Location – Size and Relief Regions of East Africa

Introduction

From your Primary school, you have always heard your teachers and other people say that our country, Uganda, is found in East Africa. Again, if you have ever travelled to places far away from your home area, you could have noted that the physical features in those places are somewhat different from those around your home. This is because although East Africa is one region, its relief is not uniform everywhere. In this chapter, you are going to learn about the position of East Africa on the African continent, the size of East Africa, the relief features of East Africa and how
they were formed.

What is East Africa?

Activity 7.1: Understanding East Africa
In groups, study the atlas and,
1. identify the countries making up East Africa and list them.
2. draw a sketch map to show the location of East Africa.
3. discuss and agree on what is meant by East Africa; then share your views and sketch map with other groups in a whole class discussion.

You have realised that different groups have identified different countries making up East Africa. Some have identified three countries while others have identified six countries. This comes about because of the way we
look at East Africa as a region.  Those who have identified three countries look at the traditional East Africa. Those who have identified six countries look at the East African Community. In studying Geography, you are going to take East Africa as Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania.

Location and Size of East Africa

Activity 7.2:
1. Describe the position of East Africa in relation to other countries and regions.
2. Describe the position of East Africa using latitude and longitude.
3. Draw a sketch map to show the location of East Africa.

Activity 7.3:
In pairs, search the Internet or any other source for figures (data) showing the size of East African countries.
1. Copy the information into your notebook and use it to draw a pie chart or bar graph.
2. Using the diagram you have drawn, determine the:
i) Largest country in East Africa,
ii) Smallest country in East Africa.
3. Estimate how many times the largest country is larger than the smallest one. Give a reason to support your estimate.
4. Share what you have written and the diagram you have drawn with other pairs in a whole class discussion.

Activity 7.4:
1. Individually, look for data about the population of the East African countries from any source you can come across.
2. Draw a pie chart to represent the data you have got.
3. Which country has the:
i) Largest population
ii) Smallest population

The Relief Regions of East Africa

In your home area or in the area around your school, there are several physical features, which may include mountains, hills, valleys, outcrop rocks and flat plains. All these can be used to describe the appearance of
the landscape in the area. These features are called relief features or landforms. Similar features are also found in other parts of Uganda and the rest of East Africa. A large area of land with almost similar relief features is called a relief region.

Activity 7.5
In groups, study Figure 7.1 and do the following tasks:
1. Copy the map in your notebook and on it name:
i) the countries.
ii) the different relief regions of East Africa.
iii) at least two mountains in each country.
2. Which relief region covers the largest part of East Africa?
3. Identify the relief region in which your home area is found.

In the above activity, you have found out that East Africa is divided into five major relief regions. Each region has certain characteristics which make it different from other regions. The largest part of Uganda is covered by the plateau region. The most important differences between regions lie in the appearance of the landscape and the height. These relief regions have an influence on the local weather and climate. This, in turn, determines the economic activities people in each region do and their ways of life in general. You are going to find out more about this influence in the following activity.

Activity 7.6
In groups:
1. Choose one or two relief features in the area around your school and conduct a field study of the feature/features.
2. Use a range of methods to collect information about the feature/features.
3. Explain how the feature/features may influence the weather conditions and climate of the area.
4. Explain how the relief features in the area influence the activities people carry out and the way they live.
5. Draw a sketch map to show the physical environment and human activities carried out in the area.

The area you have studied could have experienced some unusual natural events which have had negative effects on people’s lives, property and the environment. Such events are called hazards. Think of any hazard which has occurred in another part of your country or elsewhere in East Africa. To understand this better, study the pictures in Figure 7.2.

Activity 7.7
In the same groups you used in Activity 7.6:
1. Ask people living in the area about places which have experienced hazards in the past and the kind of hazards they were. Also identify places which may experience hazards and the kind of likely hazard for each. Mark both places on the sketch map you have drawn.
2. Ask the local people how much harm each hazard caused. Using that information, suggest how harmful the likely hazards might be.
3. Suggest steps that can be taken to prevent such hazards from taking place again.
4. Through discussion, share your findings with the rest of the class.

Chapter Summary
In this chapter, you have learnt that:
1. the features that can be used to describe the physical appearance of an area are called landforms.
2. a large area of the earth’s surface with almost similar landforms is called a relief region. A relief region may be hilly, mountainous, or almost flat.
3. the largest part of East Africa is covered by the plateau.
4. the economic activities that people carry out in any area and their ways of life are partly influenced by the relief.
5. some relief regions experience severe natural events which affect communities negatively. Such events are called natural hazards.