Project on the theme of natural areas of Africa. Natural areas of Africa

The location of natural zones clearly shows latitudinal zonation, which is due to the flat terrain, the location of the continent between the tropics, and the uneven distribution of precipitation. In the Congo Basin and along the coast of the Gulf of Guinea they grow wet evergreen equatorial forests. The vegetation cover is formed in conditions of high humidity and heavy rainfall, but the plants have adapted well to these conditions: they form many tiers, have hard, dense, often shiny leaves, supporting roots, etc. The variety of plant species is enormous, there are many tree species with valuable wood and edible fruits. Several types of palms, including oil palm, are found in the forests. Ficus trees, tree ferns, coffee trees, bananas, and numerous vines grow. The fauna of the forests is also extremely diverse. Equatorial forests give way to variable-humid forests, and then savannas begin. Savannahs occupy about 40% of the continent's area. Savannas are characterized by a combination of grass cover with individual trees or groups of trees and bushes. The change of dry and wet seasons of the year in savannas is associated with movement air masses. The soils here are more fertile than in humid equatorial forests, humus accumulates in the dry season, and red-brown soils are formed. Woody vegetation is represented by baobabs, acacias with umbrella crowns, mimosas, and palm trees. Tree-like spurges and aloe with fleshy, spiny leaves grow in dry savannas. Gallery forests stretch along the rivers. The abundance of herbaceous vegetation is a condition for the existence of many species of ungulates: antelopes, buffalos, zebras, rhinoceroses. Elephants, giraffes, and hippopotamuses live in savannas; many predators - lions, cheetahs, leopards, hyenas, jackals; Birds include ostriches, marabou, secretary birds, etc. There are many termites that build strong, tall buildings. Tropical deserts and semi-deserts They also occupy huge areas on the mainland (about 30%). The climate is arid, rains are irregular and occur sporadically. The air is dry, the temperature is high during the day, and drops sharply at night; often dusty and sandstorms. Vegetation is rare and in some places completely absent. In the north of the continent lies the greatest desert on Earth - the Sahara, in the southwest of the continent - barren desert Namib. Soils in deserts do not form a continuous cover and contain little organic matter, but a lot of mineral salts. In those places where groundwater come close to the surface, rich vegetation develops. These are oases. In deserts, the vegetation is sparse, does not form a continuous cover, and is well adapted to life in dry conditions. Tufts of grasses and thorny bushes grow, and lichens grow on the rocks. The date palm is common in the oases of the Sahara. In the semi-deserts of South Africa, a peculiar plant grows - Welwitschia. It has a short trunk (50 cm) and very long leaves (from 3 to 8 m), growing throughout its life, which lasts several centuries, and in some specimens 2000 years or more. The fauna of this zone is also unique. Some animals can go without water for a long time, others are able to travel great distances in search of it. Deserts are characterized by small antelopes, snakes, and lizards; In the Sahara there are hyenas, jackals, lions, ostriches. Zone of subtropical hard-leaved evergreen forests and shrubs occupies the extreme north and south of the continent. Precipitation varies with the seasons, with summers being hot and winters being warm and wet. Under these conditions, fertile brown soils were formed.

Africa is a rare place on Earth where geographic zoning prevails. Nowhere are the natural zones of the continents so clearly demarcated. Africa shows this division right on the map. The far north and south are distinguished by hard-leaved evergreen forests with shrubby undergrowth, followed by semi-deserts and deserts, then savannas, and in the center - variable-humid and constantly humid forests. This latitudinal zonality is slightly disrupted in the mountains and highlands, but there are few of them on the continent. This is Africa - natural zones are demarcated unusually clearly, with regard to climate, flora, and fauna.

Attractions

In addition to the mainland, Africa also includes islands. There are not so few of them: let’s compare the area big land- 30,300,000 square kilometers and the area of ​​the islands is 1,100,000. Madagascar - the largest island - has 587,000 square kilometers.

The most beautiful waterfall in the world is Victoria. It is one of the continent's most outstanding landmarks. The Zambezi River plunges into a hundred-meter (very narrow!) chasm more than a kilometer long and more than a hundred meters high. The sound of water can be heard within a radius of forty kilometers, while splashes and fog from falling water rise half a kilometer up and can be observed at a distance of fifty kilometers. Nowhere else are there such amazingly beautiful lunar rainbows from the refraction of rays.

Northeast Africa is no less famous. Here Mount Kilimanjaro rises in the desert. This is an ancient volcano, which is the highest point of the continent (5,895 meters above sea level). The fact that Kilimanjaro is amazingly beautiful can be seen for many tens of kilometers from any direction - the volcano rises like a pillar among the flat Kenyan and Tanzanian savannas. Sloping slopes raise your gaze to a flat, oblong peak - a two-kilometer-long giant cave, a vast basin at the peak of the volcano.

The lowest point of the mainland - Lake Assal - is located 153 meters below sea level. This crater lake is located in Djibouti. Below this lake is only the Dead Sea.

It remains to add that there are fifty-seven countries in Africa, the largest in area is Sudan. The climate in Africa is very hot, which is probably why the population surpasses all other continents except Asia. Africa also ranks second in area.

Equatorial forest zone

On both sides of the equator, along the Congo River basin and on the coast of the Gulf of Guinea, there are both permanent and variable rain forests for which Africa is famous. Natural areas formed here due to the difference in the amount of heat and moisture. The soils of the local forests - red and yellow - receive all this in abundance.

The composition of tropical forests is diverse. There are more than a thousand tree species. The upper tiers - more than eighty meters high - were formed by ficus trees, oil palms, cola trees and others. Bananas, tree ferns, coffee trees (Liberian species), valuable sandalwood, rubber and mahogany trees settled below,

Wildlife of the rainforest

The fauna is rich and diverse in these places. Monkeys are numerous. In addition to monkeys and chimpanzees, they are represented by a dozen other species. Dog-headed baboons raid African plantations. These monkeys are distinguished by rare intelligence - they are only afraid of armed people, even a person with a stick in his hands will not make them run away. African gorillas - apes- reach two hundred and fifty kilograms of live weight, have a height of up to two meters and are afraid of few people at all.

East Africa is distinguished by its rich coral fauna - more than four hundred species. Sea shellfish especially widespread in the waters Western region Indian Ocean - more than three thousand species of gastropods alone. East African lakes are rich in freshwater shellfish.

Up to twenty percent of the global diversity of the insect world—more than one hundred thousand species—has settled south of the Sahara Desert. Many are very dangerous for humans - malaria mosquitoes, for example, or the tsetse fly.

Freshwater fish in the lakes of the continent number three thousand species. There are more than two thousand marine fish in the Indian Ocean alone. coastal waters. Among amphibians, the giant goliath frog is especially famous.

African reptiles

Reptiles, with which Africa is especially rich - the natural zones of the continent, one might say, are teeming with a variety of their species - have settled almost everywhere. These are pelomedusae and land turtles, as well as belt-tailed lizards, skinks, agamas, monitor lizards different types... And the largest number of chameleons live in Madagascar.

There are many dozens of species of snakes, among which the most dangerous for travelers are mambas, cobras, and African most poisonous vipers, huge pythons. Crocodiles in Africa are also very real and extremely dangerous - there are three species: African blunt-snouted, African narrow-snouted and Nile.

Reptiles have settled everywhere, as geography allows - the natural zones of Africa, differing in climate, we repeat, are suitable for reptiles to live almost everywhere.

Birds and mammals

More than two and a half thousand species of birds are considered to live in Africa, many of which are threatened with extinction. Typical for the continent: secretary bird, sunbirds, African ostriches.

There are especially many species of parrots, the most famous being, for example, the African Gray. The most interesting birds- marabou storks, guinea fowl, turacos, hornbills, there are even penguins. A huge number of passerines - up to one and a half thousand species.

There is also a great variety of mammals in Africa - more than a thousand names. The East African Plateau is especially distinguished by the number of animals. Where the African climate changes, natural areas are characterized by the distribution of certain species of mammals. Tropical forests are inhabited by exotic species: civets, needle-tailed flying squirrels, brush-eared pigs, pygmy hippopotamuses, many species of antelope, okapi, duikers, bongos. There are only four species of apes. And in Madagascar, charming lemurs and bats have taken root.

African megafauna is the most widely represented. There are no places in the world where such large animals as elephants, lions, hippopotamuses, giraffes, cheetahs and leopards, black and white rhinoceroses have been preserved since prehistoric times... It is very possible to list which animals of the Mediterranean natural zone of Africa exist to this day. for a long time. These include antelopes, buffalos, zebras, hyenas, porcupines, and warthogs. And probably only specialists know all rodents - lagomorphs and meerkats.

Savannah

The climate of Africa and natural zones are also clearly divided. Humidity south and north of the equator equatorial forests quickly decreases, they become poorer in composition, and patches of savannas are introduced into the continuous forest. The jungle is first thinned out, then generally remains only within the boundaries of river valleys. Instead of evergreen tree species, deciduous trees appear.

African savannas occupy about forty percent of the total area. Of course, they differ sharply from the forests of the equator. You can immediately see what natural zones are in Africa and how they are divided. The length of the rainy season greatly affects the appearance of the area - soils and vegetation change.

Near the equatorial forests, the rainy season lasts seven to nine months, so red or ferrallitic soils are formed, and the grass grows up to three meters high. Further to the north and south, where it's raining less than six months, soils are red-brown, grasses are lower. But baobabs and umbrella-shaped acacias appear.

Closer to the border with the semi-desert, humidity decreases significantly, since the rainy season lasts only two to three months a year. Here the savannas are deserted, thorny bushes and grasses grow: milkweed and tree-like plants.

Sahara Desert

The natural desert zone of Africa also occupies a significant area in both the northern and southern parts of the continent. The largest desert is the Sahara, five thousand kilometers from east to west and two thousand kilometers from north to south. It crosses the continent from the Red Sea to the Atlantic Ocean.

In fact, there is a group of deserts there, some very large, for example, Libyan and Arabian. In the north of the country Sudan is Nubian. In Algeria, the desert is called the Great Western and Great Eastern Ergi.

The highest temperature here is globe- +59 in the shade. The most interesting thing is that the city of Tripoli is located on this territory. Here is the largest area in the world occupied sandy deserts, - six hundred thousand square kilometers. It is in these places that the least amount of precipitation on Earth occurs - in a number of areas it never falls at all. And in Western Sahara, temperature differences between day and night exceed thirty degrees.

Islands of life

Only in the oases of the Sahara is life beautiful: the vegetation is rich, the animal world is diverse. However, many animals have adapted to the climate of the desert itself: oryx, addax, and gazelle antelopes run great distances in search of water. The Sahara's rodents are numerous: hamsters, mice, jerboas, and squirrels. Therefore, there are also predators: hyenas, jackals, cheetahs, foxes. There are many birds - both migratory and permanently living in the desert. And of course, an abundance of reptiles: turtles, snakes, lizards.

Kalahari and Namib

South of the equator, two other famous deserts are the Kalahari and Namib. The coastal Namib is large - one and a half thousand kilometers long - cool and very harsh. The vegetation, however, is varied: milkweed, crassula, endemic species. The Welwitschia plant is generally unique and grows only here - it has a short and thick stem, from which three-meter-long leaves spread along the ground.

The Kalahari is considered one of the hottest deserts in the world. In South Africa it is the largest - it spreads across South Africa, Namibia, and Botswana. The most important thing is that it grows constantly and inevitably, moving forward in space: the desert has already come to Angola, Zambia and Zimbabwe, although this kingdom of sand already occupies about six hundred thousand square kilometers.

The desert landscapes of the Kalahari are varied and magnificent. The sand is colored by nature in all shades of red - from pale pink to almost brown. The iron oxides contained in the sand have tried their best here, but it seems that this merciless sun has scorched the earth red. And I can’t even believe that Africa, whose natural zones are distinguished by such sharp contrasts, grew multi-tiered tropical forests not too far to the north.

Everyone remembers the map of the natural zones of Africa from a school geography course: the correct horizontal stripes defining the boundaries climatic zones, almost symmetrical relative to the equator. The correct zonation is slightly disrupted only in the highland areas, of which there are few on the African continent.

Rainforests

Variably and constantly humid tropical forests are located in the equatorial part of the continent. The red phosphate soils of this part of Africa are quite poor, but the proximity of the equator and year-round hot and humid weather support lush, rich jungle vegetation in the Congo Basin and on the Atlantic coast off the Gulf of Guinea. The equatorial forests of Africa in the north and south of this range become deciduous and deciduous-evergreen, mixed forests. Here, some or all of the trees lose leaves during the dry season (3-4 months) and grow back during the rainy season. Tropical palm forests occupy the territory of Madagascar and the adjacent East Coast.

Savannah

The savannah zone surrounds the forests of Central Africa. In the north it occupies Sudan and the surrounding states, in the south it extends to the southern tropic, throughout the southern and east Africa. Savannah is heterogeneous: with distance from tropical forests, it changes from tall grass to first typical and then desertified.

In the tall-grass savanna, up to 1200 mm of precipitation falls annually; the rainless season lasts no more than 4 months. Here the soils of Africa are covered with thick and tall grass. Elephant grass, growing in high savannas, can reach 5 m in height. IN river valleys and along the watershed lines there are groves and large mixed or evergreen forests.

The dry season in a typical savannah area lasts on average six months or more. Rainfall amounts to 800 mm per year. The spaces are covered with grass, which can either burn out completely or grow up to 1 m in height. Dry savannas are characterized by isolated trees: various types acacias and baobabs, as well as palms and tree spurge in the south and east of the continent.

The desert savannah zone, with scanty annual precipitation (up to 500 mm) and a long dry period (9 months), is still overgrown with cereals and thorny bushes.

Deserts occupy a huge part North Africa. The largest desert in the world, the Sahara, is located there. There is extremely rare hard-leaved vegetation adapted to dry conditions. In the north of the Sahara there are cereals and shrubs, and in the south there are only bushes. Vegetation can be found in the beds of periodically drying rivers - oueds. For the economy of North Africa, the most important desert plant is the date palm. They are bred in oases.

In the deserts of South Africa: the Karoo and Namib, and the poor African soils, many succulents grow: aloe, milkweed, and acacia bushes. For southern deserts semi-deserts begin, overgrown with succulents, tuberous and bulbous plants. Deciduous-coniferous forests and forests of hard-leaved trees such as cork oak are also common there.

In the northern part of the African continent, deserts turn into subtropics, semi-deserts, overgrown with cereals (feather grass) and shrubs.

Resources of the African continent

Once upon a time, almost the entire space of African savannas was occupied by forests and woodlands. This large number steppes on the continent are the result of centuries of deforestation and burning of the equatorial forests of Africa and livestock grazing. Despite this, the plant and animal resources of all natural zones of Africa are diverse, large and unique. IN central regions More than 40 species of trees grow on the continent, producing valuable wood (ebony, mahogany). Palm trees, date and oil palms, provide quality food products, which are exported, as well as coffee, whose homeland is the Ethiopian Highlands. Cereals endemic to Africa: millet, sorghum, sesame, arouz, castor beans, etc., have become part of world cuisine and culture. New agricultural crops that have acclimatized to the mainland include: cocoa, hevea, peanuts, cassava, and cotton.

African fauna resources are no less rich: ivory and animal skins are widely known. What is less known is that attempts are being made to agriculturally breed ungulates for meat: antelopes, hippopotamuses, zebras, etc. Breeding European livestock breeds on the African continent is difficult due to the high mortality rate from tsetse fly bites. In the twentieth century, the number of endemic African animals of many species declined sharply due to their uncontrolled shooting. Only in the second half of the century did the situation begin to improve thanks to a network of national parks created throughout the continent, in all natural areas of Africa. Many populations are now being restored and maintained.

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The equator line passes through the center of the African continent, and thus symmetrically divides it into different natural zones. Zones of equatorial forests give way to savannas, savannas turn into semi-deserts, semi-deserts into deserts.

The number of reservoirs, the level of precipitation, and also the formation of natural zones are of great importance. economic activity person.

Zone of equatorial forests and savannas

Evergreen forests occupy the area from the Congo River to the coast of the Gulf of Guinea. The climate in this area is very hot and humid. Unlike the equatorial forests of South America, trees with less thick bark grow in Africa; palm trees are rarely found among them.

In the equatorial forests of Africa grow unique species trees whose wood is considered the most expensive in the world - ebony and mahogany. On east coast Tropical rainforests grow in Africa and in the east of the island of Madagascar.

Woodlands equatorial Africa framed by savannas. The level of savanna vegetation directly depends on the level of precipitation falling in the region.

Thus, during rainy periods, cereal plants are found here, the height of which reaches 5 m. During periods of prolonged drought, the territory of the savanna is covered with dry plants and shrubs. Baobabs, acacias and milkweeds are very common in savannas.

Deserts and semi-deserts

In northern Africa, deserts occupy large area territories. It is here that the largest desert in the world is located - the Sahara. Vegetation in the Sahara is poorly developed: here there are plants that have well-developed mechanical tissue and are highly drought-resistant.

Cereal plants are found in the Southern Sahara; shrubs are common in the north of the desert. Date and coconut palms grow in the oases of the Sahara Desert. There are two deserts in South Africa: the Karoo and the Namib.

Succulent plants are common here, mainly aloe and euphorbia, as well as acacia shrubs. On the outskirts of African deserts there are semi-deserts that were formed as a result mass felling forests in savannas. Tuberous and bulbous plants, as well as feather grass, are typical for semi-deserts.

Fauna Resources

Breeding European animal breeds in Africa is almost impossible. This is explained by the fact that European species can't stand it climatic conditions of this continent. Animals such as hippopotamuses, giraffes, elephants and antelopes are common throughout Africa.

These animals are not picky about conditions. environment, can withstand high temperatures and lack of water resources do not suffer from poisonous bites insects, in particular the Tsetse fly, which lives in equatorial and subequatorial Africa.

1 slide . Today we will continue our acquaintance with unique nature African continent. We will learn about those amazing plants and animals that are common in various natural areas of Africa. Let's learn to characterize natural areas.

Open your notebooks and write down the date and topic of the lesson.

2. slide. Task 1: What is a natural area?

What determines the formation of natural areas?

What is the law of latitudinal zoning?

3 slide. Task 2: using the atlas p.-25, list the natural zones of Africa. What are the features of their location on the mainland? From the 6th grade course, remember and name the main features of the zones of equatorial forests, savannas and tropical deserts.

So, depending on climatic features territory on it there is a distinctive flora and fauna. In order to highlight the features of each natural zone, we will fill out a table during the lesson.

4 slide. Write down its name and prepare a table in your notebook.

Table 1.

Characteristics of natural areas of Africa

Natural area	FGP	Climate. belt	soil	vegetation	Animal world
hylea
savannah
desert
Hard-leaved evergreen forests and shrubs

Task 3: Using the atlas p.-25, 13,12, fill in columns No. 1-3.

Task 4: Fill in the columns “flora and fauna” as the teacher explains, based on the presentation materials.

5 slide. Africa's equatorial forests (hylea, meaning forest in Greek) straddle the equator in the Congo Basin and along the Gulf of Guinea north of the equator. This natural area is characterized by high temperatures and humidity throughout the year. Due to the intense stuffiness, it was extremely difficult for Europeans who first arrived here to tolerate this climate. The first impression of the equatorial forest is chaos.

6 slide. An almost impenetrable wall of trees, bushes, grasses, bamboo, intertwined with vines. The variety of species is amazing. Alone tree species about 1000. These forests are characterized by multi-tiered forests.

Slide 7 The upper tier is formed by the most light-loving and tall ficuses, palm trees, trees with stilted roots that resemble the legs of spiders and serve to support these giants,

The vast majority of animals, due to the difficulty of moving on land, lead wood image life. These are birds, rodents, insects, monkeys.

10 slide. However, there are record holders here. This is a goliath frog - the largest frog in the world, its length is 35 cm, its weight is 3.5 kg. Achatina is the largest snail, its length reaches 38 cm, weight 900 grams.

11 slide. Terrestrial inhabitants include cyst-eared pigs, small ungulates, the rarest pygmy hippopotamus on Earth (up to 80 cm in height), and relatives of the giraffe - okapi, which live only in Africa. Large predator- leopard. In remote, inaccessible places, the largest apes - gorillas - have been preserved, which are also not found anywhere else.

12 slide . Snakes, lizards, termites. Ants are common in all tiers, incl. nomadic ants, moving in long columns and destroying all living things in their path. The real scourge of Africa is the small tsetse fly, which is a carrier of a dangerous disease that causes death in livestock and sleeping sickness in humans. Equatorial rainforests occupy a small portion of the Earth's surface, but they play a special role. These “green lungs” of the Earth produce about a third of the oxygen contained in the atmosphere. Their destruction will cause irreversible environmental consequences. In addition, the forest plays an important role as a guardian of soils that prevent the onset of deserts. Destroy the vegetation cover - the seasonal rainy cycle will be disrupted, rivers will become shallow, and erosion will eat away at the land. Meanwhile, today the destruction of equatorial forests has reached alarming proportions. Every year, 11 million hectares of jungle are destroyed around the world - an area equal to four Belgium. For example, in the Republic of the Congo, forests have survived on only 60% of the area. The state controls the harvesting and export of timber, the forest is restored, and eucalyptus trees are planted. In the state of Central Africa (Zaire, Congo, Gabon, Cameroon) new national parks are being created to preserve equatorial forests

13 slide.

Slide 14 The largest area on the mainland is occupied by savannas. The name "Savannah" comes from the Spanish "sabana" which means wild primeval plain. By appearance- This is a tall grass steppe with rare trees. The savannah zone, like a giant horseshoe, goes around the African rain forest and occupies about 40% of the area.

Characteristic feature flora savannas are

small groups of trees and shrubs scattered throughout or alone standing trees against a background of dense grass cover, consisting mainly of large grasses.

Slide 15 Among plants, xerophytes predominate, i.e. plants of dry habitats. Characteristic of the so-called elephant grass, reaching a height of 2-3 m, which is the favorite food of elephants.

16 slide. Among the trees, of course, it is necessary to mention baobabs, the diameter of the trunk, which can reach 10 m. Their height is 25 m, the trunk is very thick, the girth is 45 m, the tops of such a trunk are crowned with large branches spread out in all directions, forming a crown up to 50 m in diameter. African peoples have such a legend. The Creator, having created this tree, planted it in wet soil by the river. The baobab began to complain about dampness. Then the Creator transplanted him to the mountainside, but even here he was uncomfortable. Angry, the Creator tore it out of the ground and threw it, it fell onto the dry soil of the savannas, and since then it has been growing upside down. Baobabs live up to 5000 years. TO dry season accumulate moisture up to 120 liters. Its wood is soft, porous, and is often attacked by fungi and pests, which is how hollows are formed. Hollows were found that could accommodate 30 people at once. Since there is not enough moisture in the shroud, this tree has thick, powerful roots that go tens of meters deep, covering a huge space. Everything is strange about this tree. Flowers appear on trees without leaves. Ball-buds hang from the branches on long stalks, which open in the evening or at night, and large white flowers with a pleasant smell appear. They are pollinated bats. By morning the flowers have already faded. Baobab fruits are a favorite delicacy of monkeys. Baobab feeds and waters. Dresses people. Its leaves are boiled and eaten as vegetables, its fruits are edible, and a drink similar to lemonade is prepared from them. That's why it is also called the lemonade tree. Extraordinarily strong fibers are obtained from the bark, from which fishing nets, bags, paper, and clothing are made. Hollow trunks are used as storage rooms and homes, and at one time as prisons. Trying to reach the leaves, elephants sometimes knock down these giants. Then they eat not only the leaves, but also the wood. These trees are unusually tenacious. Fallen baobabs quickly put down new roots and restore wood. Even if they make a home in a tree, it still blooms and bears fruit. It dies differently than other trees, it gradually settles and seems to crumble, leaving behind a pile of fiber and rough bark.

Slide 17 . Also found are the doum palm, oil palm, and acacia trees with a characteristic umbrella-shaped crown. On the border with semi-deserts, where wet season lasts only 2-3 months a year, dry thorny bushes and sparse tough grasses are common. There are euphorbias - tree-like plants with fleshy stems and branches, devoid of leaves and covered with thorns. Which, adapting to a dry climate, accumulate a supply of moisture in them. During the rainy season, the shroud blooms.

18 slide. Nowhere in the world is there such a large concentration of large animals as in African savannah. These are a variety of antelopes, striped zebras, giraffes.

Giraffes are the tallest animals on the savannah. Adults can reach a height of up to 6 meters and weigh a ton, and the cubs are born 2 meters tall. Neck length 3 meters, tiny head with two horns covered in skin and exorbitant big ears. Its bright color helps it camouflage in the shade of trees. A giraffe runs at a speed of 60 km/h. They feed on leaves from the tops of trees; they feed in the morning and in the afternoon, when the heat subsides. The giraffe has sensitive hearing and sharp eyesight. They for a long time were considered dumb. But scientists have discovered that they have well-developed vocal cords: They communicate using bleats and grunts. There is a misconception that giraffes do not sleep. In reality, they doze while standing up, sometimes they sleep with their heads actually resting on their backs, but they sleep for a very short time - about 5 minutes. Poachers hunt giraffes for their strong skin and delicious meat. The spotted skin gave rise to incredible legends; the ancient Egyptians considered giraffes to be descendants of camels and leopards.

Slide 19 The largest land animals are also found in the savannah - elephants (weighing up to 4.5 tons), buffalos, rhinoceroses, which are almost exterminated by humans. Along the banks of rivers and lakes there are hippopotamuses (weight up to 3 tons). This diversity is associated with the abundance of food.

20 slide . Herbivores are accompanied by predators - cheetahs, leopards, lions, jackals, hyenas, and crocodiles in rivers.

21 slides . Savannah is rich in birds. Here is the smallest - the sunbird - and the largest bird on Earth - African ostrich, the marabou bird is found only in Africa. Among the birds of prey, the secretary bird stands out for its appearance and habits. She hunts for small rodents and snakes, and when she catches them, she tramples them under her feet.

22 slide . Since ancient times, flamingos have been considered a fairytale bird. Pink flamingo It is distinguished by its color the color of the morning dawn. There are few spectacles in nature as breathtaking as the simultaneous flight of half a million flamingos. These birds feed in shallow water by arching their necks so that their bills become upside down. The edges of the beak are equipped with small horny plates and denticles, with the help of which flamingos filter tiny remains of plants, small frogs and other animals from the water. To be satisfied, a bird must eat a quarter of its body weight. It is due to the substances contained in the food that the bird acquires its color; if there is not enough of them, the bird becomes lighter, and when there is none at all, it becomes dirty white. How long these birds live in the wild is unknown, but in captivity their life expectancy reaches 30 years. It is also striking that these birds have lived on Earth for several million years; their remains are known to be 30 million years old. Scientists claim that flamingos also saw dinosaurs. There are extremely many termites in the savannah. During the dry season, large animals and birds migrate to wetter places, invertebrates and amphibians hibernate or take refuge in shelters.

23 slide. Tropical deserts occupy a huge area on the mainland. Undoubtedly, largest area occupies the Sahara.

24 slide . It is also called the “Great Desert” because its area is 7 million km². The Sahara is often called the sea. This name is due to ergs - huge spaces occupied by sand dunes that stretch like waves in the ocean. But at the same time, dunes make up only 1/5 of the desert; most of the Sahara is rocky desert. Over 70% is covered with large fragments of so-called stones. hamada, with finer crushed stone - serir. Driving across the Sahara in a car is extremely difficult not only for humans, but also for equipment. That is why the famous Paris-Dakkar rally is held here. Due to trade wind currents and topography, the air here is unusually dry. The annual precipitation amount is almost everywhere less than 100 mm. Clouds are rare, so sun rays heat up earth's surface. There is no place on earth where it does not rain at all. However, in the interior regions of the desert there are areas where rain must be waited for several years or decades, and even then the rain is only at altitude and not a drop of rain falls on the soil. Judging by the average annual temperature, the Sahara can be considered the hottest region of the planet. In Libya, temperatures of +58 are recorded. Due to the strong heating of the soil, delimited layers of air are formed at the joints, which cause mirages. The sun regulates the life of the Sahara. Temperature fluctuations may exceed 30°. In December - February, frosts are common, and in elevated areas the temperature drops to -18°. Large fluctuations in T°C cause severe physical weathering. Explosions are often heard in the Sahara, reminiscent of the roar of a distant cannonade. This rocks crack and collapse, turning into a pile of stones and rubble. Of all atmospheric phenomena Dust storms are the most difficult for humans. The desert air is hard to bear, even if it is transparent, and if it carries dust particles, then it is simply unbearable. The Sahara is the most powerful source of dust on the planet. Dust and sand storms are like fires that quickly engulf everything around, clouds of smoke from which rise high into the sky. Storms in the Sahara reach extraordinary strengths of up to 50 m/s or more. In the desert, out of 100 days, only 6 are calm. The dry hot wind that comes from the center of the desert to the north and destroys the entire crop in a few hours is well known. Everywhere it is called differently: sirocco, samum, khamsin, etc. Wind could carry dust from the Sahara to Central Europe. The scope of the desert reaches 2 thousand km. Where there is calm in the Sahara and the air is filled with dust, dry fog appears. In this case, the Sun is high in the sky and does not cast a shadow. Sometimes visibility is completely lost. One day, usually shy gazelles walked calmly in the thick fog between camels and people. The vegetation is very sparse, in some places there is none at all. Here and there isolated tufts of grasses and thorny bushes grow. Only in oases does rich vegetation develop. Animals have adapted to extreme climates: antelopes travel long distances without water or food, lizards, locusts, snakes, beetles, scorpions, hyenas, jackals, foxes.

25 slide. The Tubu live in the heart of the Sahara Desert on the waterless high mountain plateau of Tibesti, where there is not even sand, as it is carried away by the hot desert wind. Scientists believe that Tubu are the oldest inhabitants of Africa. Scientists were interested in what tubas eat and where they have such fantastic endurance, because in a day they can cover 90 km of a path across a bare rocky desert.
The Tubu people live a very long time, retain all their teeth until old age, and infant mortality, compared to other African peoples, is very low. The diet of the entire tribe does not change throughout the year and consists of thick tea infused with desert herbs, a few dates for lunch, a handful of millet soaked in palm oil, and crushed roots for dinner. One day part of the tribe went to long journey, medical scientists went with them in a jeep. From fatigue, the scientists could no longer hold the steering wheel, but the tuba tirelessly moved forward. After 40 km of travel, their heart rhythm remained almost unchanged.
Tuba meat is not eaten. How do they manage without animal proteins? This is still a mystery to scientists. Experiments and microscopes will help solve another problem in the Sahara Desert.

26 slide. IN south africa, along Atlantic coast Because of the cold Benguela Current, the Namib Desert stretches for 2000 km, most of which is formed by high dunes, sometimes up to 300 meters. The surface of the desert is dotted with the beds of drying up rivers. The most amazing plant here is a Welwitschia succulent. The short trunk rises above the Earth only 50 cm. Two dense leathery leaves extend from its top, reaching up to 3 meters in length. The leaves grow continuously, dying off at the ends. With the help of leaves, the plant collects moisture during frequent fogs. Dew and fog are the only source of moisture here. The age of the plant can reach 150 years. Featured on Namibian postage stamps. Rock-shaped flowering annuals are also common. The shrub is a salt bush that looks like barbed wire. Its pods, which ripen every 10 years, taste like melon. Local residents bake cakes from their pulp. The monotonous landscape changes after the rains, when short period The Namib is covered with a carpet of flowering plants.

Slide 27 Namib is the only place on Earth where seals live near the tropics, spectacled penguins, many birds (cormorants, pelicans, flamingos, etc.), the further from the coast, the more snakes. Turtles, arthropods. Huge spiders Cerballus even prey on small birds. Darkling beetles, thanks to special hairs on their paws, can glide across the sand like skis.

28 slide. The main source of livelihood in African oases is the date palm. She gives shade, food, building material. Until now, dates replace money among desert residents. One tree produces up to 40 kg of fruit and bears fruit for more than 100 years. Baskets and mats are woven from palm leaves, and ropes and ropes are made from fiber. The wood is used for construction. Date honey is made from the fruits of juicy varieties. Dates are a staple food and have earned the name “bread of the desert.”

Slide 29 . The extreme south and north of the continent occupies subtropical zone, which contains a natural zone of hard-leaved evergreen forests and shrubs, with characteristic flora and fauna.

30 slide. Task 1: Which natural areas are typical for:

A) baobab, antelope, doum palm, marabou, cheetah

B) oil palm, yellow tree, ficus, okapi

C) spurge, aloe, turtle, hyena, jackal

31 slides. Task 2 : Identify the natural area based on the description.

“The color of the African seasons is the same all year round - green. Only in one period green clean, bright, and in another - faded, as if faded... In the dry season, the earth turns into stone, the grass into sponge, the trees crack from lack of sap. And the very first rain brings nature back to life. Having greedily drunk water, the earth swells with moisture and generously gives it to trees, herbs, and flowers. They drink and drink and cannot get drunk... almost every day the rain either lashes with a powerful stream or sprinkles with fine water dust. The air temperature drops, and local residents shrug their shoulders chillily and complain: “It’s cold!” When the thermometer shows 18-20 degrees, some Africans believe that “frost” has arrived. They put on all the clothes they have, tie scarves around their heads, light fires in the streets, just to stop the trembling.” (L. Pochivalov)

32 slide. Task 3: Explain the reason for the low soil fertility of equatorial forests.

Task 4: on the diagram, use arrows to show the connections in the natural desert complex.

Dry tropical soil practically

No climate

Vegetation cover many reptiles

sparse

Task 5: In what areas do you think the most national parks and reserves will be created and why?

Grading

33 slide. 1.§ 28, notes in notebooks

2. (optional) Mini-essay “travel to Africa” or a report on national parks Africa (Serengeti, Ngorongoro, Mount Kenya, Rwenzori, etc.)