TOPIC 1: LOCATION OF UGANDA ON THE MAP OF EAST AFRICA

Uganda is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania.

The southern part of the country includes a substantial portion of Lake Victoria, shared with Kenya and Tanzania.

Uganda is divided into 112 districts as of July 2011, with one Capital City of Kampala, and across four major administrative regions.

Most districts are named according to their main towns or administrative centres.

Each district is also divided into either counties or municipalities. The political head of a district is elected and his/ her title is chairperson Local Council Five.

 Activity

Study the map of Uganda above and answer the following questions.

1. List the neighbouring districts to your home district.

2. List the neighbouring districts of Kampala city.

3. What is the direction of Kampala from your home district?

4. Name the district where your village is found.

5. In which district is the capital of Uganda located

Locating Uganda on the map of East Africa

Everything on earth has its own location. A location is where something can be found. You can describe location in many ways. Places on maps are located using lines of latitudes and longitudes. Sometimes add lines that cross each other to form a pattern of squares called a grid.

 Activity

What are lines of latitude?

Lines of latitudes are imaginary lines drawn on a map running from West to the East. The equator is the most important line of latitude.

Lines of latitudes

 Multi-select

Lines of latitudes

 Activity

What are lines of longitude?

Lines of longitude are imaginary lines drawn on a map running from the North Pole to the South Pole.

Lines of longitude are also measured in degrees like lines of latitude.

The prime Meridian or Greenwich Meridian is the major line of longitude.

Lines of longitude

The prime meridian is called so because it crosses a town in London called Greenwich.

All other meridians are numbered from it. The two known meridians are prime meridian and International Date line.

All the meridians East of Greenwich are numbered from 0 to 1800E of Greenwich while meridians west of Greenwich are numbered from 0 to 1800W of Greenwich meridian.

Uses of lines of longitude

They are used together with latitudes to locate places. They are used to determine time zones. For example, for every 15° away from the Greenwich Meridian to the West you lose an hour and to the East you gain an hour

Location of Uganda

 Activity

Identify the lines of latitude and lines of longitude between which Uganda lies.

Uganda lies within latitude 4° N and 1 ° S of the Equator and 29°E, 35° of the Greenwich Meridian. The total surface area is 241,551 km". The annual temperature and rainfall range between 12°C and 32°C and 800 to 1700mm, respectively.

Discover More about Our Country Uganda

A MAP UGANDA SHOWING LATITUDES AND LONGITUDES

 Activity

Use the map above and answer these questions.

1. Name any four districts in Uganda which are in the Northern Hemisphere.

4. Which lake lies between 1 ° N, 2° N and 32° E, 34° E?

Location of Uganda's neighbours

Uganda lies astride the Equator in the Eastern Region of Africa. Uganda is a land locked country surrounded by Kenya in the east, South Sudan in the north, Rwanda in the south west, Tanzania in the south and the Democratic Republic of Congo in the West.

Activity

Identify Uganda's neighbours marked A, B and C

Activity

Complete the table below

Direction	County	Capital city
North	………………	Juba
………………	Kenya	………………
South	Tanzania	………………
………………	………………	Kigali
West	………………	Kinshasa

Uganda does not own a Sea Port and therefore depends on her neighbour's sea port to handle its overseas exports and imports. Uganda uses Port Mombasa in Kenya and Port Dar-es- salaam in Tanzania to import and export most of her goods. Since Uganda is a land locked country, it faces some problems.

Uganda pays high taxes to other countries when it uses their ports to export and import goods. Secondly, vehicles transporting goods to Uganda take many

days on the way before they deliver the goods.

Solutions to problems of being landlocked

Government should ensure co-operation with neighbouring countries, which can ease the movement of goods and services.

Develop railway and air transport systems which can ease the transportation of goods. This would also help to reduce on the taxes paid at ports. Government should ensure that there is peace, stability and unity with neighbouring countries. When there is peace, movement of goods is constant at all times.

Why should Uganda have good relationships with her neighbours?

This would enable Uganda to use their seaports to handle her .Overseas exports and imports. This would help Uganda to create a wider market for her products. The neighbours can also buy her goods. There is free movement of people and their goods from one country to another without much difficulty.

Elements of a good map

In Primary four you learnt about maps. Do you remember how you defined a map? A map is a drawing of a particular place showing land forms, plant cover and other important features.

A map can also be defined as a representation of a place or an object drawn as seen from above.

A picture is a representation of an object drawn as seen from

the sides.

 Activity

Activity

Draw maps for the following object

Table	…………………………	House	…………………
Tree	………………………	Basin	…………………
Bottle	………………………	Ball	…………………
Car	………………………	Box	…………………

A good map must have elements that help someone to read it easily. These elements can also be called features and these include the following:- title or heading, map key, scale, compass rose or direction, frame or boundary.

Title

A title is a name or heading to the map. A title gives general purpose of the map or it tells what the map is all about. For example, the title can be; a map showing Physical features, Vegetation or climate east, South Sudan in the north, Rwanda in the south west,

Tanzania in the south and the Democratic Republic of Congo in the West.

 Activity

What difficulty would a map reader find if a map has no title?

Key

A map key which is sometimes called a map legend shows what symbols on a map stand for. Symbols are signs that are used to represent the actual large features or objects on a map.

A key gives the interpretation of the symbols and signs used on a map

Examples of symbols and their meaning

 

Map scale 
A map scale is the relationship between the distance on the map and actual distances on the earth's surface. It compares a distance on a map with a distance on the ground.

A map scale helps you to find the real distance between places on a map. Each map in this book has a scale that shows Kilometres.

You can measure the distance on a map using a string and a ruler. For example, The distance in centimeters measured between two places P and Q for instance it can be 2cm.

Therefore, you can find the distance in kilometres using the scale

given below. 1 cm represents 100km.

1 cm = 100km

Therefore,

2 cm = (100 x 2) km

1 cm = 200 km

The distance between places Q and P is 200 km

Measuring long distances as shown on the map, you will need a string or thread. What you need to do is carefully to place a string along the length between town A and B. The string used is transferred to a ruler to Work out the distance between the two towns. For example, the distance got between A and B is 4cm.

If the scale given is 1 cm = 4 km 
Then 4 cm between town A and B will be 4cm = (4 x 4) km 
= 16km.

The distance from town A to B is 16 km.

Frame/boundary

A frame or boundary is a border or the outside edge, of a place. It encloses a map and defines the border of a map drawn.

 Activity

Which two countries share an international border with? 
Uganda?

Compass rose or direction

A compass rose or direction is used to show the direction of an area from a given point. Do you remember what you learnt about a compass rose in P.4?A compass rose has four main points called Cardinal or primary Points and four Semi Cardinal points.

The cardinal points are 90° from each other while semi cardinal points 
are 45° from each cardinal point.

 Activity

Activity:

1. Draw map symbols for the following features on a map

(a) Quarry (b) Factory

(b) Power generation station.

On a sheet of paper, draw a compass rose and label the cardinal and semi cardinal and semi cardinal directions.

3. Use the map scale given  to measure the distance between Apac and Kayunga on the map of Uganda on page 2. Take a straight string and Mark Apac and Kayunga on the map.Place the string at the marked points given carefully and hold the string to measure on the ruler the distance on the map and the length on the scale given above. Then go ahead to calculate the distance between Apac and Kayunga as follows:

Step 1 Place the string against Apac and Kayunga and mark the start and end

Of it.

Step II Place the string against the ruler to measure its length . The

measurement taken show the length between Apac and Kayunga

Step III Check the scale given, if it is linear scale the first work out to find what

1cm represents

For example :

3cm represent 150 km

3cm =150

3 3

1cm = 50km

Step IV If 1cm= 50km on the scale.

Therefore the distance between Apac and Kayunga on the map is 4cm.

Since you have to find out the distance in kilometres, then the distance

Will be 1cm = 50km, 4cm (50x 4)km = 200km

Therefore, the distance between Apac and Kayunga is 200km.

Key words

Location :       Is where something is found.

Cardinal:        Are directions north, east, west and south.

Globe:            Is a model of the earth.

Neighbor:      Something or someone that is close to a particular place or person.

Direction:      The way something is moving or facing.

Longitude:     Imaginary lines that run from north to south on a map or globe

Latitude:        Imaginary lines that run from East to west on a map.

 Activity

Exercise 1

1. Construct simple sentences using the following words;

a) Direction b) neighbour

c) Compass d) Latitude

2. What is a map?

3. Why is a title important on a map?

4. Why are symbols important on a map?

5. Draw a map symbol for a rift valley.

6. Name the compass point marked Y

7. Which African country lays West of Uganda?

8. Why is the Equator marked 0°?

9. Mention the method used to locate places on a map.

10. What is a landlocked country?

11. State one problem Uganda faces as a landlocked Country.

12. Suggest one way in which Uganda has overcome the Problem of being

landlocked.

TOPIC 2 PHYSICAL FEATURES OF UGANDA

 

Formation of physical features.

Influence of physical features on climate.

Influence of physical features on vegetation.

Importance of physical features.

Problems associated with physical features.

Solutions to problems caused by physical features.

End of topic exercise

In primary four last year you learnt about physical features in Our district. Now you will learn about physical features found in Uganda.

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 Activity

What are physical features?