An environment is a natural world in which people, animals and plant live. Generally, it refers to everything within our surroundings. Physical Environment therefore refers to all natural and non-natural things around us. It can also be regarded as our immediate environment.
TYPES OF PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT
- Natural environment: it includes; valleys forest, desert, hills, mountains, rivers, grass-land, etc.
- Non-natural environment or man-made: it includes; bridges, houses, hospitals, roads, vehicles, police station, market, schools etc.
Features of physical environment.
Nigeria physical environment features includes;
- Relief
- Rivers
- Lakes
- Seasons
- Weather
- Vegetation.
RELIEF: This refers to land surface features above the sea level.
Relief can be classified into;
- Highland
- Low land
HIGHLAND: It can be described as a mountainous or hilly section of a country. Examples are; idanre hill, Adamawa mountains udinsukaplateau mountain.
LOW LAND: Low land can be referred to as plains, the chad Basin plain etc.
IMPORTANCE OF HIGHLANDS AND LOWLANDS
Highlands
- They serve as easy defense during war
- They serve as tourist centers
- They are good source of minerals like gold, tin etc.
- Some help in construction of hydro-electric power in Nigeria
Lowlands
- They serve as means of transportation e.g. roads, railways port.
- They are good for agricultural purposes
- Suitable for human habitation
- They provide good place for rearing animals
RIVERS: The two major source of rivers in Nigeria are River Niger and Benue. Others are; River Ogun, Osun, ZamfaraAnambara, Cross Rivers, etc.
IMPORTANCE OR USES OF RIVERS IN NIGERIA
- They are used for domestic purpose such as drinking, washing, cooking etc
- They provide employment opportunities for fisher men, ship builders etc.
- They are used for generating electricity e.gKangi dam
- They are used by industries for production purpose. E.g. for production of soft drinks, bottle water etc.
- They provide food for man kind e.g. fishes, crayfish etc.
- They are used in construction of sea ports.
LAKES: A lake can be defined as a large area of water surrounded by land
SEASONS: There are two seasons in Nigeria
They are;
- Wet season
- Dry season
Wet Season: This is a period of rainfall and humidity. It falls between April and October and sometimes to November. It is normally caused by south –west wind. This is a good period for farming activities in Nigeria. Dry season: It is caused by North-East wind coming from Sahara desert. It comes with harmattan particularly in the Northern Nigeria. The dry season starts from November to April.
WEATHER: This refers to the condition of the atmosphere at a particular place and time. The atmospheric condition changes from time to time.
CLIMATE: Climate refers to the average weather condition of a particular place over a period of time.
ELEMENTS OF WEATHER AND CLIMATE
- Temperature: This refers to the degree of coldness and hotness of a place at any particular time.
Temperature is measured by “Thermometer”
- Rainfall: It is a situation where excess condensed water vapour in the atmosphere is released to the earth.
It is measured by “rainguage”.
- Wind: This is the movement of the air at a particular direction.
It is measured by “Wind vane and Anemometer”
- Air Pressure: Pressure can be defined as the force exerted by atmosphere on the earth surface and other objects by air.
It is measured through “Mercury barometer and aneroid barometer”.
- Relative Humidity: This is the degree or amount of moisture (water presents in the air) in the atmosphere.
It is measured with a “hygrometer”.
- Clouds: These are tiny droplets of water vapour in the atmosphere.
- Sunshine: This is the direct light of the sun. It is the brightness of the sun.
VEGETATION: This refers to the ground cover provided by plants. It is influenced by its climate.
There are three types of vegetation belt in Nigeria namely;
- Forest
- Savanna
- Montane
Forest: It contains trees such as Mangrove swamp forest and rainforest.
Savanna: It consists of tree covered with grasses and flowers located between trees. It can be further sub-divide into Guinea Savanna, Sudan savanna and Sahel Savanna.
Montane Vegetation: These are vegetations with tress and grasses. It can be found in Adamawa, Jos etc.
Evaluation
- Define an environment
- What is physical environment?
- State the types of physical environment and explain with examples
- Highlight the features of physical environment and explain with examples
Assignment : social studies Melrose workbook Jssone
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