Tag: gcse geography notes

IMPORTANCE OF NOMADIC PASTORALISM TO THE ECONOMY OF BOTSWANA

Importance of nomadic pastoralism to the economy of BOTSWANA

  • Source of human food with valuable proteins e.g. milk, meat/beef, and blood.
  • It is a source of income to the pastoralists by selling farm products hence improving their standards of living.
  • It is a source of employment e.g. through trade hence providing a livelihood for many people.
  • It is a source of government revenue for setting up roads through taxing livestock transporters and dairy factories.
  • The government earns foreign exchange used for setting up hospitals by exporting animal products e.g. hides and skins.
  • It has helped to diversify the economy of BOTSWANA hence ensuring constant capital inflow and reduced dependency on crop growing.




  • Nomadic pastoralism has provided raw materials for industries that provide jobs e.g. meat packers and the leather tanning industry.
  • It has helped to put idle land into use hence reducing resource wastage
  • Animals are used as beasts of burden e.g. for transport and for pulling ox-plows hence promoting farming.
  • Animal wastes are used as a source of fuel e.g. cow dung is used for bio-gas hence offering alternative sources of energy.




  • Source of wealth for social and economic status e.g. bridewealth hence promoting cultural conservation.  

Nomadic pastoralism is still practiced by a number of communities in BOTSWANA




Nomadic pastoralism is one of the major economic activities in BOTSWANA, however, governments are pushing for the modern way of rearing battles to protect the environment and enable the pastoralists to generate more income

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7 DISADVANTAGES OF USING SAMPLING IN GEOGRAPHY FIELDWORK

sampling is the method that involves choosing /selecting part of the whole to represent the whole.

the chosen portion is studied and its characteristics /views are taken to represent those of other similar features in the field.




the following are disadvantages or problems of using sampling in geography fieldwork

  • Bias in selection is common .in most cases researchers only select people in the field who are interested in their study and in some instances the selection of the respondents is gender biased.
  • Lack of representative samples; for instance when a fish landing site is visited, many of the interviewed people may not be fish mongers but just people living around the fishing village.
  • It tends to generalize too much and some of the unique characteristics of phenomena are left out.




  • It may be hindered by faulty tools.
  • There is a problem of inaccessibility caused by physical barriers like forests, wetlands,hills e.t.c

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5 Limitations or disadvantages of fieldwork in geography

Fieldwork is the scientific study done away from the classroom where students use the environment as a laboratory to; observe, record, and interpret for themselves the realities of man and his environment.




The environment includes the things, that surround man both physical and human e.g. the soils, rocks, vegetation cover, water bodies, relief etc.

The following are limitations or disadvantages of fieldwork in geography

  • The whole process of fieldwork is very expensive.
  • There are also likely dangers of the hostility of the researcher or students.
  • Absence of trained personnel in the field or area of study.
  • The unpredictability of the changes for instance in weather or security of a given area of study




  • Lack of skills by students to handle the fieldwork process for instance interpretation and analysis of data.

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10 Importance of carrying out field work in geography and other subjects

Fieldwork is the scientific study done away from the classroom where students use the environment as a laboratory to; observe, record, and interpret for themselves the realities of man and his environment




10 Importance of carrying out field work in geography and other subjects

the following is the importance of fieldwork in geography and other subjects

  • It enables a geographer to find out the changing patterns on the earth’s surface i.e. in terms of landform evolution and land use patterns given the fact that geography is a dynamic subject.
  • It makes Geography real whereby one is able to compare information acquired from textbooks and the information existing on the  ground
  • It helps a geographer to get local examples directly in the field rather than relying on the theory from textbooks.
  • Fieldwork also helps students gain geographical skills e.g. Observation, recording, sample, sampling and sketching etc
  • It also breaks down the monotony of the same place or classroom where students conduct  their geography lessons




  • It equips students with research methods that are relevant not only to the secondary level but all throughout the training process.
  • By carrying out fieldwork, the students are in the position to establish the relationship between human activities and the physical environment
  • It builds a student’s attitude and values of the judgment

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FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE THE TEMPERATURE OF AN AREA

Different areas in East Africa experience varying temperatures. Some areas experience extremely hot temperatures of over 30o c. They include Northeastern Uganda, Northern Kenya, the rift valley areas, and the coastal areas.




Other areas experience very low/cool temperatures especially the mountainous or highland areas such as the Kenya highlands, Kigezi highlands, Mt Kilimanjaro, Mt Rwenzori, Mt Meru, and Mt Elgon among others.

Several factors influence temperature or contribute to the variations in the temperature in E.Africa and they include:

Altitude




It refers to the height of the land above sea level. Temperatures tend to drop as altitude increases by approximately 6.5o c for every 1000 metres of ascent/rise.

Due to this lapse rate effect, highland areas like Mt Rwenzori, Kenya, and Kilimanjaro experience low temperatures while low altitude areas like the rift valley region experience hot temperatures

Latitude




It refers to the angular distance of an area from the equator. Temperatures tend to reduce as one moves away from the tropics towards the Polar regions. Given that E.Africa lies astride the equator, temperatures are uniformly hot with no big variations

Prevailing winds

They have a modifying effect on the temperature of the places where they blow depending on their origin. The Northeast trade winds which blow from the Arabian desert bring hot temperatures in Northeastern Uganda (Karamoja) and Turkanaland while the Southeast trade winds and the Westerlies cause moderate temperatures around the Central plateau of E.Africa because they originate from the Indian ocean and the Atlantic ocean respectively




Continentality

It refers to the distance of a place from the sea. It is responsible for the temperature variations between places near the coast and those in the interior.

The Southeast trade winds transfer warm conditions to the coastal areas of E.Africa and this explains why Mombasa is relatively warmer than the interior of Kenya and E.Africa in general.

Water bodies also have a modifying effect on temperature through the land and sea breezes




Vegetation cover

Thick vegetation cover has a modifying effect on the temperature of the surrounding areas through evapotranspiration.

Forested areas have high humidity and relatively low temperatures for instance Mabira and Budongo forest.

On the other hand, areas with limited vegetation cover tend to experience hot temperatures e.g Northeastern Uganda and Turkana land in Northwestern Kenya




Ocean currents

They are defined as streams of surface seawater moving on a large scale in a defined direction. They are sub-divided into two (2) categories i.e warm and cold ocean currents.

They have a modifying effect on the temperature of the adjacent areas.

Warm ocean currents such as the Warm Mozambique currents raise the temperatures of the winds blowing around hence causing warm and/or hot temperatures to the adjacent lands such as Mombasa and Dar es Salaam




Cloud cover

It also determines the temperature of a place. Thick clouds control the amount of solar insolation reaching the earth’s surface and at the same time trap the escaping radiation from the earth’s surface. For this reason, areas with thick cloud cover like the Lake Victoria basin experience a small diurnal range of temperature than areas like Turkana land with limited cloud cover

Apparent movement of the overhead sun

The position of the sun influences seasonal variations in temperature. Temperatures are higher in regions where the sun is overhead.




When the sun is overhead in the northern hemisphere between June and July, hot temperatures are experienced in the northern hemisphere and low temperatures in the southern hemisphere.

When the sun is overhead in the southern hemisphere in December and January, temperatures are high in the southern hemisphere and low in the northern hemisphere

Humidity

The amount of water vapour in the atmosphere determines the atmospheric temperature of a place. High amounts of humidity absorb heat and prevent heat loss from the earth’s surface.




This explains why areas with high humidity e.g equatorial regions experience hot temperatures during the day and at night than areas with low humidity which experience cool temperatures during the night due to excessive heat loss

Nature of the earth’s surface (Albedo)

Surfaces covered by water or ice are bright so they reflect much of the heat (solar radiation) back into the atmosphere leading to low (cool) temperatures over the water surface during the day while solid dark coloured land surfaces absorb heat faster during the day leading to warm / hot temperatures

Aspect

It refers to the direction of a hill slope in relation to the position of the sun.




It influences temperature in the temperate/polar regions where the south-facing slopes in the northern hemisphere experience warm temperatures than the north-facing slopes.

In the southern hemisphere, on the other hand, the north-facing slopes are warmer than the south-facing slopes.

In the tropics, however, the influence of aspect is not experienced due to the effect of the overhead sun

Human activities




The various activities of man such as deforestation, bush burning, overgrazing, mining and industrialization result into hot temperatures due to the destruction of natural vegetation, depletion of the ozone layer, and the subsequent increase in carbonic emissions (gases) into the atmosphere which absorb solar radiation thereby causing hot temperatures.

On the other hand, afforestation reduces carbon concentrations in the atmosphere since plants absorb carbon dioxide leading to moderate temperatures.

10 FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE THE HUMIDITY OF THE PLACE

humidity It is the amount of water vapour held in a given volume of air at a given time.




Atmospheric water vapour is as a result of evaporation and transpiration.

Humidity varies from place to place usually ranging between 48% to 80%.

Water vapour is significant in the atmosphere because:

  • It influences the formation of rainfall through condensation
  • It regulates the temperature of the atmosphere through absorbing radiation i.e solar and terrestrial radiation
  • It stores energy in the atmosphere

Factors which influence the Humidity of a place:




Temperature

Temperature controls or determines the rate of evaporation and transpiration.

Hot temperatures lead to high rates of evaporation hence increasing the amount of water vapour in the atmosphere while cool temperatures reduce evaporation rates resulting into minimum condensation hence lowering the humidity of a place

Altitude




Since temperatures decrease with increase in altitude, high altitude areas like mountain tops experience low humidity as water vapour condenses while areas of low altitude like the coastal areas of E.Africa and the rift valley region experience hot temperatures which encourage high evaporation rates leading to
high humidity

Water bodies such as lakes and oceans act as sources of water vapour through evaporation.

Areas near water bodies therefore experience high amounts
of water vapour and hence high humidity e.g around the lake Victoria basin and the coastal areas compared to areas far away from water bodies e.g North eastern Uganda (Karamoja region) and North western Kenya (Turkana land)




Vegetation cover

Areas with thick vegetation cover such as forests experience high rates of evapotranspiration leading to high humidity than areas with scattered vegetation

such as scrub, thickets and steppe savannah which experience minimum evapotranspiration and therefore low humidity

Inter Tropical Convergence Zone (I.T.C.Z)

The apparent movement of the sun leads to variations in humidity between the northern and southern hemispheres.




When the sun is overhead in the north, hot temperatures are experienced leading to high humidity in the north and low
humidity over the south while the south experiences high humidity than the north when the sun is overhead in the south.

The equatorial region however experiences uniformly hot temperatures throughout the year thereby leading to
high humidity




Continentality or Distance from the sea

Areas near the coast experience high humidity because of the effect of the land and sea breezes while the areas far away from the coast experience low humidity due to the absence of land and sea breezes.

Coastal areas also experience low humidity due to the effect of warm ocean currents which transfer warm temperatures towards the land masses leading to high evaporation

Influence of ocean currents




Warm ocean currents raise the temperature of the winds blowing over them hence resulting into high humidity while cold ocean currents have a cooling effect on the winds blowing over them leading to low humidity.

The high humidity experienced along the E.African coast is therefore as a result of the influence of the warm Mozambique currents

Prevailing winds

Moist winds such as the South east trade winds cause high humidity in the areas over which they blow e.g the E.African coastal areas and the Lake Victoria basin.




However, dry winds with less moisture cause low humidity in the areas over which they blow e.g the North east trade winds are responsible for the low humidity in Karamoja in North eastern Uganda and in the Turkana land in Northwestern Kenya

Relief

Highland areas tend to have high humidity on the wind ward side because of the ascending moist winds e.g on the wind ward side of Mt Rwenzori, there’s high humidity than on the lee ward side

Human activities such afforestation, re-afforestation and agroforestry




human activities encourage high rates of evapotranspiration resulting into high amounts of water vapour in the atmosphere hence high humidity while activities like bush burning, overgrazing, deforestation and swamp reclamation lead to reduced evapotranspiration and hence low humidity

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