Africa

1. Africa

3. Geography • The worlds second largest continent • 55 Nations; most of any continent • Between two oceans; Atlantic & Indian • Part of major trade routes since ancient times

4. Regions • North Africa – above the Sahara Desert • Linked to the Middle East culturally • West Africa – extends into Atlantic • Part of major slave trade routes to new world • Central Africa – home to Africa’s tropical rain forests • South Africa – crucial to trade b/w oceans • East Africa – Great Rift Valley, fertile land

5. Landforms • Africa is a continent of Plateaus • The land made exploration difficult for Europeans • Great Rift Valley – a split in the African Continent • Rich in natural resources • Hard to mine and transport because of the rough terrain

6. Rivers • Provide food, transportation, and irrigation and hydroelectric power • Major Rivers • Nile, Zaire (Congo), Niger, Zambezi

7. Nile River – East Africa • Longest flowing river in the world 4,160 miles • Home to early civilizations • Predictable floods supported huge population • Aswan High Dam • Pros – Hydroelectric Power, Irrigation • Cons – Farmers upstream now need to purchase fertilizers

8. Nile River Route and its tributaries

9. Zaire (Congo) River Central Africa Provides hydroelectric power Cannot be navigated with boats Poor for trade Niger River West Africa Provides water for irrigation Floods predictably

10. Zaire (Congo) River

11. Niger River

12. Zambezi River • Southern Africa • Creates Victoria Falls, 1 mile wide and 420 ft. high, between Zambia and Zimbabwe • The Kariba Dam provides hydroelectric power

13. Victoria Falls (Zambezi River)

15. Homework • Page 61 – Great Rift Valley 1, 2 • Page 64 – 3 a, b, c

16. Africa’s Natural Resources

17. Rich source of resources • Gold and Diamonds can be found in Africa’s rivers • Europeans mined much of their gold from west Africa beginning in the Age of Discovery • Power-Wealth-Trade

18. Africa’s Resources Today • Copper – Zaire and Zambia • Platinum and Cobalt – S. Africa, Zaire, and Botswana • Oil – Nigeria, Botswana, Libya, Algeria, and Gabon • Profits from African nations often end up in foreign countries

19. Resource Distribution • The countries without resources must purchase their goods and resources • Countries without mineral resources grow cash crops if the soil and climate cooperate

20. Adapting to the Land • Societies developed near sources of water • Farming, hunting and gathering, herding, fishing, urban • Major urban areas developed on the Mediterranean Coast, western savannas, and East Coast

21. Language • More than 1,000 languages • Groups only a few miles apart often speak different languages • Small tribes migrated constantly and used their own language • Scholars group African Languages into large families • Trade and diffusion created new languages

22. Climate and Diversity

23. Climate Facts • Most tropical of all the continents • Temperature is warm to hot • Therefore, rainfall determines the climate in Africa • Colder temperatures seen in higher elevations • Precipitation – Less than an inch to more than 80 inches

24. Climate Map of Africa

25. Tropical Wet – 8% of Africa • Home of the rainforests • Average Temp – 80 F • Average Rain – 60-120 inches per year • Leaching destroys soil, unsuitable for farming • Moisture feeds disease and destroys daily items • Concrete and steel are expensive fixes

26. Tropical Wet and Dry – 50% of Africa • Rainfall varies by season • Summer – Hot temps & Rainy Season • Winter – Warm temps & Dry Season • Major Feature • Savanna – grasslands that cover half the continent. More rain near the equator support plant and wild life • Unpredictable rainfall makes daily life difficult • Desertification – land turning into deserts

27. Deserts and Desertification

28. Deserts – 40% of Africa • Sahara – Means ‘desert’ in Arabic • Larger than the continental United States • Rain rarely falls, less than 10 inches a year • Temperatures reach as high as 130 F • Traders traveled across the Sahara • Diffusion of European, Asian, and African cultures • Kalahari – Southern Africa • More rain than the Sahara allows food to grow

29. The Sahara Desert

30. Kalahari Desert

31. Deserts – 40% of Africa • Namib Desert – one of the driest places on Earth • One of the oldest deserts in the world: 80 million years • Averages less than .4 inches of rain a year • Dune 7: the highest sand dune in the world, 383 meters ~ 1200 feet

32. Namib Desert

33. Mediterranean - ~2% • The Southern Tip and the Northern Coast • Climate similar to LA • Hot, Dry Summer • Cool, Wet Winter • Fertile soil good for farming • Major travel destination

34. Mediterranean Zones are in Purple

35. Homework • Why does uneven resource distribution affect a nations ability to modernize? • How has modernization altered life for people who live on Africa’s rivers? • How has unpredictable rainfall and desertification complicated life in Central Africa? • Read page 69-70 • What diseases come from the different climate zones?

36. Homework • Page 71 #6 • AND • How can scientists use language to track the movement of groups of people?

37. Escarpment • Cataract • Leaching • Diffusion • Desertification • Pharaoh • Hieroglyphics • Olduvai Gorge • Sahel • Swahili Identifications