Physical Features and Effects of Climate Change
Primary 6 · Social and Religious Studies
Physical Features and Effects of Climate Change
Lesson 1 of 4
15 min
Let's begin
Mugisha lives in Musanze. Every morning on his way to school he sees a line of tall, blue mountains against the sky. His cousin Keza lives in Kayonza, in the east, where the land is lower and flatter and she can see far across the grassland.
Mugisha and Keza are both looking at physical features. Which ones can you see from your school?
A physical feature is a natural shape of the land or water on the Earth's surface. People did not build it. Mountains, hills, valleys, plateaus, volcanoes, plains, lakes, rivers and swamps are all physical features. A road, a bridge or a dam is not a physical feature, because people made it.
Rwanda sits a few degrees south of the equator, high in the East African highlands. If you travelled across it from west to east, you would pass three main regions:
| Volcano | Height | Shared with |
|---|---|---|
| Karisimbi | 4,507 m | DR Congo |
| Muhabura | 4,127 m | Uganda |
| Bisoke | 3,711 m | DR Congo |
| Sabyinyo | about 3,670 m | Uganda and DR Congo |
| Gahinga | 3,474 m | Uganda |
All five sit on Rwanda's borders, and all are quiet today: none has erupted for many years, and Sabyinyo, the oldest, is extinct. The two Virunga volcanoes that erupt often, Nyiragongo and Nyamuragira, are close by in the DR Congo.
About 80% of Rwanda drains east into the Nile basin, and about 20% drains west into the Congo basin. The Congo–Nile divide decides which way each raindrop goes!
| Feature | What it is | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Mount Kilimanjaro | Highest mountain in Africa (5,895 m), a dormant volcano | Tanzania |
| Mount Kenya | Second-highest mountain in Africa (5,199 m) | Kenya |
| Rwenzori Mountains | Snow-capped mountains (5,109 m) | Uganda–DR Congo border |
| Mount Elgon | A very old, extinct volcano | Uganda–Kenya border |
| Lake Victoria | Largest lake in Africa | Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya |
| Lake Tanganyika | Longest freshwater lake in the world, and very deep | Tanzania, DR Congo, Burundi and Zambia |
| Great Rift Valley | A long, deep valley with steep sides | From Ethiopia through Kenya and Tanzania, and along Rwanda's west |
| River Nile | Longest river in Africa | Flows north out of Lake Victoria, through Uganda, South Sudan, Sudan and Egypt |
The Sahara in the north is the largest hot desert in the world. The Congo Basin in central Africa is covered by a huge rainforest. The Atlas Mountains are in the north-west, the Kalahari Desert is in the south, and the Drakensberg mountains are in South Africa and Lesotho. The Nile, Congo, Niger and Zambezi are Africa's great rivers.
Worked example
Uwase stands on a hill in Kigali. Is she in the western highlands, on the central plateau, or in the eastern lowlands?
Step 1 Kigali is in the middle of Rwanda.
Step 2 The middle of Rwanda is high land covered in rolling hills.
Answer: she is on the central plateau.
Tip
Remember "K and K": Karisimbi is Rwanda's highest point and Kivu is its largest lake.
And remember the river chain: Nyabarongo → Akagera → Lake Victoria → Nile. Rain that falls on most of Rwanda's hills could one day reach Egypt!
Answer each one, then tap Show answer to check.
Name Rwanda's highest point and give its height.
Answer: Mount Karisimbi, 4,507 m above sea level.
Which is Rwanda's largest lake, and which country shares it?
Answer: Lake Kivu, shared with the DR Congo.
Is a dam a physical feature? Explain.
Answer: No. People built it, so it is not a natural feature.
Which river carries water out of Lake Kivu to Lake Tanganyika?
Answer: the Rusizi.
Name the highest mountain in Africa and the country it is in.
Answer: Mount Kilimanjaro, in Tanzania.
What you learned today
Sources and credits
The practice questions were written by Ganzaa.
This lesson adapts CC BY-SA material and is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Quick check
Lake Kivu is the largest lake that lies completely inside Rwanda.
