Maloye Karru depression, thickets of acacias and aloe are common along the rivers, in other parts of the vegetation is represented by rare shrubs

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On the gentle slopes of the eastern plateaus, facing inward the continent, there is still quite a lot of precipitation; treeless terrain with a dense cover of tall grasses prevails there (). Such a landscape in South Africa is called "weld".

As you move to the west, the amount of precipitation decreases and the vegetation takes on an increasingly xerophytic appearance. It consists of various bulbous, which turn green and bloom only during a short period of rains, low-growing thorny acacias, numerous species of aloe. In the Kalahari, there are completely barren rocky areas where plants do not form a continuous cover (). Wild watermelons are very characteristic of the Kalahari, the whips of which cover large areas. Obviously, all known cultivated types of watermelons originate from here. With a great lack of moisture, watermelons with their water reserves save people and animals from thirst.

The vegetation of the Namib Desert is even poorer, where only individual specimens of Velvichia are found, fixed on the sands with powerful roots, and undersized thorny shrubs ().

The shores of drying up lakes and swamps in the Kalahari depressions and the upper reaches of the Zambezi are covered with more moisture-loving vegetation (), which serves as a refuge for wild animals.

In which countries is the East African Highlands located in advance of the ATP and got the best answer

Answer from Alexander [guru]
East African Plateau
extends between the Ethiopian Highlands in the north and north. the end of the lake. Nyasa in the south for 1,750 km, between the Congo Basin in the west and the coastal plains of the Indian Ocean in the east - for 1,400 km (Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi). Altitudes 500–1500 m, in the west of Rwenzori mountain (Margherita peak, 5109 m), Virunga massif. To the south are the flat-topped Mitumba mountains (3305 m). On the NE. plateau cones of volcanoes Elgon (4221 m), Kenya (5199 m), Meru (4566 m), Kilimanjaro (5895 m); in the center is the Crater Highlands with the Ngorongoro Caldera. A large uplift of the ancient African Platform, broken by a system of faults, united under the name of the East African Rift System. Compiled by ancient crystalline and young volcanic rocks. High seismicity and modern volcanism are characteristic. Deposits of coal, fluorite, polymetallic ores and rare metals; placers of precious stones, diamond-bearing kimberlite pipe Mwadui. The largest rivers in Africa originate on the plateau: Nile, Congo, Zambezi. A series of large lakes (Victoria, Edward, Tanganyika, Rudolph, etc.); modern glaciers on the volcanoes of Kilimanjaro, Kenya and in the Rwenzori massif. The climate is equatorial and subequatorial, seasonally humid, hot. Savanna woodlands and shrubs predominate. In the mountains, tropical rainforests, subalpine and alpine meadows. National parks Virunga, Serengeti and a number of others. Explored by Europeans in the second half of the 19th century. (D.-H. Speke, R.-F. Burton, D.-O. Grant, D. Livingston, G.-M. Stanley, etc.).

Answer from Oh Pidril[newbie]
Ethiopia

Answer from Sewerka[guru]
The East African Plateau is a plateau in Africa, located in the southeast of the mainland, in the eastern part of Central Africa. In the north of the plateau are the Meru volcano, Mount Kenya and the Kilimanjaro volcano, as well as the largest African lake Victoria. The plateau is heavily fragmented by the East African Rift Valley and is bounded by its southern part. In the center is the Crater Highlands with the Ngorongoro Caldera. On the plateau are the origins of the most large rivers Africa: Nile, Congo, Zambezi.

Answer from 3 answers[guru]

Hey! Here is a selection of topics with answers to your question: in which countries is the East African plateau?

Geographical position

Remark 1

The East African Plateau is an area located on both sides of the equator, between the Somali Peninsula, the Ethiopian Highlands, East Sudan in the north and the lower Zambezi in the south, and between the Indian Ocean in the east and the Congo Basin in the west. The plateau lies from 5 ° n. NS. to 17 ° S NS.

The East African Plateau is a tectonically active, mobile part of the African Plate. It is here that highest points continent Africa and the largest rift system. The platform is composed of Precambrian crystalline rocks, mainly granite. The foundation is covered with Mesozoic and Paleozoic continental deposits.

Figure 1. East African Plateau. Author24 - online exchange of student papers

The plateau has been uplifted for a long time. Rifts and tectonic faults originated in the Cenozoic. They are a continuation of the Ethiopian Highlands, the grabens of the Red Sea, to the south of Lake Rudolph they branch out and form three fault systems: central, western and eastern.

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Rifts are narrow depressions with steep, stepped slopes. On their periphery are high mountain systems: Rwenzori massif, volcanoes Kenya, Kilimanjaro, Elgon, etc. At present, volcanic activity continues along the faults.

Areas not affected by faults look like a peneplain with island mountains.

The East African Plateau contains vast depressions, one of which is Lake Victoria.

Fault systems of the East African Plateau

In the East African Plateau, the following fault systems are distinguished:

1. The western fault system stretches along the western regions of the plateau. It represented deep grabens occupied by lakes Eduard, Albert (Mobutu-Sese-Seko), Tanganyika, Kivu, the Albert-Nile river valley. From Tanganyika, this system of faults stretched through the tectonic basin of about. Nyasa, a depression with Lake Rukwa, a valley of the Shire River, the lower course of the Zambezi. This territory is one of the most seismically active zones on the continent. The grabens of Lakes Edward and Albert separate the Rwenzori massif. The massif includes crystalline schists, gneisses, intrusions of basic rocks. Rwenzori has glacial forms of Quaternary and modern glaciation (circuses, kars, terminal moraines, trough valleys). The Virunga volcanic region is located between the grabens of the Kivu and Eduard lakes, on the territory of which there are seven volcanoes. Currently, new volcanic cones continue to form. Between the depressions of Tanganyika and Kivu lakes, there is a tectonic trough covered with ancient lavas. There are constant volcanic eruptions at the bottom of lakes Nyasa and Kivu. Between Lakes Victoria, Albert, Edward and the White Nile Basin, there is the Lake Plateau (1000-1500 m), composed mainly of crystalline rocks. In the central part of the plateau there is Lake Kyoga and a swampy valley.
2. The Central Fault System is an extension of the Ethiopian Graben, which runs north-south from Lake Rudolph to Lake Nyasa, where it joins the western fault system. In the northern regions, within the boundaries of the volcanic plateau of Kenya, the volcanic relief is clearly manifested. Extinct volcanoes Elgon, Kenya, Kilimanjaro, a group of giant craters (Ngorongoro volcano) rise along tectonic cracks covered with tuffs and basalts.
3. The eastern system of faults is characterized mainly by one-sided faults, which delimit the narrow coastal lowland with ledges from the west. The lowland is composed mainly of limestone and Tertiary sandstone.

The Unyamwezi Plateau is located between the central and western fault systems, between Lakes Nyasa and Victoria. The plateau is heavily swampy and composed of granites. To the east are the Masai and Nyasa plateaus.

Climatic conditions

The climate of the East African Plateau is subequatorial. It is variably humid, hot, with a pronounced zip at high mountain ranges... On the Lake Plateau and in the vicinity of Lake Victoria, the climate is approaching equatorial, which proves the mode of precipitation, their amount, the even course of temperatures.

Equatorial monsoons and trade winds dominate the plateau. In winter (in the Northern Hemisphere) a northeastern trade wind blows, which over the Kalahari is drawn into a baric depression. Passing from South-East Asia to Africa over the ocean, it emits little rainfall. In summer, the southeast wind intensifies, the south trade wind, which, crossing the equator, acquires the character of the southwest monsoon.

High temperatures are observed on the coast of the Indian Ocean and at low altitudes. average temperature January (the warmest month) is + 28 ° С, August (the coldest) - + 23 ° С. With altitude, the temperature decreases, while the annual rates remain uniform. At an altitude of more than 2000 m, the temperature can drop below 0 ° C, and snow falls above 3500 m. The highest mountain ranges - Kilimanjaro, Kenya and Rwenzori have small glaciers.

Precipitation on the territory of the East African Plateau falls unevenly:

• 2000-3000 mm - high mountain areas;
• from 1000 to 1500 mm - the coast of the Indian Ocean, northwest and southwest of the plateau;
• 750-1000 mm - central areas plateaus;
• 500 mm and less - closed depressions and the territory of the extreme north-east.

The driest region of the East African Plateau is Kenya. Here, periods without precipitation can last up to 7-9 months.

Equatorial precipitation can be observed between 5 ° N. NS. and 5 ° S. NS. For these territories, there are two rainy seasons (November-December, March-May) and two periods of decreased precipitation. V southern regions one rainy season can be observed, lasting from October to April, followed by long dry weather.

The East African Plateau separates the basins of the Mediterranean Sea and the Indian and Atlantic Oceans.

In the northwest of the plateau, the Nile River originates, the system of which includes Lakes Kyoga, Victoria, Edward and Albert. Lakes Kivu and Tanganyika belong to the Congo system, and Lake Nyasa has a drain in the Zambezi. In the central part there are many closed lakes: Rukva, Rudolph, Baringo and others. In terms of their size, depth, influence on the climate and lake runoff, the plateau can be compared with the Great Lakes of North America.

The diversity and variegation of landscapes is determined by: a variety of relief, tectonic fragmentation, a variety of climatic conditions. In the interior, there are many typical savannas with large tracts of shrubs and woodlands that shed their foliage during the dry season. The vegetation is represented by cereals, mimosas, acacias, tamarisks, baobabs, etc.