WAEC SSCE - Geography - 2001 (Essay)

Answer Details

(a) Characteristics of the equatorial climate

• High temperatures all year round: Mean monthly temperatures are about 27 C, with a very small annual range (about 2 to 3 C) because the sun is nearly overhead throughout the year.
• Heavy rainfall: Rainfall is high, usually over 2000 mm a year, and is well distributed over all the months (no real dry season), often with two maxima following the overhead sun.
• Convectional rainfall: Rain falls mainly in the afternoon as heavy convectional thunderstorms, often preceded by a hot, sticky morning.
• High relative humidity: Humidity is very high (about 80 per cent or more), making the weather hot and uncomfortable.
• Small diurnal and annual temperature range; cloudy skies and light, variable winds (doldrums).

(b) Main features of the vegetation (tropical/equatorial rainforest)

• The vegetation is dense evergreen tropical rainforest because the hot, wet conditions allow continuous growth all year.
• Trees are tall, with straight trunks, and are arranged in layers (storeys), the tallest reaching over 45 metres and forming a closed canopy that shuts out sunlight from the forest floor.
• There is a great variety of tree species (hardwoods such as mahogany, ebony and iroko) growing mixed together rather than in pure stands.
• Trees have broad leaves, buttress roots and drip-tips; climbers (lianas) and epiphytes grow on the tall trees.
• Because sunlight cannot reach the floor, undergrowth is thin except along rivers and clearings; along the coast and river mouths there is mangrove forest.

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(a) and (b) Reduced outline and inserted features

The scale is reduced from 1:100,000 to 1:300,000. Thus, every map measurement is divided by 3. The outline is therefore 12.2 cm by 12.2 cm.

(c) Actual distance along the minor road from Futuk to the point where it leaves the map

Measured length of the winding road on the original map = 13.5 cm.

At a scale of 1:100,000,

\[1\text{ cm} = 100{,}000\text{ cm} = 1\text{ km}.\]

\[ \text{Actual distance}=13.5\text{ cm}\times 1\text{ km per cm}=\boxed{13.5\text{ km}}. \]

(d) Influence of relief and drainage on settlement distribution

1. The undulating plain in the eastern part of the area has many settlements because the land is relatively gentle and suitable for farming and building.
2. Most settlements are located close to river valleys, where water is available for domestic use and farming.
3. Settlements avoid low river valleys that are liable to flooding. The south-eastern part has no settlement because of flood-prone drainage conditions.
4. Few or no settlements occur in the highland areas of the west, north-west and south-west, where the slopes are steep and the terrain is less suitable for settlement and cultivation.

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(a) Sketch map of Africa

Key locations shown: Kisangani represents the equatorial climate belt; Kano represents the tropical continental climate belt; and Cairo represents the desert climate belt.

(b) Effects of tropical continental climate on vegetation

1. Deciduous vegetation: The marked wet and dry seasons cause many trees to shed their leaves during the long dry season in order to conserve water.
2. Grassland formation: The relatively low and seasonal rainfall cannot support dense evergreen forest. It therefore favours savanna, consisting mainly of grasses with scattered trees.
3. Adaptation to drought: Trees develop deep or long tap roots to reach underground water during the prolonged dry season. Some trees also have thick bark which limits water loss and protects them from bush fires.
4. Reduced luxuriance towards drier areas: Where rainfall is lower and the rainy season is shorter, grasses become shorter and trees are fewer, smaller and more widely spaced. Vegetation is denser and taller where the rainy season is longer.

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(a) Four characteristics of urban centres

1. High population size and density: large numbers of people living closely together.
2. Non-agricultural occupations: most inhabitants work in industry, commerce, administration and services rather than farming.
3. Presence of infrastructure and social amenities: good roads, electricity, pipe-borne water, hospitals, banks and schools.
4. Complex functions and land use: distinct commercial, industrial, residential and administrative zones with high-rise buildings.

(b) Four ways urban centres depend on surrounding rural areas

1. Food supply: the rural areas produce foodstuffs and livestock that feed the urban population.
2. Raw materials: agricultural and mineral raw materials from rural areas feed urban industries.
3. Labour supply: rural migrants provide much of the cheap labour used in urban factories and services.
4. Market for goods: rural people buy manufactured goods and services produced in the town.

(Also: rural areas supply water, fuelwood and land for urban expansion, waste disposal and recreation.)

(c) Three problems facing rural areas

1. Poor social amenities: lack of good roads, electricity, hospitals and pipe-borne water.
2. Out-migration of youths: loss of the active labour force to towns, leaving the aged behind.
3. Low income and unemployment: dependence on subsistence farming with poor returns and few job opportunities.

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None

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(a) Four major ocean routes used in world trade

1. The North Atlantic route linking Western Europe with eastern North America (busiest in the world).
2. The Mediterranean-Suez-Red Sea route connecting Europe to the Middle East, South and East Asia through the Suez Canal.
3. The Panama Canal route linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans (Eastern USA/Europe to western America and the Pacific).
4. The Cape of Good Hope route round southern Africa linking Europe/West Africa to East Africa and Asia. (Others: the North Pacific route and the West African coastal route.)

(b) Four ways water transportation has contributed to economic development

1. It permits the cheap, bulk movement of heavy goods (crude oil, ores, grain, timber) over long distances at low cost per tonne.
2. It has opened up trade and international exchange, allowing countries to export surplus produce and import needed goods.
3. It has promoted the growth of port towns and industries (e.g. Lagos, Port Harcourt) around harbours, creating employment.
4. It earns foreign exchange through shipping services, fishing and tourism, and links inland regions to world markets via rivers and lakes.

(c) Four ways of improving transportation on inland waterways

1. Dredging the rivers to deepen and widen the channels and remove silt so that larger vessels can pass.
2. Clearing obstacles such as rocks, rapids, sand bars and floating weeds (e.g. water hyacinth) from the channels.
3. Constructing locks, dams and canals to by-pass waterfalls and rapids and to maintain a steady water level in the dry season.
4. Providing modern port facilities and navigation aids (jetties, buoys, lighthouses) and regular maintenance to keep routes safe and usable. (Also linking rivers by canals.)

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(a) Outline map of Nigeria showing the required industrial zones, towns and industry

Key: The shaded areas represent industrial zones. ● represents a town. ★ represents the cement industry.

(b) Factors favouring the location of the cement industry at Ewekoro

1. Availability of raw material: Ewekoro is close to large deposits of limestone, the major raw material used in cement manufacture.
2. Nearness to market and good transport links: the industry can supply the large markets of Lagos, Abeokuta and other towns in south-western Nigeria through road and rail transport routes.

(c) Problems facing industries in Nigeria

1. Erratic and inadequate electricity supply, which raises the cost of production through the use of generators.
2. Poor transport facilities and bad roads, making the movement of raw materials and finished products difficult and costly.
3. Inadequate capital and difficulty in obtaining loans for the purchase of machinery and expansion.
4. Competition from cheaper imported or foreign goods, resulting in low demand for locally manufactured goods.

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(a) Distinction between Meridians and Parallels

(b) Time calculation

Given: New Zealand kick-off is 4.00 p.m. at longitude 150 E; Nigeria is at longitude 15 E.

Step 1 - difference in longitude (both places are east, so subtract):

\[150^{\circ}E - 15^{\circ}E = 135^{\circ}\]

Step 2 - convert to time (1 degree = 4 minutes):

\[135 \times 4 = 540 \text{ minutes} = 9 \text{ hours}\]

Step 3 - apply the difference. New Zealand (150 E) lies east of Nigeria (15 E), so its time is ahead. Nigeria is therefore 9 hours behind New Zealand:

\[4.00\text{ p.m.} - 9\text{ hours} = 7.00\text{ a.m.}\]

Answer: Nigerians should tune in their television sets at 7.00 a.m. (on the same Saturday) to watch the kick-off.

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(a) What is a spring?

A spring is a natural flow of underground water that comes out onto the surface of the earth, usually at the base of a slope or where the water table meets the ground surface. It marks the point where water stored in permeable rock is forced to emerge.

(b) Three ways by which springs may be formed

• At the junction of permeable and impermeable rock (spring line): Rain water sinks through a permeable layer such as sandstone or limestone until it reaches an underlying impermeable layer such as clay. Unable to sink further, the water flows sideways along the top of the impermeable rock and emerges as a spring where this junction is exposed on a hillside.
• Where the water table cuts the surface: In a valley cut into a permeable rock, the land surface may drop below the level of the water table. Water then seeps out along the valley side wherever the ground level falls below the water table, forming a spring.
• From a dipping aquifer/faulted rock (including artesian): Where a permeable rock (aquifer) lies between two impermeable layers and is tilted, or where a fault brings permeable rock against impermeable rock, water under pressure is forced up along the fault or outcrop and emerges as a spring.

Well-labelled diagrams should show permeable and impermeable layers, the water table, and the point of emergence of the water at the junction of the rock layers.

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(a) Four patterns of population movement within a country

1. Rural to urban migration: movement of people from villages to towns and cities.
2. Rural to rural migration: movement from one rural area to another, often in search of farmland.
3. Urban to rural migration: movement of people from towns back to rural areas, for example on retirement.
4. Urban to urban migration: movement from one town or city to another.

(b) Five reasons for rural to urban migration

1. Search for employment and higher wages in industries and offices located in towns.
2. Availability of better educational facilities (schools and higher institutions) in urban centres.
3. Better social and medical facilities such as hospitals, electricity, pipe-borne water and recreation.
4. Escape from the drudgery and low income of subsistence farming in rural areas.
5. Attraction of the bright lights and superior standard of living in the city.

(c) Effects of population movement

(i) On the source (rural) region:

1. Reduction in labour force, leaving mainly the aged and children, so farm output falls.
2. Reduction in population pressure on the land and resources.
3. Inflow of remittances (money) sent home by the migrants, raising income.

(ii) On the destination (urban) region:

1. Increased supply of cheap labour for industries and services.
2. Overcrowding leading to housing shortage, slums and pressure on facilities.
3. Rise in unemployment and social vices such as crime and prostitution.

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(a) Major method of gold mining in South Africa

Gold in South Africa (chiefly the Witwatersrand around Johannesburg) occurs in thin reefs that dip steeply to great depths, so it is worked by deep-shaft (underground) mining. The main steps are:

• Vertical shafts are sunk from the surface, some reaching over 3 km deep, to reach the gold-bearing reefs.
• Horizontal tunnels (drives and stopes) are driven from the shaft along the reef, and the ore is blasted loose with explosives.
• The broken ore is hauled up the shaft in cages/skips to the surface.
• At the surface the ore is crushed and milled to a fine powder.
• The gold is extracted by treatment with cyanide solution and recovery of the metal (cyanidation), then smelted into bars.
• Because of the great depth, the mines need refrigeration/ventilation, pumping of water and support of the workings.

(b) Four benefits of gold mining to South Africa

1. It earns large amounts of foreign exchange as a leading export.
2. It provides employment for a very large mining and support workforce.
3. It has stimulated the growth of towns and infrastructure (Johannesburg, railways, power supply).
4. It generates government revenue and has encouraged the growth of allied engineering, chemical and manufacturing industries.

(c) Three problems resulting from gold mining

1. Environmental damage: huge waste dumps (mine tailings) and dust disfigure the land and pollute air, soil and water (cyanide/acid drainage).
2. Health and safety hazards: deep mining exposes workers to heat, rock falls, accidents and lung disease (silicosis).
3. Social problems: migrant-labour system separates workers from families and crowds them into camps, and abandoned/worked-out mines leave derelict land and unemployment.

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(a) Sketch map of Africa

(b) Geographical notes
Write on any two of the following.

(i) Irrigation agriculture in the Nile Basin

• It is practised along the Nile Valley and Nile Delta in Egypt and Sudan, where the climate is arid or semi-arid.
• Rainfall is very low, generally less than 20 cm annually in much of Egypt; therefore, crop production depends on water from the River Nile.
• Water is supplied by basin or flood irrigation, perennial irrigation, pumping and manual lifting methods. Traditional lifting devices include the shaduf and sakia.
• The Aswan High Dam stores water in Lake Nasser and permits a more regular year-round supply of irrigation water.
• Canals distribute water from the river to farms. The fertile alluvial soils, abundant sunshine and irrigation permit intensive cultivation and, in places, more than one crop in a year.
• Main crops include cotton, rice, wheat, sorghum, maize, barley, sugar cane and vegetables.
• The system supplies raw materials, especially cotton and sugar cane, to industries; it also provides food, employment, income and export earnings.
• Problems include high evaporation losses, flooding in some areas, salinisation and waterlogging of irrigated soils, silting, and water-borne diseases.

(ii) Lumbering in Zaire, Democratic Republic of Congo

• Lumbering is concentrated in the Congo Basin, especially in the dense equatorial forest north and south of the Equator.
• The hot, wet equatorial climate supports extensive evergreen rain forest containing valuable hardwoods.
• Important timber trees include mahogany, limba and okoume.
• Logs are felled, cut and moved to rivers. The Congo and its tributaries provide important routes for floating logs to sawmills and river ports; timber can then be exported through Matadi.
• The industry is favoured by the large forest resource, navigable rivers, demand for timber and availability of labour.
• It provides employment, income, foreign exchange and raw materials for furniture, building and paper-related industries.
• Major difficulties are poor roads, inadequate capital and machinery, dense undergrowth, heavy rainfall, tropical diseases and the scattered occurrence of particular tree species in mixed forest.
• Indiscriminate felling may deplete the forest resource; selective cutting, replanting and controlled exploitation are necessary.

(iii) Fruit farming in North Africa

• Fruit farming occurs mainly along the Mediterranean coastal belt of Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia, in river valleys and in irrigated oases near the desert margin.
• The Mediterranean climate has mild, wetter winters and hot, sunny summers. Irrigation supplements rainfall during the dry summer.
• Fertile valley and coastal soils, sunshine, irrigation, a nearby European market and transport routes encourage commercial fruit production.
• Major products include grapes and raisins, olives, citrus fruits, figs, dates, apricots and apples.
• Grapes, olives and citrus fruits are grown mainly in the coastal Mediterranean belt, while dates are especially important in oasis settlements.
• Fruit farming provides food, employment, farm income, raw materials for processing industries, and foreign exchange through exports. Grapes may be processed into raisins and wine, while olives are processed into olive oil.
• Problems include dry summers, pests and diseases, occasional drought, hilly relief, soil erosion and inadequate storage or processing facilities.
• These problems are reduced through irrigation, terracing, pest control, improved storage and processing facilities.

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(a) Location map of Nigeria

Key locations: The Niger-Benue trough is the broad Y-shaped lowland occupied by the valleys and floodplains of Rivers Niger and Benue. River Niger enters Nigeria from the north-west and flows south-eastwards to Lokoja. River Benue flows westwards from the east to join the Niger at Lokoja. River Gongola is a northern tributary of the Benue, while River Donga joins the Benue from the south-east. Lokoja is the confluence town.

(b) Physical characteristics of the Niger-Benue trough

The Niger-Benue trough is a broad, Y-shaped, low-lying region extending across central Nigeria. It consists mainly of the valleys of Rivers Niger and Benue and the land around their confluence at Lokoja. Much of the trough is below about 300 m above sea level, although it is bordered in places by higher uplands and plateaux, including the Jos Plateau and the eastern highlands.

Its relief is generally flat to gently undulating. Wide floodplains, swamps and fadama occur along the rivers, especially where seasonal flooding deposits sand, silt and clay. Some areas have low, flat-topped sedimentary hills separated by river valleys.

The area is drained chiefly by Rivers Niger and Benue. Important tributaries include the Gongola, Donga and Kaduna rivers. The Niger and Benue meet at Lokoja and thereafter flow southwards as the River Niger. During the rainy season, the rivers overflow parts of their floodplains.

The climate is tropical continental, with a distinct wet season and dry season. Rainfall is generally over 120 cm annually in many parts of the trough, and relative humidity is high during the wet season. Natural vegetation is predominantly Guinea savanna, made up of tall grasses and scattered deciduous trees. Gallery forest occurs along river banks and in wetter floodplain areas.

The trough is underlain mainly by sedimentary rocks. Its floodplains have fertile alluvial and hydromorphic soils, while deposits of limestone, clay and salt occur in some localities.

(c) Relationship between physical characteristics and economic activities

1. The fertile alluvial soils and seasonal floodplains support farming, particularly rice, sugar cane, vegetables, yams, maize and soyabeans. Swampy fadama areas are especially suitable for rice cultivation and dry-season irrigation.
2. The Niger, Benue and their tributaries provide water for irrigation and support fishing. They also serve as inland waterways for the movement of people and goods.
3. The large rivers and their flow permit hydro-electric power generation and encourage such activities as boat building. Dams and river projects also provide water for irrigation.
4. Sedimentary mineral deposits support industries: limestone favours cement manufacture, clay promotes pottery and brick-making, while salt-bearing deposits encourage salt extraction.

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(a) Definition of flooding

Flooding is the overflow of a large body of water (usually a river, lake or the sea) onto adjoining land that is normally dry. It occurs when the volume of water in a channel or basin exceeds the capacity that the channel, drainage system or land surface can hold or discharge, so the excess spreads over the surrounding area.

(b) Four causes of flooding

1. Heavy and prolonged rainfall: when rain falls faster than the soil can absorb it or the rivers can carry it away, the excess water spills over the banks.
2. Overflow of rivers: when a river receives more water than its channel can hold, especially at its lower course, it overtops its banks and floods the flood plain.
3. Poor or blocked drainage: in urban areas, drains blocked by refuse, silting, or inadequate drainage channels cause water to accumulate on the surface.
4. Coastal storm surges and tidal action: strong onshore winds and high tides push sea water inland, flooding low-lying coastal land.

Other accepted causes include deforestation which reduces interception and infiltration, dam failure or excessive release from dams, and rapid melting of snow.

(c) Four effects of flooding

1. Loss of lives and displacement: people and livestock are drowned or swept away, and many are rendered homeless.
2. Destruction of property and infrastructure: houses, roads, bridges, railways and electricity installations are damaged.
3. Destruction of crops and farmland: farm produce is washed away or submerged, leading to food shortage and famine.
4. Outbreak of water-borne diseases: contamination of water sources spreads cholera, typhoid and diarrhoea; stagnant water also breeds mosquitoes.

(d) Two measures to control flooding

1. Construction of dams and dykes: dams store excess water while embankments (dykes) and levees are raised along river banks to prevent overflow.
2. Provision of good drainage and afforestation: constructing and clearing wide drainage channels to carry away excess water, together with planting trees to increase interception and infiltration and reduce surface run-off.

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(a) The term vulcanicity

Vulcanicity (or vulcanism) is the process by which solid, liquid or gaseous materials (magma, lava and gases) from the interior of the earth are forced into the earth's crust or poured out onto its surface. It includes both intrusive activity, where magma cools within the crust to form features such as batholiths, dykes and sills, and extrusive activity, where lava reaches the surface to build volcanoes and lava plateaux.

(b) Characteristics and mode of formation (one chosen: the Batholith)

Batholith - characteristics:

• It is a very large intrusive (plutonic) igneous body, usually made of coarse-grained rock such as granite.
• It forms the deep core or root of large mountain ranges and covers a very wide area.
• It becomes exposed at the surface only after long-continued erosion of the overlying rocks, often forming inselbergs and domed uplands.

Mode of formation: A large mass of molten magma rises from deep within the earth and is intruded into the crust, deep below the surface. Because it lies far below ground, it cools and solidifies very slowly, giving large crystals. Over a long time, the overlying rocks are stripped away by weathering and erosion, exposing the massive granite batholith at the surface.

(If the Dyke is chosen: a dyke is a narrow, wall-like sheet of igneous rock that cuts across the bedding of the surrounding rocks; it forms when magma is forced into a near-vertical crack or joint and solidifies. If the Composite cone is chosen: it is a tall, steep-sided volcano built of alternating layers of lava and pyroclastic materials from repeated eruptions of fairly viscous lava.)

(c) Four ways volcanic rocks are important to man

• On weathering they form very fertile soils that are good for agriculture.
• They provide hard, durable building and road-making materials (for example basalt).
• They are associated with valuable minerals and, where volcanic activity persists, with hot springs and geothermal energy.
• Volcanic landscapes and features attract tourists, bringing revenue.

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(a) The Prismatic Compass

The prismatic compass is a small, portable hand instrument used for measuring the bearing (direction) of objects and for carrying out compass traverses in surveying.

• It consists of a circular metal box (case) containing a magnetic needle fixed to a graduated circular card (dial) marked from 0 to 360 degrees.
• The needle always points to the magnetic north, so bearings are read as whole-circle bearings from north in a clockwise direction.
• It has a sighting vane (with a fine vertical hair or slit) on one side and a prism with an eye-hole on the opposite side. The prism reflects and magnifies the reading on the card so that the observer can sight the object and read the bearing at the same time.
• It is fitted with a lifting/brake device to steady the swinging card and a lid that also acts as a sighting slit, and it can be mounted on a tripod or held in the hand.

(b) Four precautions when making a compass traverse

• Keep the compass away from metal objects, electric wires and magnetic materials, which deflect the needle and give wrong bearings.
• Hold the compass steady, level and horizontal, and allow the needle to come to rest before taking each reading.
• Take both fore-bearings and back-bearings at each station to check and correct errors.
• Record all readings, station names and distances carefully and immediately in a field notebook.
• Sight the object accurately through the sighting vane and read the bearing through the prism at eye level to avoid parallax error.

Answer Details

(a) Instruments used for measurement

Weather element	Instrument
(i) Rainfall	Rain gauge
(ii) Humidity	Hygrometer, or wet-and-dry bulb thermometer
(iii) Temperature	Thermometer, especially the maximum and minimum thermometer
(iv) Wind	Wind vane for direction and cup anemometer for speed

(b) Rain gauge

A rain gauge measures the depth of rain received at a place during a stated period. It consists of a cylindrical outer metal case, a funnel of standard diameter fitted at its top, and an inner collecting bottle. Rain passing through the funnel is stored in the bottle. The collected water is measured with a graduated measuring cylinder marked in millimetres.

(c) How the rain gauge is used

1. The gauge is installed in an open, level site away from trees, walls and buildings. Its rim is about 30 cm above the ground to prevent splash water from entering it.
2. Rain falls into the funnel and is channelled into the inner collecting bottle.
3. At a fixed time each day, usually 9.00 a.m., the bottle is removed and the collected water is poured into the graduated measuring cylinder.
4. The water level is read in millimetres. This gives the rainfall received during the preceding 24 hours.
5. The bottle is emptied, replaced in the outer case and left to collect the next day's rainfall. Daily totals may be added to obtain monthly and annual rainfall totals.