African Great Lakes

High school (ages 12+)
Geography

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/african-great-lakes

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the location?East Africa, situated within the Great Rift Valley system
2. What is the biodiversity index?Harbors 10% of the world's known fish species, with exceptional cichlid radiation
3. What are the African Great Lakes and why are they special?They are huge lakes in Africa that hold about a quarter of the world's fresh water and are home to many unique fish.
4. Why do the African Great Lakes have so many different kinds of fish?The lakes were formed by the Earth's plates pulling apart, creating deep and varied habitats that let fish evolve into many new species.

Tectonic Plate Boundary: The zone where two or more of Earth's lithospheric plates meet, often associated with seismic and volcanic activity.
Endemic Species: A species native and restricted to a particular place, not found anywhere else in the world.
Evolutionary Radiation: The diversification of a group of organisms into forms filling different ecological niches.
Hydrological Cycle: The continuous movement of water on, above, and below the surface of the Earth.