Tanzania's Physical Geography- Present and Future

In this blog, I've discussed Tanzania's interesting physical geography and focused a lot of attention on the spectacle known as Ngorongoro Crater. Tanzania's geography is very unique. One interesting aspect is the climate. The average temperature hardly changes in Tanzania, due to the warm Indian Ocean current sitting right next to it. Although, not many mass wasting events occur in Tanzania, floods and landslides can happen in this region. Of course, the occasional flood or landslide is equaled out by the nutrient rich soil that can be found in many parts of Tanzania. The soil is one of the reasons Tanzania is known for its' abundant flora and fauna. The dominant geographical figure in Tanzania is the Great Rift Valley which was created by a parallel fault line. Ngorongoro Crater was created by the Great Rift Valley and its where we found evidence of the first humans.

http://www.sweetmarias.com/coffee.africa.tanzania.php


10 Years From Today
Perhaps the first noticable change in Tanzania is going to be the changes in the soil. Soil degradation, deforestation, and other human caused problems along with natural problems such as droughts will cause the soil to change and become less nutrient rich. Unless change happens, lush forests and dense vegetation will be lost. A process called "desertification" is happening in certain parts of Tanzania already, these problems will continue and probably get worse considering the population continues to grow exponentially. Although the Great Rift Valley is on a moving fault line, in ten years, practically no noticeablle changes will occur as far as that goes, besides occasional flooding and landslides which all ready happen.

http://geology.com/articles/east-africa-rift.shtml

As you can see in the image above, The plates that are against each other to create this fault line is the Somalian Plate and the Nubian (African) plate.

100 years from today
Once again, the most noticable change will be the soil one hundred years from now. Unless, major changes happen, such as a major population decrease, much of Tanzania's rich soil will become less able to support as much life as it currently does. This change could also influence droughts and desertification even further. One hundered years from now, most geographers agree that the rift and fault line will spread further apart. One hundred years from now, we probably won't see much change, but the crust in this area (particularly Northern Tanzania) will thin.

http://geology.com/articles/east-africa-rift.shtml

In the image above, the East African Rift can be seen "tearing" into the African continent.

1000 years from now
It is difficult to know what will happen to Tanzania's soil one thousand years from now, but chances are the abundant soil we see today will all but vanish in place of less nutrient rich soil. As the rift continues to split, volcanic activty may occur along with even more floods and landslides. Flooding and landslides happen today in Tanzania, but more than likely in one thousand years, there will be even more. One could say that Tanzania is in for a "rough geographical ride" for the next thousand years.

Tanzania's climate and weather

Tanzania sits fairly close to the equator, so there are not huge differences in temperature that you will find in other areas of the globe. Yet another reason that the temperature doesn't change much is that part of Tanzania sits on the coast. Generally, there is less temperature range in maritime (coastal) climates (Allen, 2012). Of course, that also means that as you go further onto the continent, like where Ngorongoro crater is located, temperatures will change a little bit more. Even still, the temperature change is hardly drastic.

http://www.mydestination.com/tanzania/6168623/tanzania-weather-forecast

As you can see by the chart above, the average temperature of Tanzania hardly changes with even the biggest changes in temperature being just five degrees Celsius. The coldest month is July and the warmest month is November.

Another influence on Tanzania's weather is the warm current that the Indian Ocean has against the coast of Africa.

http://www.cruiserswiki.org/wiki/File:East_Africa_Currents.png

Tanzania is located right by the word "Southwest" in the map above. The warm current of the Indian Ocean also helps to create the little amount of temperature change found in Tanzania, and most of East Africa.

http://www.naturalhistoryonthenet.com/Continents/africa.htm

The map above shows the varying climates of the entire continent of Africa. This map shows that most of Tanzania's climate is that of the Savanna climate, along with a Steppe climate in the northern part of the country. Although some of the area is mountainous, particularly in the Western side of Tanzania, the mountains are not big enough, and the area is not large enough to call the climate anything but Savanna and Steppe, except the highest point in all of Africa: Mt. Kilimanjaro.

Tanzania has two wet seasons and two dry seasons. With one of the wet seasons lasting from mid March through May and the other wet season lasting from November through January(http://www.southtravels.com/africa/tanzania/weather.html).

The Mass Wasting and Soil of Tanzania

Although this region may not necessarily be known for it's mass wasting events there are several examples of landslides and floods throughout the region. In fact, recently in December of 2011, massive amounts of rain were blamed for landslides that happened across the region.

 http://www.who-eatlas.org/africa/countries/united-republic-of-tanzania/united-republic-of-tanzania-landslide-map.html
Pictured above is the threat assessment for lanslides in Tanzania. Orange is high risk, yellow is medium risk, light green is low risk and dark green is very low.

Floods also torment the people who live in this region on occasion as well.

In Tanzania, a road was destroyed by a flash flood.

The type of soil that Tanzania has as well as the steep slopes contribute to these mass wasting events. Although, the soil might become dangerous with enough rainfall, the soil also contributes to the massive amount of vegetation and animal life that can be found in this region. A large amount of vegetation and diversity can be found in and around Ngorongoro crater, which can partially be explaned by the soil. This topic is explored in detail by G.D. Anderson and D.J. Herlocker in The Journal of Ecology.  http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/2258640?uid=3739568&uid=2129&uid=2&uid=70&uid=4&uid=3739256&sid=55857977373 They say that "The species composition, height, cover and rooting depth of the grasslands reflect soil aeration and soil reaction". The article goes on to say that soil has more influence over the vegetation than humans or animals. "Though man and animals affect the vegetation by burning and grazing, the influence of soil is thought to be predominant." The soil of the crater is influenced by the ancient active volcanic activity.

                Soil is partially responsible for the lush variety of fauna found in Ngorongoro crater.

Ngorongoro Crater and the Surrounding Area

East Africa is home to many geographical wonders. One of the more interesting wonders is that of Ngorongoro (say that 5 times fast!) Crater and the surrounding area. Ngorongoro crater is a part of what is called The Great Rift Valley. "The Great Rift Valley is a geologic depression (rift) that extends from Syria in south western Asia to Mozambique in south eastern Africa. It takes the form of a series of valleys and bodies of water that are bounded by parallel fault lines. The Great Rift Valley is widening slowly but surely, in the process causing many volcanic eruptions and earthquakes in the area" (http://georgengondo.hubpages.com/hub/About-The-Great-Rift-Valley-in-Africa) Ngorongoro is a caldera type of volcano that was created millions upon millions of years ago. An interesting side note is that it is here that is called the "seat of humanity" as the first species with a human genus was discovered not far away at the Olduvai Gorge.

Image from: http://georgengondo.hubpages.com/hub/About-The-Great-Rift-Valley-in-Africa

 

Above is a map of the Great Rift Valley. Ngornogor Crater is located along the Western Rift Valley.

 

Ngorongoro crater was created becasue two to three million years ago, a giant volcano exploded and collapsed on itself.

 

 

Image from: http://travel.resourcesforattorneys.com/index.php?m=09&y=07

 

Above is an image of Ngorongoro crater as seen from above. It can easily be seen in this picture how the volcano erupted and collapsed on itself.

 

The crater provides a home for many East African animals including zebra, wildebeast, lion, rhinceros, buffalo, elephant, leopard, and gazelle. In fact, while I was there, I managed to see several female lions take down a buffalo. It was very exciting.

 

 

 

Introduction

Hello, my name is Walter Booth and the place I have selected is Ngorongoro Crater located in Tanzania. One of the reasons I chose this location is that I've actually been there. My senses tingle as I remember seeing the actual crater itself and staying in the hotel along the edge of the crater. So many awesome sights come straight to my mind. I also remember the wildlife that simply got trapped in the crater so many years ago. It is so interesting to see the ecosystem that is created there. Another reason I chose this location is that I thought that we may explore some of the interesting geographical concepts that Ngorongoro Crater has. Even just the location of Ngorongoro Crater itself has interesting geography, considering it is in East Africa, a place of much geographical activity, both human and physical. In conclusion, I picked this location because it truly interested me, and I hope it strikes the interest of others as well.

Here is a view from the rim of the crater.