Physical Environment II

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Welcome to class! 

In today’s class, we will be talking more about the physical environment. Enjoy the class!

Physical Environment II

Meaning of natural resources

Natural resources are resources created by nature (God) for the use and benefit of man.

Nigeria is blessed with so many of these natural resources. Among them are coal, crude oil, gold, iron, tin limestone lead, hydropower and arable land etc.

Forms of natural resources

1. Atmospheric Resources: These include atmospheric gases (oxygen, carbon dioxide etc), wind, solar energy, rain etc.
2. Mineral or Geological Resources: These include petroleum, natural gas, coal, gold, mercury, limestone, copper, tin, etc.
3. Biological or Agricultural Resources: These includes all plant and animals.

Natural resources and their uses

NATURAL RESOURCES	STATE LOCATED	USES
Beni seed	Benue	For making soup, it can also be eaten with other grains.
Coal	Enugu, Benue	Steel manufacturing, powering locomotive train, fuel for domestic cooking.
Cocoa	Ondo, Ekiti, Oyo, Ogun	Manufacturing of beverages
Cotton	Kano, Kaduna	Production of cloth
Crude oil	Bauchi, Kastina, Rivers, Delta, Edo, Akwa-Ibom	Production of aviation fuel, kerosene, petrol.
Gold	Bayelsa, Imo, Ondo, Sokoto, Osun	Production of bangles, necklaces, wristwatches, etc.
Groundnut	Niger, Kano	Production of groundnut oil for cooking and snacks.
Iron Ore	Kogi, Delta	Production of iron sheets
Lead	Enugu	Production of battery zinc electrode, sheet zinc, paint, fungus retardants, chemical catalyst.
Limestone	Ogun, Ebonyi, Benue	Production of cement and paint additions.
Palm produce	Ogun, Imo, Anambra, Enugu, EBONYI. Rivers	Production of palm oil for domestic and industrial use.
Tin	Cross rivers, Delta, Edo	Production of broom, soap, sponge. Use in coating metals
Timber	Ogun, Ondo and Edo	Paper production and construction of furniture
Rubber	Delta, Edo, Ondo	Production of tyres and other rubber products.
Salt	Cross rivers, Borno, Bnue, Ebonyi.	Domestic cooking and industrial production.

Importance of natural resources in Nigeria

1. They are used as raw materials by industries.
2. They provide foreign exchange for the nation.
3. They provide employment opportunities for Nigerians.
4. They act as a source of power e.g. coal and crude oil.
5. They provide food and shelter for Nigerians e.g. agricultural produce.
6. They help in industrialization.
7. They provide materials needed for construction of roads, bridges and houses eg. iron ore, timber limestone etc
8. They provide income for Nigerians
9. They help in controlling dessert encroachment e.g Trees

Human Settlements

A settlement refers to a collection of houses with people living in them. It is made of various human activities. Apart from houses or buildings, it also consists of railways, roads, communication networks and so on.

Types of settlement

Pattern Settlements patterns are of two types

1. Rural settlements
2. Urban settlements

Rural Settlements:

Rural settlement refers to a village setting which consists people of common language, custom and culture. It consists of a few buildings. The common occupations are farming, hunting, fishing petty trading lumbering and other primary activities. In rural settlements, the house is built with mud, thatched roofs. They normally have little or no social amenities like hospitals, pipe-borne water, electricity etc.

Characteristics of rural settlement

1. The people have a common language and cultural background
2. Presence of a few social amenities.
3. The people engage in primary activities such as farming, lumbering, fishing etc.
4. Presence of few buildings scattered all over.

Urban Settlements:

This is a relatively densely populated area with people from different backgrounds and culture. They are settlements in town or cities like Abeokuta, Kano, Port Harcourt, Lagos, Aba etc.

Characteristics of urban settlements

1. They consist of people with different languages and cultural backgrounds.
2. They have many social amenities
3. Some of them are highly congested e.g. Lagos.
4. People engage in secondary and tertiary occupations e.g manufacturing, teaching, construction etc.
5. They are full of modern buildings with good architectural designs.

Man-made Environment

This refers to things within man’s environment which are made by him to make life more comfortable.

Among such things are:

1. Bridges are constructed on rivers and seas for easy transportation.
2. Vehicles, trains, aircrafts and ships: These aid man to move himself and other materials he uses on road, air and water.
3. Houses, manufacturing sites, industrial machines.
4. Communication gadgets and computers: These include communication masts, handsets, different computers etc.
5. Musical instruments such as piano, guitar, keyboards, drums etc.
6. Electrical and electronic gadgets: These include freezers, refrigerators, air conditioners and all electrical appliances.

Influence of the physical environment on man and his activities

The physical environment affects man in the following ways:

1. Man’s occupation: In most cases, a man’s environment influences what he does for a living. Those who live in savannah grasslands tend to become farmers while those in the northern part of Nigeria usually engage in cattle rearing due to availability of grass.
2. Political activities: In rural areas, political activities are normally at a lower ebb. In most cases, the Obas, Emirs and Obis with few traditional chiefs easily take major decisions for the populace. In some other places, direct democracy operates due to the smallness of the population. In the urban areas, people engage in politics at various circles social clubs, community association (landlord associations), trade associations apart from the real political activities for the election of government functionaries. Indirect democracy is used particularly for the political posts within the government (federal, state and local government levels).
   

3. Dressing: Man’s environment also dictates his mode of dressing. During rainy season or when the weather is cold man wears thick clothes and goes for light dresses during the dry season when the weather is hot.
4. Religion: Man’s environment influences the type of religion he practices. Those who live in the riverine areas tend to worship river goddesses while those who live in a forest may likely worship trees. The same applies to those who live close to mountains, rocks, etc.
   

5. Transportation system: The environment also affects how man moves himself and his goods. The major means of transportation in riverine areas include boat, canoes and ships. Those who live in the grassland and desert depend on animals such as ass, horse and camels as means of transportation
6. Food: Man’s food is influenced by his environment particularly the kinds of the crop the produces within his environment. The people in northern Nigeria depend on guinea corn, millet and animal products as major sources of their various foods, dishes or snacks. The people in the southwest depend on crops like yam, cocoyam, cassava and so on as the major sources of food. The people in the Niger Delta area depend much on aquatic animals for food apart from the crops available in their environment.

Influence of man on the physical environment

Man over the years has been able to influence the physical environment to make things better for himself. Among such are:

1. Construction activities: Man has been able to construct bridges on rivers for easy movement. For instance the Third Mainland Bridge in Lagos. Some highlands have become lowlands in the course of constructing roads. This is very common in some parts of Nigeria.
2. Irrigation activities: Man has been able to make water available in the desert for farming purposes. This is very common in northern Nigeria.
   

3. Reclamation of land: Technology has greatly helped the man in turning swampy or riverine areas to housing estates. For instance some parts of Victoria Island in Lagos were reclaimed from water and used for road construction and building of houses and hotels. The land used in building the popular Victoria Garden City VGC in Ajah, Lagos was also reclaimed from water but now one of the most beautiful estates in Nigeria.
4. Drainage: Water movements are been controlled through canals and drainage. The canals and drainage are constructed to prevent floods particular during raining seasons.
5. Afforestation programmes: To prevent desert encroachment man has engaged in tree planting programmes. Many states government in Nigeria have rigorously embarked on tree planting programme. The exercise encourages individuals to plant trees.

 

In our next class, we will be talking about Safety In The Environment.  We hope you enjoyed the class.

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