Materials Refrenced

"Africa." WorldAtlas.com. 1 Jan. 20 Nov. 2008 http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/af.htm.

"Egypt, Secrets of an Ancient World." National Geographic. 1 Jan. http://www.nationalgeographic.com/pyramids/pyramids.html.

"Nairobi National Park-The world's only wildlife capital." Kenya Wildlife Service. 1 6 Dec. 2008 http://www.kws.org/nairobi.html.

Nix, Steve. African Rainforest. 5 Jan. 7 Dec. 2008 http://forestry.about.com/cs/rainforest/i/african_rforest.htm.

"The Nile River." 2 Mar. 2005. 6 Dec. 2008 http://www.mbarron.net/Nile/fctfl_nf.html.

"The Sahara Desert." The Living Africa. 28 Apr. 2006. 6 Dec. 2008 http://library.thinkquest.org/16645/the_land/sahara_desert.shtml.

"Victoria Falls." SA Places. 1 6 Dec. 2008 .

Nairobi National Park

One of the most famous National Parks is Nairobi National Park. It is unique because it is the only protected area in the world with a variety of animals close to a capital city. We couldn't miss this crucial stop on our field trip.

Nairobi National Park is 117 km squared and has a diversity of environments with open grass plains and dry forests. There is also a permanent river that has been dammed up to provide a favorable habitat to many animals and plant life.

The 117 km2 Nairobi National Park is unique by being the only protected area in the world with a variety of animals and birds close to a capital city. As expected, the park is a principal attraction for visitors to Nairobi.

This park is famous for its 400 different species of birds and its black rhino sanctuaries.

Great places to observe this park are listed below (3)

• Impala Observation Tower
  
• Ivory Burning Site
  
• King Fisher Gorge
• Leopard Cliffs
• Mokoiyet
• Hippo Pool

Victoria Falls

Alright class, here we landed at Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. The Victoria falls is 1,708 meters wide and is the largest curtain of water in the world. An amazing 550,000 cubic meters of water plummet over the edge every minute (source 7).

National ParksOpen to visitors throughout the year, the Victoria Falls National Park in north-western Zimbabwe protects the south and east bank of the Zambezi River. It covers 23.4 km² from the larger Zambezi National Park about 6 km above the falls to about 12 km below the falls. (source 7)

The Nile River

Here we are at our next stop, The Nile River...

The Nile gets its name from the Greek word "Nelios", meaning River Valley.

The Nile is the worlds longest river. It originates in the highlands near Lake Tanganyika. It then flows northward to the Mediterranean Sea.

The Nile serves as a constant water source which is important for farming, fishing, tourism and transportation.
Here a farmer pumps the water onto his crops.

Everyday millions of people commute on the River Nile. Here are some of the things that happen everyday on the Nile.

Tourism: Everyday there are numerous luxury cruisers, and traditional Egyptian sailing boats travelling up and down the Nile. These boats will drop you off at tourist attractions, so you can look at them, (but remember to get back onboard the boat in time or the boat will leave without you).

Farming: There are hundreds of farms along the Nile, and usually farmers use boats to transport items (such as rice, wheat, cattle, and hay) between locations on the Nile.

Fishing: Almost everyone who lives on the Nile would have done some fishing at one time in their life or another, and for some fishing is a main source of income and wealth. Each year thousands of tonnes of fish are caught. (source 5)

Rainforest

I'm so happy we were able to visit the African rainforest. One day you may not be able to. The rainforest in Africa is disapearing at an alarming rate. The forest is being cut down to make room for agriculture and grazing lands.

The tropical environment is rich by means of bio-diversity and variety of life that lives there. Tropical African forest is 18 per cent of the world total and covers over 3.6 million square kilometers of land in West, East and Central Africa. (source 4)

The African rainforest is home to many species of plants and animals that only live here. The rainforest is also repsonsible for much of the air we breath. The tree's produce oxygen that we humans need to survive.

Sahara Desert

Our first stop is the Sahara Desert...

The Sahara Desert takes up much of northern Africa. It is large and vast. The Desert is made of sand dunes, plateaus, mountains, and sand seas.

The climate of the Sahara has remained consistent for the last 2,000 years. "The Sahara's climate consists of basically two sub-climates, a dry subtropical climate in the north and a dry tropical climate in the south" (6). The northern part of the desert has dry winters and dry, hot, summers just ahead of the rainy season. The southern part of the desert is much more unpredictable with colder winters, hot summers and two rainy seasons.

Because the Sahara Desert is a desert, there is sparse vegetation. The vegetation here must be able to adapt to unreliable precipitation and excessive heat(6). You may be able to find grasses and shrubs on the floor of the desert, but as you move towards the highlands you can find species of cypress and olive trees. "The most common types of grasses found on the plains include Eragorotis, Panicum, and Aristida"(6).
Aristida --------->


A few of the native animals include the sand fox, desert hedgehog, jackal, ostriches, and gazelles. The desert is home to "numerous types of reptiles - including frogs, toads, and crocodiles - found in lakes and pools of water, while lizards, chameleons, and cobras are found in the rocks and sand dunes"(6).
<--------Cobra


Careful! Don't get too close

Pyramids of Giza

Here we are at the Pyramids of Giza. To the left is the Great Pyramid.<------------------





The Pyramids of Giza were built on the Giza Plateau by Pharaoh Khufu and his workers.
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The Great Pyramid is the largest pyramid ever built. This pyramid is also important because it points almost exactly north, showing that the ancient Egyptians understood directions. The pyramid is 481 feet tall and was built with nearly 2.3 million stone blocks that each weigh 2.5 to 15 tons apiece.

The Pyramids of Giza are in Egypt. They lie in the Sahara Desert.