Hello, my name's Mr. March and I'm here today to teach you all about the contrasting physical landscapes of Nigeria.

So grab everything that you need for today's lesson and let's get going.

So by the end of today's lesson, you will be able to describe Nigeria's key physical features and explain some of their impacts on life.

There are five key terms for today's lesson and those are volcanic, subsistence farmers, mineral, hydroelectric power and mangrove.

Volcanic means relating to or produced by a volcano.

Subsistence farmers are farmers which only grow enough food to feed themselves and their families.

Mineral refers to a chemical substance that is formed naturally and is found in the ground or in rocks.

Hydroelectric power generates electricity by using water.

And mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal water and has roots that grow above ground.

There are two learning cycles for today's lesson.

I'm gonna start with the first learning cycle, which is all about investigating Jos Plateau.

Nigeria covers a large area and has a varied landscape.

Now, what do you think this landscape might be like and what physical features might there be? You may like to pause the video here whilst you study the map that's in front of you and consider your own answer to those two questions or perhaps even better, discuss it with someone near you.

So what did you come up with? Well, Nigeria has a range of different physical or natural features and these include the following, rivers, plateaux, mountains, savannas, deserts, coastlines and rainforests.

So just within one country, you can see just the huge variety of different physical or natural features which are found there.

The physical human geography of Nigeria influences though its population and the human activities that take place there.

Time now for a learning check in.

It says Izzy and Sam are having a discussion and you need to decide who is correct.

So Sam says that most of Nigeria is covered in desert.

Izzy says that Nigeria is a diverse country with a range of different physical features.

What you need to do then right now is pause the video whilst you consider and then select who you think is correct.

And the correct answer was Izzy.

Izzy's absolutely correct when she says that there is a range of different physical features.

For example, these include rivers, plateaux, mountains, savannas, deserts, coastlines and rainforests.

So really well done if you too were able to select Izzy as the correct answer.

The Jos Plateau is a large area of elevated land in central Nigeria and you can see that marked on the map there, directly or more or less in the middle of Nigeria.

And Jacob says that the plateau covers an area of around 8,000 kilometres squared and has an average altitude, which means height above sea level, of about 1,280 metres.

So we're really getting an idea about the grand scale, as well as height above sea level of the Jos Plateau.

Jos Plateau is a volcanic plateau.

It was formed from the lava flows of numerous small volcanic eruptions that slowly built up over time.

You've got a lovely image there on the right-hand side of the different hills in the eastern part of the plateau.

Many extinct volcano cones still remain in the landscape of Jos Plateau.

The climate of the Jos Plateau is tropical, but it's high altitude, once again, height above sea level, means that it is actually cooler than the surrounding lowlands.

There are different types of vegetation found there, including savanna, grassland and forest and the plateau provides habitats for a wide variety of plants and animals.

Some of these species are not found anywhere else in the world, so they are endemic to this part of the world.

And as Sam says, "Animals found in the Jos Plateau include their klipspringer, the Nigerian mole-rat and the rock firefinch." And you can see an example of the klipspringer right there in the image in front of you.

People have inhabited Jos Plateau for thousands of years and as Lucas says, "Jos Plateau is named after Jos, the largest city and capital of Plateau State." And you can see that marked on the map in front of you.

Now, this map is a bit different from other maps that we may have come across before.

This is actually showing us where people live and perhaps don't live across the country of Nigeria.

The darker the colour of green, the more people that live there.

So what we can see if we really look at Jos is that the region is densely populated and is home to people of many different cultures and languages.

So there are many, many people living in Jos and this is why we call it as being densely populated.

So a quick learning check.

It says, "What is the average altitude," height above sea level, "Of the Jos Plateau?" You can see I've given you three options on the screen.

What you need to do then is pause the video here whilst you select what you think is the correct answer.

And the correct answer is B, 1,280 metres.

Really well done if you were able to select B as the correct answer.

Our next learning check says, "What word is missing?" So once again, I'd like you to pause the video here whilst you try to recall those pieces of information to fill in those two gaps.

And the correct answers were volcanic.

So Jos Plateau is a volcanic plateau.

It was formed from the lava flows of numerous small volcanic eruptions that slowly built up over time.

Really well done if were able to recall that word from earlier in the lesson.

The physical geography then of Nigeria certainly influences the human activities that can actually take place there.

For example, the human activities which happen on Jos Plateau include the following, tourism, agriculture, so farming, mining, as well as hydroelectric power.

We are trying to understand how and why these activities are happening within the Jos Plateau area.

So if we start with agriculture then, the cool, rainy climate of the Jos Plateau is excellent for agriculture.

Many people here are subsistence farmers and grow food on small plots of land to feed their families.

Some farmers grow cash crops to sell at markets in towns and cities.

The common crops which grow here then are acha, a type of grain and sorghum, millet, potatoes, yams and green vegetables.

Large numbers of cattle, goats and sheep are also kept.

So we're getting a sense that this area of Jos Plateau is ideal for many, many different types of agriculture, be it pastoral or arable farming, whether it be for livestock or for growing crops, and indeed, a large variety of crops at that.

And we can see a lovely picture there showing what a yam looks like, because it is a type of edible tuber, which is a large part of people's diet in this region.

In terms of mining then.

The volcanic landscape of the Jos Plateau means that it is rich in mineral deposits and these mineral deposits then can be mined.

At the start of the 20th century, Jos Plateau became an important area for mining and other minerals including columbite, uranium, kaolin, gold and silver are also mined in this region and it's provided an important source of employment.

And many people have moved to the area looking for that work.

So it generates jobs, it generates income, it generates tax money, which again then, Nigeria can use to reinvest in its social and economic services.

So what about hydroelectric power? Now remember, hydroelectric power comes from water turning a turbine, which then generates electricity.

And the higher land of Jos Plateau is the source of many different rivers and waterfalls.

And several of these then are actually used to generate hydroelectric power for local consumption, as well as national and regional consumption too.

What about tourism? Well, the beautiful landscape, as you can see in that wonderful image there in front of you, of this region, makes it a popular tourist destination.

Many people visit each year from other parts of Nigeria and also globally to see the wonderful wildlife that only exists in this part of the world.

So a quick learning check.

It says, "Unscramble the letters to list some of the human activities taking place in the Jos Plateau." So you need to pause the video here whilst you try your best to unscramble those letters to list some of those human activities that we just went through.

Best of luck.

And the answers were, so agriculture was the first, hydroelectric power the second, mining the third and finally, tourism is the final answer.

Really well done if were able to unscramble those letters.

Unfortunately though, these human activities do impact the environment in Jos Plateau and these impacts include the following.

So it can lead to things like air and water pollution, deforestation, so chopping down woodland for example, as well as overgrazing and over-cultivation as a result of agriculture.

So let's start by looking at how deforestation has impacted the environment in Jos Plateau.

While much of the original tree cover of Jos Plateau has unfortunately been cleared for human activities, such as mining, agriculture, as well as the collection of firewood.

Now, the map on the right-hand side does a great job in actually illustrating the land use of this area of Jos Plateau.

So if we direct our attention to the legend on the right-hand side and we look more specifically at the sort of peach-colored square that you can see there, as well as the yellow colour, the red colour and the green colour, we really get a sense of what's happening in this area.

As shown in this GIS image then, most of the plateau is now rangeland, it's that peach colour, which are large areas of shrubs and vegetation for grazing for animals.

We can see also a slow growth in built up areas with that red colour, as well as rather limited amounts of trees in the area as well.

So now we can see that the dominant land use type in this region is rangeland.

What about overgrazing and over-cultivation? Well, intense agriculture in parts of Jos Plateau has caused nutrient depletion and erosion of the soil.

This degradation of the land has forced some farmers to leave the plateau, because the soil and the land there just doesn't have enough nutrients or vegetation to be able to support further crop growth or nutrition for their livestock.

Air and water pollution is a significant problem as well.

The extraction processes during mining pollute the air, water and the soil.

This has huge impacts on biodiversity, as well as human health.

So much of the large scale tin mining operations in Jos Plateau have now actually stopped, but waste products from abandoned tin mine fields continue to actually pollute the surrounding environment.

There is also pollution from the small scale mining that actually continues in the area.

Time now for a learning check and it says, "True or false, most of Jos Plateau is covered in forest?" What you need to do right now then is pause the video whilst to consider and then select your answer.

And the correct answer was false.

Now, once again, I'd like you to pause the video whilst to consider as to why this statement then is false.

And the reason it's false is well, much of Jos Plateau was once covered in forest, but a lot of this has now been lost because of human activities, such as mining, agriculture and the collection of firewood.

Most of the plateau is now rangeland.

Really well done if were able to identify those two correct answers.

Time now for our two practise tasks for our first learning cycle.

And the first one says to match each aspect of the physical geography of Jos Plateau with the human activity it supports.

So on the left-hand side then you can see the different human activities and on the right-hand side, you can see you've got the different aspects of the physical geography.

The second practise question says, "Describe some of the environmental impacts of human activities in Jos Plateau." So what I'd like you to do then right now is pause the video here whilst you attempt these two practise tasks.

Best of luck.

In terms of feedback then, here are the correctly matched words.

So agriculture matches with the fact that it has a cool, rainy climate.

Mining matches with its volcanic history, the volcanic landscape, which is now rich in mineral deposits.

And finally, hydroelectric power matches with the rivers and waterfalls which are found there.

The second question then asked you to describe some of the environmental impacts of human activities in Jos Plateau.

And your answer may have included something like this.

Human activities have impacted the environment in Jos Plateau in different ways.

Much of the original tree cover has been cleared for human activities, such as mining, agriculture and the collection of firewood.

Intense agriculture in parts of Jos Plateau has caused nutrient depletion and erosion of the soil.

Mining processes and byproducts cause air, water and soil pollution, which has impacts on biodiversity and human health.

Really well done if you were able to include anything like that in your own answer.

We're on now to our second and final learning cycle and this is all about investigating the Niger Delta.

The Niger Delta is an enormous low-lying region in southern Nigeria.

It is located at the mouth of the Niger River where the river drains into the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean, and you can see that marked on the map in front of you.

As Sam says, "The Niger River is the main river in West Africa and the third longest river in Africa.

Nigeria's name actually comes from this river." The Niger Delta spans an area of around 36,000 kilometres squared and is one of the largest deltas anywhere in the world.

Within the delta, the river breaks up into an intricate network of water channels and the image there, that satellite image, does a fantastic job of actually showing how this one river breaks up into that network of different water channels as it exits into the Atlantic Ocean.

So as Lucas says, "The Niger Delta is one of the world's biggest wetland ecosystems." So it's home to a huge variety of different biodiversity.

The Niger Delta contains many different habitats, such as mangrove forests, lowland rainforests and fresh water swamps.

And these habitats become home to a wide variety of plants and animals.

Unfortunately, many of these species are in fact endangered.

Some animals which call these areas home are the red colobus monkey, as well as the African bush elephant, as you can see on the images on the screen in front of you.

Once again, GIS can be used to investigate land cover in the Niger Delta and on the screen in front of you then, we've got this map which is once again broken down by colour in terms of its land cover, its land use.

So what can we see? We can see that much of the land is covered in trees and flooded vegetation.

The region is also densely populated.

So many people live there with several large cities, such as Benin City, as you can see there in the northeast part of the map on the screen.

So a quick learning check.

It says, "Which of the following options correctly describe the Niger Delta?" You need to select two.

So what I'd like you to do then is pause the video here, read through the four options and select what you think are the two correct answers.

And the two correct answers were B, it contains different habitats such as the mangrove forest, lowland rainforest, as well as freshwater swamps, as well as C, it's located where the Niger River drains into the Atlantic Ocean.

Really well done if you were able to select B and C as the correct answers.

As we've said previously, this area of Nigeria is very densely populated and around 30 million people live in the Niger Delta and actually rely on its natural resources in many, many different ways.

So they are relying on the fresh water, which is found there, the oil and gas, the fish, as well as the wood and finally, the nutrient rich soil.

And we're gonna try to understand how and why these people are relying on these natural resources in these different ways.

The supplies of fresh water and nutrient rich soil in the Niger Delta make it a really important area for agricultural production.

This is because many of the people in this area are subsistence farmers.

They're growing crops to feed themselves and their family, but they're also growing cash crops as well.

The crops include bananas, coconuts, cassava, maize, as well as yam.

Now, the Niger Delta also accounts for a huge amount, more than half of Nigeria's palm oil production, which brings in a huge amount of money via export on the international market, Palm oil is a common ingredient used in food, cosmetics, cleaning products, as well as biofuels.

The Niger Delta also has abundant oil and gas deposits and the multinational oil and gas industry have operated in the region since the 1950s.

This industry in the Niger Delta is very important to Nigeria's economy and many people are employed in this industries.

They have jobs, they're able to generate income and it's a really important revenue stream for Nigeria's social, as well as economic development.

The Niger Delta supports a huge variety of fish within its ecosystem and many people in the region depend on fishing for their livelihood and the mangrove forests in the Niger Delta are an important source of firewood for cooking.

So we can see how people in this area then really depend on those mangrove forests, both for timber and wood for heating, as well as cooking, as well as the fish itself for nutrition.

The physical geography also presents challenges for the people living there.

It has a tropical monsoon climate and can experience very heavy rainfall during the rainy season and its location on the Niger River and coastline makes the area extremely susceptible or vulnerable to flooding.

Although seasonal flooding has always happened in this region, climate change is unfortunately causing the floods to happen more frequently and become more intense as well.

Time now for a learning check and it says, "True or false? The Niger Delta is sparsely populated." What you need to do then is pause the video here whilst you consider and then select your answer.

And the correct answer was false.

Now, once again, I'd like you to pause the video whilst you consider as to why this statement then is false.

And the reason it's false is because actually around 30 million people live in the Niger Delta and rely on its natural resources in different ways.

These natural resources include fresh water, oil and gas, fish, wood and nutrient rich soil.

Really well done if you were able to identify those two correct answers.

We're on now one and only practise question for our final learning cycle.

And it says, "Describe some of the ways in which people use the natural resources of the Niger Delta." Now, you can see I've given you five different examples there on the screen in front of you.

Can you describe some of the ways in which people actually use those natural resources in the Niger Delta? So what I'd like you to do then is pause the video here whilst to attempt this practise task.

Best of luck.

And in terms of feedback then, so your answer may have included something like this.

Around 30 million people live in the Niger Delta and rely on its natural resources.

Supplies of fresh water and nutrient-rich soil in the Niger Delta make it an important area for agricultural production.

The Delta has abundant oil and gas deposits that the oil and gas industry here is very important to Nigeria's economy and provides employment for many people.

The Niger Delta supports a diverse fish ecosystem and many people's livelihoods depend on fishing.

Mangrove forests in this region are an important source of firewood for cooking.

So really well done if you were able to include anything like that in your own answer.

We're on now to our learning summary and what do you need to know from today's lesson? Well, you need to know that Nigeria has rivers, plateaux, mountains, as well as savannas.

And the Jos Plateau is an elevated area in central Nigeria.

The Niger delta is a low-lying swampy area in the south, as you can see on the map in front of you.

And the physical geography of Nigeria influences its population and the human activities that take place there.

So really well done during today's lesson.

It was a pleasure teaching you and I will see you again on the next lesson.

Goodbye.