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Exploring Africa's Physical and Cultural Geography Using Published Maps
Map of East Africa showing some of the historically active volcanoes (red triangles) and the Afar Triangle (shaded, center) -- a so-called triple junction (or triple point), where three plates are pulling away from one another: the Arabian Plate, and the two parts of the African Plate (the Nubian and the Somalian) splitting along the East African Rift Zone.
In East Africa, spreading processes have already torn Saudi Arabia away from the rest of the African continent, forming the Red Sea. The actively splitting African Plate and the Arabian Plate meet in what geologists call a triple junction, where the Red Sea meets the Gulf of Aden. A new spreading center may be developing under Africa along the East African Rift Zone. When the continental crust stretches beyond its limits, tension cracks begin to appear on the Earth's surface. Magma rises and squeezes through the widening cracks, sometimes to erupt and form volcanoes. The rising magma, whether or not it erupts, puts more pressure on the crust to produce additional fractures and, ultimately, the rift zone.
http://pubs.usgs.gov/publications/text/understanding.html
In this exercise, you will examine the location of earthquakes and volcanoes in relationship to faults in Africa. You will also look at the impact on countries in Africa.
Note: New ArcView instructions will be explained in this Exercise. Please refer to activities 1 through 4 for instructions you've already completed.
| Sources | Sources used in this assignment:
Rand McNally Classroom Atlas. 1997. IBSN 528-17729-X. Rand McNally Goode's World Atlas. 1995. 19th Edition. LC Catalog Card Number World Geography Today. 1997. Holt, Rinehart, and Winston. Austin: Harcourt Brace and Brace and Company. ISBN 0-03-016802-3. |
| Step 1 | Examine the following maps:
From the Classroom Atlas: Africa political map, page 75. Plate tectonics map and discussion, pages 8 and 9. The following map of recent eruptions: |
| Step 2 | Answer the questions below. |
| Question 1 | Which volcano in Africa last erupted? |
| Question 2 | Are the volcanoes in Africa located near plate boundaries or faults? |
| Question 3 | Which country in Africa has the most historic volcanoes? |
| Question 4 | Which country in Africa has the most recent volcanoes and is most at risk from volcanoes that may erupt in the future? |
| Question 5 | What areas in Africa have high population densities and also have some risk from earthquakes and volcanoes? |
*** End of Africa Activity 5 Non-GIS ***
U.S. Department of the Interior |
U.S. Geological Survey
URL: http://education.usgs.gov/common/lessons/act5non.html
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Page Last Modified: Wednesday, 29-Aug-2007 10:50:45 EDT
