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AFRICAN PLATE: CENTRAL TO THE EARTH

African Plate: Central to the Earth

Agnes Bantaculo

Alfiah Jade Benero

Jason Aguilera

Elwin Paul Zabala

Pasay City West High School

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AFRICAN PLATE: CENTRAL TO THE EARTH
Unique Characteristics of African Plate

According to Steven Dutch, Africa was the center of Pangaea. South

America and India broke away from it surrounded on three sides by divergent
plate boundaries. Only on the North is Africa converging on the other plates.

The African plate is central to Earth, touching on most of the rest of

the major tectonic plates (African in Plate Boundaries, 2014). African plate is
straddling the equator as well as the prime meridian. Between 60 million
years ago and 10 million years ago, the Somali plate began rifting from the
African plate along the East African Rift (African_Plate, 2015).

Global Map

Figure 1. Shows the African plate together with the adjacent plates
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AFRICAN PLATE: CENTRAL TO THE EARTH

Latitude and Longitude of African Plate

Africa is located in all four hemispheres. Eastern, Northern,
Western, and Southern. Africas absolute location affects its climate (National
Geographic, 2006). The absolute location of Africa is approximately 38 N to
35S latitude and from 18 W to 52 E longitude (Strange, M., & Laratta,
R.,2008). See Figure 2.

Figure 2. Latitude and Longitude of African Plate

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AFRICAN PLATE: CENTRAL TO THE EARTH

Topographical Map of African Plate

Figure 3. The African continent is primarily an uplifted plateau

Close-Up View of African Plate

Figure 4. African Plate Boundary Types

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AFRICAN PLATE: CENTRAL TO THE EARTH
Different Landforms
Ethiopian Highlands:
The Ethiopian Highlands are a rugged mass of mountains in Ethiopia, Eritrea
(which is sometimes referred to as the Eritrean Highlands), and northern
Somalia in the Horn of Africa. The Ethiopian Highlands form the largest
continuous area of its altitude in the whole continent, with little of its surface
falling below 1500 m (4,921 ft), while the summits reach heights of up to
4550 m (14,928 ft). It is sometimes called the Roof of Africa for its height and
large area. (World Atlas, 2015).

Figure 5. Ethiopian Highlands

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AFRICAN PLATE: CENTRAL TO THE EARTH
Atlas Mountains:
This mountain system runs from southwestern Morocco along the
Mediterranean coastline to the eastern edge of Tunisia. Several smaller
ranges are included, namely the High Atlas, Middle Atlas and Maritime Atlas.
The highest peak is Mt. Toubkal in western Morocco at 13,671 ft. (World
Atlas,2015).

Figure 6. Atlas Mountain

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AFRICAN PLATE: CENTRAL TO THE EARTH
Great Rift Valley:
A dramatic depression on the earth's surface, approximately 4,000 miles
(6,400 km) in length, extends from the Red Sea area near Jordan in the
Middle East, south to the African country of Mozambique. In essence, it's a
series of geological faults caused by huge volcanic eruptions centuries back,
that subsequently created what we now call the Ethiopian Highlands, and a
series of perpendicular cliffs, mountain ridges, rugged valleys and very deep
lakes along its entire length. Many of Africa's highest mountains front the Rift
Valley, including Mount Kilimanjaro, Mount Kenya and Mount Margherita.
(World Atlas,2015)

Figure 7. Great Rift Valley

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AFRICAN PLATE: CENTRAL TO THE EARTH

References

African_Plate(2015). Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_Plate

Brown,B.J., Ph.D,& LeVasseur,M.L(2006).Physical Geography.Retrieved from

the website of National Geographic
www.nationalgeogrphic.cpm/geographyaction

Dutch,S.(2009,Dec 14). African Plate. Retrieved from

http://www.uwgb.edu/dutchs/GeolCol/AfricanPlate.htm

Strange,M., &Laratta,R., (2015, Jan 5) World Geography Book. Retrieved from

https://books.google.com.ph/books?
id=yeEqBgAAQBAJ&dq=absolute+location+of+africa&source=gbs_navlinks_
s

Image References

http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/afweather.gif

http://www.stpats.qld.edu.au/images/content/africa_3.jpg

http://www.proactiveinvestors.com/genera/img/companies/news/thumbs/afric
a_topographical_map_350_4e9eb39ab30bd.jpg

https://moroccomama.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/desert-march-10-156.jpg

http://www.uwgb.edu/dutchs/GeolCol/AfricanPlate.htm

http://ww2.volcanodiscovery.com/uploads/pics/african-drift.jpg

http://junglephotos.com/africa/afmaps/afscimaps.afelavation.jpg