GRADE 10 GEOGRAPHY NOTES

PREPARED BY MR MUNTENGWA.

TOPIC 5: RIVER PROCESSES

A. RIVER PROCESSES
It is the movement of a river from the source to the mouth which involves
erosion, transportation and deposition

B. RIVER SYSTEMS
It is a pattern formed by the main river and its tributaries which shows how
the water flows from the source to the mouth.

C. DRAINAGE PATTERN
This is the movement of water over the earth’s surface or down in the soil.
There are many different types of drainage patterns or systems however, the
most three common ones are Dendritic, Trellis and Radial drainage.

1. DENDRITIC DRAINAGE
The word Dendritic is a Greek word Dendron meaning Tree. It is a tree
like pattern. It develops in a region which is made of rocks which offer
the same resistance to erosion and which has a uniform structure. The
directions of the river and its tributaries are determined by the slope.

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2. TRELLIS DRAINAGE
This pattern is rectangular in shape. The tributaries join the main river
(consequent) at right angles as subsequent streams. It develops in a
region which is made up of alternate belts of hard and soft rocks which
lie at angles to the general slope. As tributaries of the main river cut
through weak rocks, they turn their valley into wide valley called VALE

3. RADIAL DRAINAGE
This pattern develops on a dome or volcanic cone. The river flows
outwards forming a pattern like the spokes of a wheel. The river radiate
outwards from the central point like the spokes of a wheel. At times rivers
radiate from a mountain top.

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D. THE COURSE OF A RIVER
These are stages a river passes through from the source to the mouth. It
goes through 3 stages namely the Upper course, Middle course and Lower
course.

1. Upper Course
This is also known as the youthful river, the mountain course and the
torrent stage

Characteristics of Upper Course

i. Very energetic
ii. Begins at the source of the river near the watershed probably
the crest of the mountain.
iii. They create deep narrow valley known as V-shaped and the
valley formed has a steep gradient.
iv. River is fast flowing
v. Predominantly action of the river is Vertical Corrasion
vi. The work of the river is predominantly erosion

Features of Upper Course

i. V-shaped valley
 This valley is formed due to vertical corrasion which
deepens the valley
 Weathering and mass wasting causes the valley to become
V-shaped
 When the V-shaped valley is being formed, down cutting
takes place so rapidly that later corrasion cannot keep pace

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ii. Gorge
 It is a valley which is deep and very narrow
 It sides are almost vertical
 It is formed in areas where the rocks are very resistant
iii. Pot hole
 There are formed when swirling water falls into a slight
depression
 The slight depression is then turned into a cylinder hole
called a pot hole
 Large similar depressions formed at the base of a waterfall
are called plunge pools

iv. Waterfalls and rapids

 These can occur at any part of the river course but they are
most numerous in the mountain course.

Water falls
 These are formed when rivers plunge down in a sudden fall
of some height
 They occur in areas where resistant rocks overlying a less
resistant rock are horizontal or vertical

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Rapids
 These are formed when the face of the rock is steep but not
vertical
 These is also unequal resistance to the hard and soft rock
transverse by a river when rapids are being formed
 This forms an outcrop of a band of hand rock which causes a
river to jump or fall down stream as it passes.

v. River cliff
 This is the outer bank of a meander experiences considerable
erosion and is often concave and relatively high when
compared with the inner bank
 It forms a cliff like structure, hence the name river cliff.
vi. River Capture
 This is also known as river Beheading or River piracy
 If there are two adjacent rivers and one is more powerful
than the other, then the more powerful river may capture
its weaker neighbour.
 This can take place when a more powerful river flows over
rocks that are easy to erode or when flows down a steeper
slope than its neighbour.
 River capture normally takes in upper course of a river

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  River 1 and its tributaries are eroding more actively than
the neighbouring River 2
 The tributary of River 1 cuts into the path of River 2
capturing the upper part of it.
 When this happens the amount of water flowing in River 2
is decreased and so it is reduced in size
 Therefore River 2 becomes a misfit, a small river flowing in
a valley cut when the river was one much larger.
 A short part of the original course of River 2 up completely
and this area is termed as a Wind gap.
 Elbow of capture is the bend at which River 2 is cut
 Wind gap is the valley below the Elbow of capture
 Misfit river is the beheaded stream. This is because it is
deprived of its headwater and its volume decreases and it
becomes too small for its valley.

2. Middle Course
This is also known as the valley stage or mature river

Characteristics of Middle Course

i. It has a U-shape
ii. It has a gentle gradient
iii. Predominant action of the river is Lateral Corrasion
iv. The work of the river is predominantly transportation

Features of Middle Course

i. Interlocking spurs
 A spur is a projection of a highland
 These are formed when a river continually flows taking a
winding course.
 This is so because a river always takes the easiest path down
a slope
 It tends to go round rocks that are resistant
 Therefore, interlocking spurs are highland projection that
partially overlaps.

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ii. Bluffs
 As lateral erosion is taking place, interlocking spurs are cut
back

iii. Slip off slopes

 These are the smoothened ends of spurs
 These are convex banks with slope gently
iv. Meanders
 As water is flowing under gravity seldom flows straight for a
long distance
 When the river starts widening as it flows, it is called river
meandering

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3. The Lower Course
This is also known as plain course, old river stage and sterile stage

Characteristics of a lower stage

i. The river carries heavy loads some of which is on its bed
ii. The gradient of the valley floor is lower than in the middle
course
iii. Vertical erosion ends at this and lateral erosion continues to
push back the banks.
iv. The work of the river is predominantly deposition
Features of Lower Course
i. Flood plain
 This is a gently sloping plain of alluvium covering the
valley floor down which the river flows in a meandering
channel.
 A river in this stage carries large quantities of sediments
 The materials carried are spread over the area
ii. Levees
 These are raised river banks
 They are formed through the accumulation of deposits and
materials dropped on the sides of a river bed

iii. Braided rivers

 This is formed when the deposited materials in the mouth
of a river causes it to split into several channels as shown
below.

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iv. Ox bow lakes or Lagoon
 These are formed when a river is at a meandering stage
 The erosion continues until the areas is sealed up

v. Deferred Streams
 These are streams by Levees
 This is a tributary of a main river whose confluence is
interfered
 These rivers frequently meander flow into depressions
turning them into swamps but eventually they join the
river
vi. Delta
 This is fan shaped alluvial area
 It is formed by the deposition of fine materials by a river
when it reaches its mouth
 It is a low-lying swampy plain

i. Distributaries
 These are formed when a river obstructed by the deposition
of alluvium
 As a result of this obstruction the river may discharge its
water through several channels which are called
distributaries.
ii. Estuaries
 This is a delta developed in the mouth of a submerged river
or coastal waters.
iii. Terraces
 They are formed as meanders move downstream
 During this time both lateral and vertical erosion takes
place

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  This result in the removal of most of the original flood
plain but those pieces that remain form terraces.
 These are like steps formed.
THREE BASIC TYPES OF DELTA
i. Birds foot delta
 This delta consists of very fine material called silt and it
has a few long distributaries. Mississippi delta. It looks like
foot of a bird.

ii. Arcuate delta

 This delta consists of both course and fine sediments and it
has the shape of an inverted cone.
 It is crossed by numerous distributaries e.g Niger delta
 This is the type for which the name delta was derived from
as the shape in that of the Greek capital letter D.

iii. Estuarine delta

 Formed from materials deposited in the submerged mouth
of a river, it takes the shape of the estuary e.g. River
Zambezi, River Volta.

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E. RIVER ACTION
 It is the action of the river from the source to the mouth which
involves erosion, transportation and deposition of materials.

THREE BASIC FUNCTIONS OF A RIVER

 A river’s three main functions are erosion, transportation and
deposition.
1. RIVER EROSION
River erosion involves four processes namely Corrasion (Abrasion),
Corrosion (Solution), Attrition and Hydraulic action.
i. Corrasion (Abrasion)
 This is the wearing away of the sides and bed of a
river channel by the load
 It is the mechanical grinding of the river’s traction
load against the banks and bed of the river.
 Corrasion takes place in two ways
a. Lateral Corrasion: is the sideways erosion which
widens the V-shaped valley
b. Vertical Corrasion: this is the down ward action
which deepens the river channel.

ii. Corrosion (Solution)

 This is chemical action of water on soluble or partly
solution not with which the river comes into contact
with
 For example, Calcium Carbonate in limestone is
easily dissolved and removed in solution.
iii. Attrition
 This consists of the braking down of materials as they
are carried by water by colliding with each other.
 As the loads moves downstream, its fragments get
progressively smaller.
iv. Hydraulic action (Quarrying)
 It is the mechanical loosening and sweeping away of
materials by the river water itself.
 The material moved include the following gravel,
sand and silt
 Apart from vertical and lateral erosion, head ward
erosion also takes place

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  Head ward erosion helps to increase the length of a
river
 It is achieved by a river cutting back at its source.
2. RIVER TRANSPORTATION
The material carried by the river is called a load and is
transported in four ways.
i. Traction
 This is the dragging of large pieces of materials such
as pebbles along the river’s bed.
ii. Saltation
 Smaller pieces of rocks and other materials are
transported in this manner
 There materials are bounced over the river bed.
iii. Suspension
 Light materials such as silt and mud are transported
by suspension.
iv. Solution
 The chemicals that are dissolved in water are
transported by solution
 A river transports its load until it has insufficient
energy to transport it any further
 An example is Calcium Carbonate which is dissolved
from limestone by acidic water

3. RIVER DEPOSITION
 Deposition takes place when a river has insufficient energy
to carry its entire load
 Materials deposited by a river include boulders and pebbles
as the first load and silt which is the fine sediment.
 Deposition takes place at any point in a river’s course
 After the material is deposited, it is picked up again and
transported to another part of the bed where it is deposited
again
 This process continues until the reaches downstream
 When the river floods, the flow of water slows down and the
river is unable to carry its entire load
 When this happens deposition takes place.

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F. PENEPLAIN is the process of river erosion, transport and deposition, the
original surface is turned into an almost level plain

G. ALONG PROFILE OF A RIVER

1. A river’s source is place at which the river begins to flow such as
 Melt waters of a glaciers or ice e.g Rhone river in France
 In a lake e.g Nile river in Africa
 In a stream e.g Thames river in England
 In a region of steady rainfall eg. Zaire river in Africa
 At a hill or mountain like the Zambezi river at Kalene hills
in North Western Province of Zambia.
2. The volume of water increases from the source to the mouth
3. A river’s mouth is the place where the river ends which is usually in the
sea or ocean such as
 Amazon river ends in Atlantic ocean
 Nile river ends in the Gulf of Guinea
 Zambezi river ends in Indian ocean

H. SUPER IMPOSED STREAM

 It is a river or stream imposed on a surface on which it is not
easy a river to form
 For example a river that develops on a hard rock by cutting
through that same rock
 As the river develops on its original surface, it cuts way into the
underlying rock surface without regard to its structure.
I. RIVER REJUVENATION
 This is a process by which a river becomes Young again
 This happens when there is an uplift of land or a fall in the sea
level
 When this happens the slope steepens and active down cutting is
renewed

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  As the river cuts into the former flood plain it leaves terraces on
both sides
 It is characterized by a series of rapids
 The point where the old and the rejuvenated profile meet is called
the knick point or rejuvenated head

 Deepened river valleys and steep-sided gorges are formed as the

river undergoes rejuvenation.

J. TYPES OF WATER FLOWS

 The water in a river flows in two ways, namely Laminar flow and
Turbulent flow
1. Laminar flow
Water flows in layers parallel to the bed

2. Turbulent flow
Water flows in a circular way creating cycles.

K. HYDROLOGICAL CYCLE
 Rivers are the most widespread agents of denudation and it
forms part of the hydrological cycle
 The hydrological cycle is a cycle though which the water of the
oceans, atmosphere and land moves

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  In the hydrological cycle, evaporation from the sea and land
forms clouds which condense into rains that falls on earth as
run-off or percolates to form ground water, or is absorbed by
plants evaporates again to form clouds.
 The cycle is repeated when clouds are condensed to fall as rain

L. IMPORTANCE AND USE OF RIVERS

1. FARMING
Rivers are used to supply water for irrigation and drinking by farm
animals. Without water there can be no agriculture because both
animals and crops depend on water.
2. HYDRO-ELECTRIC POWER(HEP)
Most of the rivers in the world are used to generate hydro-electric power
for use in homes and industries.
3. TOURISM
Rivers contribute to tourism as many people are interested in many
activities done in the water of many rivers.
4. WATER SUPPLY
Rivers supply water for both domestic and industrial use
5. FISHING
Many types of fish are caught from rivers which are a source of protein to
people.
6. TRANSPORT
Transportation of both goods and people can be done by water routes
especially between places that are islands.
7. SETTLEMENT
Sometimes human settlements are concentrated along rivers for easy
access to water.
8. BOUNDARY
Some rivers act as boundaries between countries such as Zambezi River
between Zambia and Zimbabwe and Luapula River between Zambia and
DRC Congo.
9. MINERALS
Some precious minerals are found on river beds and beaches such as
gold and diamond
10. BUILDING MATERIALS
Rivers provide much needed building materials such as river sand and
gravel.

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 TOPIC 6: WEATHER AND CLIMATE
A. WEATHER
TOPIC 1: WEATHER AND CLIMATE
B. WEATHER
1. What is Weather?
It is the atmospheric conditions of a particular place over a short
period of time.
2. What is Meteorology?
Is the study of weather and making of weather forecasts?
3. Who is a Meteorologist?
Is a person who studies weather and make weather forecasts.
4. What is Weather Forecast?
Is the prediction of what kind of weather might be expected over the
few days or months?
5. What is Weather or Meteorological Station?
It is a place where the elements of weather are measured and
recorded.
6. What are Elements of Weather?
These are atmospheric conditions that make up weather of a
particular place at a given time.
7. What are Instruments of Weather?
These are instruments used to measure elements of weather.
8. Name the elements and instruments of weather.
ELEMENTS INSTRUMENTS UNITS LINES DRAWN ON
MAP
Rainfall Rain gauge Millimeters(mm) Isohyets
Temperature Thermometer Degrees Celsius or Isotherms
Centigrade (℃) or Degrees
Fahrenheit (℉).
Humidity Hygrometer Relative humidity (%) None
Air pressure Barometer Millibars(mb) Isobars
Sunshine Sunshine Recorder/Sun dial None Isohels
Cloud Cover Human eye by Observation Oktas or eighths Isonephs
Wind Speed Anemometer Knots None
Wind Direction Wind Vane/ weather clock Compass directions None
9. Rainfall
 It is formed when small droplets of water join together to form
clouds.
 It is always measured by an instrument called a Rain gauge.
 Drizzle is a very fine rain (raindrops).
 Haze, Mist or fog these are formed when condensation occurs at
a ground level without necessarily resulting in rain.
 Dew is water in form of droplets that appears on exposed objects
such as car roofs, leaves and grass in the morning or evening
due to condensation.
 Snow is formed when condensation takes place at temperatures
below freezing point.
 .Hail or sleet is formed when moist air ascends quickly to
cooler layers of the atmosphere, when this happens, water
droplets freeze into ice pellets and fall as hail or hailstones.

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i. Precipitation
Is any form of liquid or solid water particles that fall from the
atmosphere and reach the surface of the earth? These include
rain, drizzle, hail (sleet) and snow.
ii. Conditions necessary for precipitation to occur
 The air must be saturated
 The air must contain small particles of matter such as dust
around which the droplets form.
 The air must be cooled below its dew point (the critical
temperature at which the air is fully saturated).
iii. Types of rainfall
There are (3) three common types of rainfall namely Relief,
Convection and Convergence.

a. Relief rainfall
 It is also known as orographic rainfall
 This type of rainfall occurs in all latitudes
 It occurs when moist air rises over a highland
 It is formed whenever moist air is forced to ascend a
mountain barrier
 The side that receives rainfall is called Windward side or
wayward side.
 The side that does not receive rainfall is called Leeward
side or rain shadow.

b. Convectional rainfall
 This type of rainfall usually occurs in the afternoon
 It is usually accompanied by lightning and thunder
 It is usually common regions that are intensely heated
such as equatorial and savanna regions.
 This is type is formed when the land is heated forcing
evaporation of water from rivers, plants, lakes, seas or
soil.
 As the moist air rises, the air pressure decreases and the
air cools down
 When the moisture levels reaches condensation point, the
water vapour condenses to form water droplets.

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  The droplets form clouds which later fall as rain.
 Thunderstorms (heavy rain sometimes mixed with hail
accompanied by lightning and thunder) can occur
when land surfaces are greatly heated.

c. Convergence rainfall
 It is also known Cyclonic, frontal or depression rainfall
 This type of rainfall occurs when large masses of air of
different temperature meet forcing the warm moist air
to rise over the cooler moist air to form clouds.
 It is usually a very heavy rain that lasts for few hours
 It is common in low pressure belts (doldrums) areas
 As the warm air rises, pressure decreases, the air
expands and cools, condensation takes place and light
showers called frontal or cyclonic rain occurs.
 The point where the air masses meet is called Frontal.
 For example in Zambia the three air masses namely
North West Trade Winds (warm moist air mass), North
East Trade Winds and South East Trade Winds (cooler
moist air masses) brings about convergence rainfall in
Zambia.
 The point where these three trade winds meet is called
Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ).

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iv. Measurement of rainfall
 Rainfall is measured by an instrument called Rain gauge
 Rainfall is usually measured in millimeters(mm)
 A rain gauge consists of a cylinder copper container, glass
bottle or small copper container and metal funnel.
 A rain gauge is placed in an open space so that no runoff
water from trees, tall buildings or other objects can get into the
funnel.
 A rain gauge should be at least 30cm above the ground to
avoid the splashing water from the ground getting into the
funnel.

Measuring
cylinder

v. How to measure rainfall

 A measuring cylinder is used to measure the rain water
collected in the glass tube.
 The rain water collected in the glass bottle is poured into
measuring cylinder with graduated measurements on it in
millimeters.
 A lower meniscus is taken for accurate measurement
 The copper cylinder that houses the glass bottle is used to
prevent evaporation water from the glass bottle due to heat.
vi. How to record rainfall measurements
 Daily rainfall- it is recorded in millimeters by reading it off
the rain gauge.
 Monthly rainfall- the daily records of rainfall are added at
the end of the month to find total rainfall for the month.
 Mean monthly rainfall is obtained by dividing the monthly
total by the number of days in the month.
 Annual rainfall is obtained by adding monthly totals of each
month.
 Mean Annual rainfall is calculated by adding monthly
rainfall totals divided by 12 months.
 Isohyets- these are lines drawn on a map joining places of
equal amount rainfall.

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10. Temperature
 It is the degree of hotness or coldness of a body or place.
 It is measured in Degrees Celsius or Centigrade (℃) or Degrees
Fahrenheit (℉).
i. How to read temperature
 It is observed by measuring the highest (maximum) and the
lowest (minimum) temperatures of the day.
Degrees Celsius or Centigrade (℃)
 0 ℃ represents freezing point of water
 100 ℃ represents boiling point of water
Degrees Fahrenheit (℉)
 𝟑𝟐 ℉ represents freezing point of water
 𝟐𝟏𝟐℉ represents boiling point of water
ii. How to covert Degrees Celsius or Centigrade (℃) or Degrees
Fahrenheit (℉).
 To convert Degrees Celsius or Centigrade (℃) to Degrees
Fahrenheit (℉) we use the formula (℉ −32)÷1.8
 To convert Degrees Fahrenheit (℉) to Degrees Celsius or
Centigrade (℃) we use the formula (℃ × 1.8)+32
iii. How to measure temperature
 Temperature is measured using a thermometer.
 The following are ways in which temperature can be measured
using the minimum and maximum thermometers.
a. Minimum thermometer
 It is used to measure minimum temperature which is the
lowest temperature of the day of a given place.
 This thermometer uses alcohol.

b. Maximum thermometer
 It is used to measure maximum temperature which is the
highest temperature of the day of a given place.
 This thermometer uses mercury.

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c. Six’s thermometer
 It is also called the minimum and maximum
thermometer.
 It is used to show both maximum and minimum
temperatures
 The two thermometers are joined in a U- shaped glass
tube.

Minimum thermometer
 Measures minimum temperature
 Minimum temperature normally occurs early in the
morning when temperature falls.
 The alcohol in the left hand limb contracts while the
mercury flows in the reverse direction.
 The index is pulled up along the left hand limb except
when temperature rises, the alcohol flows past the index
leaving it where it was pushed.
 The end of the index furthest from the bulb gives the
reading of the minimum temperature.
 To reset the index draw it back by a magnet.

Maximum thermometer
 Measures maximum temperature.
 Mercury in the glass tube expands when the temperature
rises which pushes the index in the right limp up to
maximum.
 The end of the index nearest the mercury gives the
reading of the maximum temperature.
 To reset the index for the next day’s reading draw it
back by a magnet.

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 iv. How record temperature
a) Mean daily temperature is the average of maximum and
minimum temperatures. The maximum and temperatures for
one day are added together and then halved.
For example Maximum temperature 30℃
Minimum temperature 10℃
Mean daily temperatures = 30℃ + 10℃ = 40℃ = 𝟐𝟎℃
2 2
b) Diurnal/Daily range of temperature is the difference between
maximum and minimum temperatures of the day.
For example Maximum temperature 30℃
Minimum temperature −10℃
Daily range of temperature = 𝟐𝟎℃

c) Mean monthly temperature is obtained by adding all the daily

readings for the month divided by the number of days in that
month.

d) Mean annual temperature is the total mean month

temperature divided by 12 months.

e) Mean annual range of temperature is the difference between

the highest mean monthly temperature and the lowest mean
monthly temperature.

f) Isotherms are lines drawn on the map joining places with same
mean temperature.

11. Humidity
 It is the amount of water vapour in the air.
i. Relative humidity- is the ratio between the amounts of water
air can hold at given temperature and the actual amount of
water in the air.
ii. Saturation point- is when there is a limit in the quality of
water in the air. It is when the rate of humidity is 100% or
when the relative humidity is 100%.
iii. Absolute humidity- is the actual amount of water present in
the air.
iv. Dew point- is the critical temperature at which the air is fully
saturated.
v. Relationship between humidity and temperature.
 As temperature rises, air holds more water vapour.
 The higher the temperature the more water vapour in
the air.
 The more the temperature falls the less the water vapour
in the air.
 When relative humidity reaches 100% the air is
completely saturated and cannot hold any more water.
And at this point condensation will occur in form of
minute droplets of clouds, rain, mist, dew and fog.

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vi. How to measure humidity
 Humidity is measured by an instrument called
Hygrometer
 Hygrometer is made up of wet bulb and dry bulb
thermometers.
 When air is not saturated, water evaporates from the
container and the muslin becomes wet.
 The wet muslin cools the wet bulb and causes the mercury
to contract.
 However, the dry bulb is not affected and the two
thermometers will indicate the amount of water vapour in
the air.

vii. How to read humidity

Thermometer reading Amount of humidity
Large difference Low humidity
Small difference High humidity
No difference Air is saturated

viii. Storage of thermometers

Stevenson screen
 It is a wooden box that is suspended or supported by four
legs found at the weather station.
 Stevenson screen is used to keep (4) four thermometers
namely maximum, minimum, dry bulb and wet bulb
thermometers.
 It is suspended from the ground so that the heat from the
ground does not affect the temperature readings.
 It is painted white to reflect the rays of the sun so that
heat from the sun does not raise the temperature inside
the box.
 It has louvered windows to allow free air circulation.
 It has a doubled layered roof with space in between to
prevent direct rays of the sun reaching the instruments
inside.

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12. Air pressure
 It is also known as the atmospheric pressure.
 It the weight of the air which is exerted on the earth’s surface.
i. Relationship between altitude and air pressure
 Pressure decreases with increase in altitude
 So the higher the altitude the lower the air pressure.
 For example in the diagram below point A will have more
air pressure, followed by B and C respectively.

ii. Relationship between temperature and air pressure

 The higher the temperature the lower the pressure.
 This is so because high temperature causes air to rise as
much air pressure is greatly concentrated close to the
earth surface.

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 a) High temperature areas are associated with low
pressure(doldrums )
The wind blow inwards into the centre in regions of
low pressure whilst circulating in an anticlockwise
direction.

b) Low temperature areas are associated with high

pressure
The wind blow outwards from the centre in regions of
high pressure whilst circulating in the clockwise
direction.

iii. How to measure air pressure

 Air pressure is measured by an instrument called
barometer
 Air pressure is measured in units called millibars
 Air pressure is measured using two types of barometers
namely.

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 a. Mercury Barometer
 It is a very accurate instrument
 At sea level this 76cm is in metric units

b. Aneroid Barometer
 It consists of a hollow metal box which contains very
little air.
 The top of the box is flexible so that it expands and
contracts according to changes in atmospheric
pressure outside the box.

iv. Isobars -are lines drawn on the map joining places with equal
amount of pressure.

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13. Sunshine
 Hours of sunshine are measured by a sunshine recorder or sun
dial
i. Sunshine Recorder or Sun Dial
 It consists of a glass sphere of 102mm in diameter through which
the rays of the sun are forecast upon a sensitised card graduated
in hours.
 At the end of the day the card is taken out and the length of trace
is turned into hours and minutes which represents the total
amount of sunshine for the day.
 A line is made on the card when it is sufficiently heated but not
when the rays are faint.

ii. Isohels – these are lines drawn on the map joining places of
equal amount of sunshine.

14. Clouds
 Are made of water droplets or ice particles that float in the sky.
 The shape, height and movements of clouds indicate the type of
weather conditions for that particular place.

i. Types of clouds
 Clouds are classified according to their appearance, form and
height.
a. High clouds
These are found between 6000m and 12000m
These include cirrus, cirrocumulus and cirrostratus.
1. Cirrus – these are made of small ice crystals, white,
wispy, fibrous or feather like in appearance in bands
or patches.
2. Cirrocumulus - these are made of ice crystals,
globular or crippled (ripples in the sand on a sea
shore) in appearance forming a thin cloud.
3. Cirrostratus – these clouds look like a thin white,
almost transparent sheet that gives the sun and the
moon haloes.

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 b. Middle clouds
These are found between 2100m and 6000m
These include altostratus and altocumulus.
1. Altostratus – these are made up of water droplets in
layers or patches, bumpy- looking with flattened bases
arranged in lines or waves.
2. Altocumulus – these are made up of water droplets
forming sheets of grey or water looking clouds, partly
or totally covering the sky.
c. Low clouds
These are found below 2100m
These include stratocumulus, nimbostratus and stratus
1. Stratocumulus – these are large globular masses,
bumpy-looking soft and grey in appearance forming
pronounced regular pattern.
2. Nimbostratus – these are dark-grey and rainy-
looking dense and shapeless. They often give
continuous rain.
3. Stratus – these are fog-like low cloud forming a
uniform layer. They bring a dull weather and is often
accompanied by drizzle.
d. Clouds of great vertical extent
These are found between 1500m and 9000m
These includes cumulus and cumulonimbus
1. Cumulus – these are round – topped, and flat- based
forming a whitish- grey globular mass. They consist of
individual cloud units.
2. Cumulonimbus – it is a special type of cumulus. It is
characterised by white or black globular masses whose
round tops often spread out in the form of an anvil,
summits rise like towers and mountains. These often
indicate conventional rain, lighting and thunder.
In other words these are typical thunder clouds.
ii. How to record amount of cloud cover

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iii. Measurement of cloud cover
 Cloud cover is measured by the human eye through observation
iv. Isonephs – these are lines drawn on the map joining places of
equal amount of clouds.

15. Wind speed

 It is measured by an instrument called anemometer.
i. Anemometer
 It has three or four arms mounted on a vertical shaft
(mast) with metal cups fixed at the ends of the arms.
 These arms rotate when there is wind and this movement
operates a meter which records the wind speed in km per
hour.

16. Wind direction

 It is measured by an instrument called wind vane
 Sometimes it can also be measured by an instrument called
windsock.
i. Wind vane
 It is used to indicate wind direction
 It has a rotating arm with a tail at one end and a
pointer
 When the wind blows, the arm swings till the pointer
faces the direction of the winds.
 Usually winds are always named from the direction they
blow. For example the east winds blows from east to west
named east west winds and south winds blows from
south to west named south west winds.

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ii. Windsock
 It is commonly found in airports and airstrips.
 It helps pilots to determine which direction to take when
taking off or landing.
 It is made up of a piece of cloth mounted on a frame
made out of metal or wood.
 The piece of cloth will show the direction in which the
wind is blowing to and when there is no wind it rests
horizontally to the frame.

iii. How to record the direction of wind

 Wind rose is used to record the direction of wind on
each day of the month.
Wind rose
 It consist of an octagon with eight compass points
 Each of the small rectangles represents the date in which
the wind blew from that direction.
 For example on 13th of the month the wind is north west
 The days without the wind are called calm days.
 Calm days are recorded in the box in the centre of the
octagon
 For example, the diagram below shows 3 calm days.

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17. Beaufort wind scale
 It shows both the speed and direction of the wind.
 It was devised by Admiral Beaufort in 1805
 It helps to determine the strength of the wind by visual
observation only.

18. How to records on the map

 Winds are shown by arrows on a weather map.
 A shaft of an arrow shows wind direction
 A feather of a shaft shows the wind speed

Feather (wind speed)

Station

Shaft (wind direction)

i. This flag stands for the speed of 50 knots

ii. This full feather stands for the speed of 10 knots

iii. This half feather stands for the speed of 5 knots.

19. Synoptic chart

 Is any map that summarises atmospheric conditions such as
precipitation, temperature, air pressure and wind over a given
area at a particular time.
 Here are some of the weather symbols found on synoptic chart.

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C. CLIMATE
1. WHAT IS CLIMATE?
 It is the atmospheric conditions of a particular place over a
long period of time.
 The elements of climate are the same as the elements of weather
such as rainfall, temperature, humidity, air pressure, cloud
cover, sunshine, wind direction and wind speed.
 However for the elements to be considered as climate of a given
area they must occur repeatedly in that given area over a
period of 35 years.
2. PRESSURE SYSTEMS OF THE WORLD
These are classified as Cyclones and Anticyclones.
a. Cyclones
 There are also known as depressions.
 These are low pressure air masses.
 The word cyclone is derived from the Greek word Cyclos
meaning the coils of a snake (it is where a snake coils itself
in a circular).
 Sometimes there are referred as storms because there are
violent strong winds that cause disturbance and
destruction of property on earth surface.
a) Types of cyclones
There are two types of cyclones namely Temperate and tropical
cyclones (Storms)
i. Temperate cyclones (Storms)
 These are sometimes referred as extra tropical
cyclones.
 These occur in temperate zones and high latitude
regions.
 They originate from the Polar Regions (900 N and 900
S)
ii. Tropical cyclones (Storms)
 These are large scale weather systems developing over
tropical or sub tropical waters and get organized
into surface wind circulation.
 They originate from tropics of Cancer (230N) and
Tropics of Capricorn (230 S).
 The tropical cyclones are given many names in
different regions of the world such as follows.
 Typhoons in China Sea and Pacific Ocean.
 Hurricanes in West Indian islands in the Caribbean
Sea and Atlantic Ocean.
 Tornadoes in Guinea lands of West Africa and
Southern USA. Also known Whirl-wind in USA.
 Willy-Willies in North Western Australia.
 Tropical cyclones in the Indian Ocean.
b) Characteristics of a cyclone
 Pressure is low in the centre and increase outwards with
a steep pressure gradient.
 Wind blows inwards strongly

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  These depressions can travel long distance and follow
definite paths
 They have less influence over land because they become
very weak
 Isobars are close together forming an oval shape or
circular shape.
c) Structure of a cyclone in Northern and Southern Hemisphere

(a) Air circulation in northern hemisphere cyclone

The air circulates in an anti-clockwise direction in the
northern hemisphere and the winds are deflected to the
right.

(b) Air circulation in southern hemisphere cyclone

The air circulates in a clockwise direction in the
southern hemisphere and the winds are deflected to the
left.

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b. Anticyclone
 These are high pressure air masses that are opposite to
cyclones.
a) Characteristics of anti-cyclone
 These are high pressure air masses whose isobars are far
apart, forming an oval shape or circular shape
 Pressure is high in the centre and decreases outwards
without strong winds and clouds.
 Wind blows outwards with a gentle gradient.
b) Structure of a cyclone in Northern and Southern
Hemisphere
(a) Air circulation in northern hemisphere anti-cyclone
The air circulates in a clockwise direction in the
northern hemisphere and the winds are deflected to the
right.

(b) Air circulation in southern hemisphere anti-cyclone

The air circulates in an anti-clockwise direction in the
southern hemisphere and the winds are deflected to the
left.

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3. THE EFFECTS OF TROPICAL AND TEMPERATE CYCLONES (STORMS)
The following are some of the negative effects of tropical and
temperate cyclones or sometimes referred as storms.
i. Destruction of animal and plant life
ii. Destruction of property such as buildings and vehicles
iii. Displacement of people from their homes
iv. Break up of water borne diseases such as Cholera
v. May lead to closure of affected industries
vi. Loss of employment in the affected industries
vii. Leads to extensive flooding in affected areas
viii. It is expensive to rebuild the destroyed properties

4. MAJOR CLIMATIC TYPES OF THE WORLD

The following are some of the major climatic types of the world.
i. THE EQUATORIAL

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