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The Plateau Continent. Africa. Physical Features. Much of central Africa is a high, dry plateau Sahara – world’s largest desert Nile River – longest river in the world Lake Victoria – world’s second largest freshwater lake Lake Tanganyika – longest freshwater lake in the world.
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The Plateau Continent Africa
Physical Features • Much of central Africa is a high, dry plateau • Sahara – world’s largest desert • Nile River – longest river in the world • Lake Victoria – world’s second largest freshwater lake • Lake Tanganyika – longest freshwater lake in the world
Climate Zones • What landform dominates Northern Africa? • What is the climate type found along the equator?
Population Density • Largest Cities: • Cairo, Egypt • Lagos, Nigeria • 1. Where is most of the population concentrated in Egypt? • 2. Have you noticed a pattern in the northern part of Africa?
EconomicActivity • What natural resource is found mainly in the southern part of Africa? • What land use dominates most of Africa? • What land use is the least common in Africa?
Countries oF Africa • 53 countries • Largest: Sudan • Smallest: Seychelles • At least 2,000 languages spoken in Africa • Swahili and Arabic are two of the most common languages
European Colonialism • Africa was divided up by 8 countries in Europe during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. • Europeans wanted power and strategic advantage, exploited the resources of Africa, established settlements, and converted Africans to Christianity. • In general, Europeans took what they wanted from Africa with very little concern about the quality of life for Africans.
African Independence • Africans fought European imperialism since its beginnings, but this opposition gained strength after World War I and again after World War II. • Many Africans resented European presence. • Africans desired self-rule because they were generally treated as second-class citizens by Europeans. • The World Wars also demonstrated that Europeans were imperfect and raised questions about European racism. • Finally, many African soldiers were exposed to other places and they saw that European powers were weakened by the wars in Europe.
African Independence • In 1945, many prominent leaders of Africa met in Manchester, England and drafted a resolution as an appeal to their colonial powers and a warning of what would come if this appeal was ignored. • By 1960, Africa had 27 independent states. That number grew to 39 six years later, and the number became 47 by 1975.
Tribal traditions • Social life revolves around the extended family. • Extended families are linked to clans, kin groups, and tribes. • Religion and language is closely tied to the group that one joins by birth.
Languages of Africa • Niger-Congo: spoken by one out of every two Africans, spread by Bantu migrations • Afro-Asiatic: second-most-spoken on the continent, mainly in North Africa • Nilo-Saharan: western bend of the Niger River through the Sahel region into parts of east Africa • Khoisan: smallest number, found in Southern Africa, known as “the click languages” • Because there is usually such a wide variety of languages spoken in one country, trade languages, such as Swahili, Hausa, Fulani, and Creole have developed for cross-cultural communication.
Agriculture • Africa is largely a rural continent. • Many young Africans are moving to the cities to find work, however, many Africans stay in the rural villages and practice subsistence farming and livestock raising.
Religion • 46 % are Christian (mainly in West, East, Central, and Southern Africa) • 40% are Muslim (mainly in North and West Africa) • Over 100 million practice indigenous religions
