Geography & History Notes | KCSE, NECTA, ZIMSEC & GCSE

  Problems faced in equatorial regions Rampant occurrence of pests and diseases which attack man, livestock, crops and this has scared away settlements leading to low development rates. Heavy rainfall received throughout the year and the existence of the densely forested regions has made the establishment of a transport network very difficult. The region with its dense forests has made it difficult to exploit such areas leading to remoteness. The equatorial forests are commonly inhabited by robbers, and this has constrained any attempts to the development of the region. The heavy rainfall received throughout the year has caused a danger of erosion especially in areas where agriculture is practiced. Heavy rainfall may also lead to flooding which destroys people's lives and property. Leaching of the soils due to heavy rains and erosion has also led to serious loss of soil fertility. High rate of weed growth hence increasing costs of farming and clearance of land. Steps taken to im...

  These are found in the tropics, equatorial regions like in the Congo Basin, Amazon basin. Caribbean islands, pacific islands in countries like DRC, Gabon, Argentina. The following are characteristics of equatorial tropical rainforests: They have buttress roots to support the heavy and tall trees. Arranged in layers known as canopies like the top, middle and lower layer.  They have broad or big leaves to help in transpiration. They are ever green because the areas receive rainfall throughout the year. No shading leaves  They have tall trees growing to a height of 30-50 metres because of fertile soils, wet climates in order to get sunlight. They are dense, thick and concentrated, luxuriant because of fertile soils and wet climate. The species are mixed up (not in pure stand) because they grow according to natural conditions. They have small plants like mosses and algae which grow on stems, branches because of wet conditions. They have hardwood species, mvule, mahogany, eb...

  This type of climate is experienced in the region between 5°N and 5°S of the equator. For instance in places such as the Congo Basin. In East Africa, the equatorial climate is experienced around the L.Victoria basin and typical equatorial climate is experienced within the L.Victoria and specifically the Islands within L.Victoria.  Typical equatorial climate is characterized by; Heavy rainfall of about 2000mm evenly distributed throughout the year. Temperatures are high with an average of 27°C High humidity of about 80% or more. This is because of evaporation and heavy rainfall is received. Double maxima of rain i.e. there are two rainfall peaks received. The rainfall regime is characterized by a bimodal pattern. There is hardly any dry spell (dry season). The type of rainfall received is mainly convectional rainfall commonly accompanied by lightning and thunderstorms. There is thick or dense cloud cover because of the humid conditions that result into rising air whose mois...

  Equatorial climate can simply be defined as climate along the equator. the equatorial climate is also known as rainforest climate because there are mostly rainforest along the equator The equator is an imaginary line running at the centre of the earth from east to west. Location of the climate The climate is experienced by the areas located close to the equator between 5 degrees north and 5 degrees south of the equator.  The climate is located in the Congo Basin, the West African coasts, in Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon and, the amazon basin in South America The climate is found also on Lake Victoria shores and islands though it is modified by the altitude.   It is found also in the coastal areas and the eastern parts of Pemba and Zanzibar Islands. The following are characteristics of the equatorial climate. The high mean annual temperature of about 27 0 C.   The difference between the average temperature of the hottest and coldest months (annual tem...