Africa: Atlas of Our Changing Environment Page: 31
xviii, 374 p. : col. ill., col. mapsView a full description of this text.
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Crater Highlands, United Republic of Tanzania
Plate tectonics, volcanism, landslides, erosion and deposition-and
their interactions-are all very evident in this computer-generated
view of the Crater Highlands, along the East African Rift (based
on satellite and other data). The lower elevations are shown as
green while higher elevations appear as brown; snow-capped peaks
are white. These Crater Highlands rise far above the adjacent
savannahs, capture moisture from passing air masses, and are home
to dense rain forests.
The East African Rift is a zone of spreading, or rifting, between
the African tectonic plate (on the west) and Somali tectonic plate
(on the east). Two branches of the Rift intersect in the United
Republic of Tanzania, resulting in distinctive and prominent
landforms. One rift runs from southwest to northeast (top to
bottom in this southwest facing view). The other rift, running
southeast to northwest, corresponds to the band of low elevation
crossing the bottom of the image (green). Volcanoes are often
associated with spreading rift zones where magma, rising to fill
gaps between moving plates, reaches the surface, erupts, and builds
cones. Craters form when part of a volcano explodes. Calderas,
such as Ngorongoro Crater, are a type of crater that forms when a
volcano collapses into itself. Source: NASA 20004
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n1Global Sea
Surface Temperature
In this May 2001 image, red and yellow indicate
warmer ocean waters, blue and purple represent
colder waters, and green represents water of an
intermediate temperature. Sea surface temperature
images such as these are useful in studies of global
temperature anomalies, and of how air-sea-ocean
interactions drive changes in weather and climate
patterns. Note the warm tongue of water extending
south from Africa's east coast to well below the Cape
of Good Hope. Source: NASA 2001b
Sea Surface Temperature (C)
-2 35Botswana Salt Pans
The Makgadikgadi Pans complex is situated in the northeastern
part of Botswana, southeast of the Okavango Delta. Covering over
12 000 km2, it is one of the largest saltpan complexes in the world.
The Makgadikgadi Pans are in a geographic depression (the
Kalahari (Kgalagadi Basin) that once held an enormous lake that
spanned most of what is now northern Botswana. The formation
of various faults at the southern end of the East African Rift Valley
diverted the flow of rivers away from the ancient lake, causing it
to slowly dry up. This drying process concentrated salts in the lake
bed, eventually leaving flat, salt-saturated clay-pan expanses: the
Makgadikgadi Pans complex. The harsh conditions in and around
the Makgadikgadi Pans are unsuitable for most animals. The only
fauna to permanently inhabit the pans are highly specialized
invertebrates. These invertebrates, mainly crustaceans, are
adapted to withstand the long dry periods and to reproduce very
quickly after a rain. After heavy rains the pans are transformed
into a vibrant paradise, attracting thousands of waterbirds that
come to feed and breed. The most spectacular visitors are greater
and lesser flamingos (Phoenicopterus ruber and Phoeniconaias minor,
respectively) that flock to the pans by the thousands. The greater
flamingos feed on the newly hatched crustaceans while their
smaller relatives feast on the blue-green algae (cyanobacteria)
that also thrive in the salt pans.
Source WWF 2001: NASA 2007ei ~
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United Nations Environment Programme. Africa: Atlas of Our Changing Environment, text, 2008; Nairobi, Kenya. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc28500/m1/50/: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; .