Erosion in Africa
There has been erosion in Africa for millions of years. It’s torn up the topsoil and worn away mountains. As a matter of fact, most of the mountains that ever called Africa home have worn away over time. Right now, most mountain ranges are 500 to 4,500 feet. Some of the causes of this erosion are water, wind, humans, animals, sand, and ice. Erosion is the wearing away of a landforms over long periods of time. For example, there are extremely hard rocks on the coast of South Africa. In the past 100 years, the water has slowly eroded these rocks, and they have shrunk to half their original size! After the particles have been weathered, the erosion takes the particles and carries them somewhere else. Erosion occurs during the “rainy” season. The beaches of Africa are being heavily eroded, which could take a major toll on some African nation’s economies, as the beaches bring in so many tourists. So what exactly does erosion do? Well it erodes rocks on the coast, wears down mountains, damages climates, and much more. So what are they going to do about it? How are we going to stop this erosion?
Africa is looking forward to launching a surveillance system to map out areas at risk for erosion. This will help the awareness of citizens so they will know to cut down on the amount of cropping in the area. They will have a remote satellite taking pictures to make an online map. Many scientists have tried developing plants with strong enough roots to counter act erosion, but one of the main problems is there is not enough soil. Another way to reduce erosion is to buy an efficient stove. A wood stove requires a lot of wood, causing more deforestation leading to erosion. A new stove is an easy way to help reduce the problem. In our opinion, the easiest thing people can do is to reduce the amount of cropping in sensitive areas. It’s such an easy task. Erosion is one of the biggest issues in Africa and it is wearing away many landforms on a daily basis.