AFRICA

Natural Environments

North Africa-Landforms• North Africa stretches from the Atlantic Ocean to

the Red Sea.• Coastal Plains extend from Morocco to Tunisia.• South of the coastal plains are the Atlas

Mountains.• What do you think lies south of the mountains?

Why?• South of the Atlas Mountains is the Sahara

Desert.

North Africa-Landforms

• The Sahara covers roughly 3.5 million square millions, about the size of the United States.

• It is the largest desert in the world!• Erg: high shifting sand dunes that help to

create a sea of sand.• Reg: gravel covered plain in which the wind

has blown away the sand and dust.

Which is which?

North Africa-Landforms

• Depressions: large low areas.• The Qattara Depression is 440 ft. below sea

level. It is a wilderness of quick sand and land marshes.

North Africa-Landforms

• In the eastern Sahara, the Nile River flows north through Egypt.

• The Nile is the longest river in the world!

North Africa-Climate

• Along the coast, the Mediterranean climate produces warm, dry summers and mild rainy winters.

• An arid climate covers most of North Africa. What is an arid climate?

• A rain shadow created by the Atlas Mountains contributes to the dry conditions. (Think orographic effect.)

West Africa-Landforms

• Plains and low hills make up most of the landscape.

• There are a few highland areas and broad depressions. What is a depression?

• Two of Africa’s major rivers, the Congo and the Niger are found here.

Congo River

Niger River

West Africa-Climate

• In the north, areas farthest from the equator have an arid region. What does that mean?

• Along the southern edge of the Sahara is a semiarid region known as the Sahel.

• South of the Sahel is a zone of tropical wet and dry climate.

• What might this type of climate look like?

West Africa-Climate

• The climate zone closest to the equator is tropical humid.

• Most of Africa’s tropical rain forests are found in this area.

• Why does West Africa have such a diverse climate?

Dry

Semi-Dry

Wet

East Africa-Landforms

• Tectonic processes have played an important role in shaping the physical landscape.

• The Great Rift Valley is a series of faults. • The Great Rift Valley can be divided into two

smaller areas, the Eastern Rift Valley and the Western Rift Valley.

East Africa-Landforms

• What might we find a lot of along fault lines?• Mt. Kilimanjaro, near the Tanzania-Kenya

border, is the most famous rift volcano.• Even though it is near the equator, its peaks

are almost always covered with snow.

East Africa-Climate

• This area’s climate is very unpredictable.• There are periods of extreme drought that

causes grass and cattle to die. • There is little vegetation which leads to

overgrazing and desertification.• There are also periods of heavy rains that lead

to an increase in locust and grasshopper populations.

East Africa-Animals

• Tsetse Fly: small fly that carries a human disease called sleeping sickness.

• Many of the large plains animals are immune to the disease.

• How then could this fly benefit the animals of the Serengeti Plains? (Hint: Think about farming.)

Southern Africa-Landforms

• Most of the region lies on a plateau just inland from the coast.

• The area between the coastal plain and the plateau is called an escarpment.

• What is an escarpment?

Southern Africa-Landforms

• The Drakensburg Range in South Africa causes a rain-shadow effect.

• As a result, areas to the east get more rainfall than areas to the west.

• Veld: grasslands of South Africa.

NORTH AFRICA-HISTORY AND CULTURE

Early Civilizations

• Where do you think the earliest civilizations settled in North Africa?

• Why did they settle there?

Remember the Nile!!

Early Civilizations

• The unique thing about the Nile River is that every year it floods.

• Why would this be a GOOD thing?• When the river floods it deposits silt, very

fertile soil.• This soil is great for farming.• The people counted on the flooding for their

survival.

Culture-People and Languages

• Nearly all the people consider themselves Arab or Berber.

• Berber: group of people that lived in North Africa before the Arabs came.

• Arabic is the official language of every country.

Culture-Settlement and Land Use

• Most of the people live along the Mediterranean Sea or along the Nile River.

• Urban overcrowding is becoming a major issue.

• Why would people in North Africa be moving to the cities?

Culture-Religion

• Most North Africans are what religion?• Muslim• There are a few small groups of Christians and

Jews.

WEST AFRICA-HISTORY AND CULTURE

European Influence

• European explorers arrived in West Africa in the early 1400s.

• What were they looking for?• They were looking for a water route to Asia.• Many traders were also attracted to the

possibility of gold.

European Influence

• In the mid 1500s, Europeans changed their focus from gold to what?

• Slaves• What did they need slaves for?• Europeans needed slaves for their colonies in

the Americas.

Slave Trade Revisited

• Europeans created trade routes between the Americas, Europe, and Africa.

• What was this known as?• Triangular Trade.

Slave Trade Revisited

• Europeans would sail to Africa and pick up captured Africans.

• Most of those sold into slavery were sold by rival African tribes.

• In exchange for slaves, Europeans often traded iron, guns, gold, and food.

Slave Trade Revisited

• Europeans would then take the slaves to the Americas.

• The slaves would be sold to colonists to work the land.

• The money from the slaves could then be used to buy raw materials such as tobacco, sugar, cotton, and coffee.

• The boats are then loaded up and taken back to Europe.

The Colonial Era• By the mid 1800s, the slave trade was coming to

an end.• What was happening to European industries at

this time?• They were beginning to develop.• What do you need for factories?• Raw materials.• What happened to the European’s supply of raw

materials?

The Colonial Era

• So, European countries began to grab land in Africa to support their industries.

• Do you see any problems that might occur here?

• What is scarcity?• How might Europe solve the problem of

competing interest?

The Berlin Conference (1884-1885)

• In 1884, European powers met in Berlin to divide up Africa.

• Who was not invited to the conference?• The AFRICANS!!

What was the only country that managed to remain independent?

Long Reaching Effects

• How did the scramble for European colonies shape the borders and countries of modern Africa?

EAST AFRICA-THE REGION TODAY

East Africa-Economy

• Most of the people in East Africa are still involved in subsistence agriculture.

• What is subsistence agriculture?• It means you only grow enough food for

yourself and your family to eat.• What does this mean about their standard of

living?

East Africa-Economy

• Some people will make money by gathering wild plants like coffee beans and gum arabic from acacia trees.

East Africa-Economy

• All the countries in East Africa are developing nations.

• What are some of the differences between developed and developing nations?

East Africa-Economy

• Tourism has great potential for economic growth in the region.

• Animal life, cool highlands, snowcapped mountains, clean beaches and cultural events all draw tourists in.

• The biggest barrier to tourism in the region is what?

• Terrorism and violence

East Africa-Urbanization• East Africa’s cities are growing rapidly.• Why?• People want better jobs, environment not good for

farming, etc.• However, too many people are moving to the

cities.• What types of problems could this cause?• Too few houses, not enough food, not enough jobs,

people not trained for jobs, high crime rate.

East Africa-Issues

• East Africa’s main issue is a population that is growing rapidly.

• What types of problems does this cause?• Not enough land, not enough food, not

enough clean water, not enough jobs, not enough money.

• Remember scarcity, what is it? • How might people react to these issues?

East Africa-Issues

• Ethnic hatreds between groups have led to genocide.

• Genocide: the intentional killing of a group of people.

• Why are people of different ethnic groups living in one country like this?

• Remember the Berlin Conference, who divided up Africa?

SOUTHERN AFRICA-HISTORY AND CULTURE

Southern Africa-Colonial Period

• In 1652, the Dutch set up a small settlement on the Cape of Good Hope.

• The good climate made it a great place to farm.

• The European settlers were known as “Boers”, which is farmer in Dutch.

• They thought of Africa as home, so they called themselves Afrikaners.

Southern Africa-Colonial Period

• In the early 1800s the British took control of the Cape area.

• Wanting to be free of British rule, the Afrikaners moved inland.

• In the late 1800s gold and diamonds were discovered in the area.

• What do you think this meant for the region?• War!!

Southern Africa-Colonial Period

• The quest for riches led to the Boer War (1899-1902).

• The British won control of the entire region.• Britain granted South Africa independence in

1910.• Why would they do this?

South Africa-Apartheid• The Afrikaners still controlled South Africa.• Remember, who were the Afrikaners?• The whites in South Africa prevented blacks

(about 95% of the population) from participating in the political system.

• This was known as apartheid.• Apartheid: term that means separateness.• Has this even happened in the U.S.?

Southern Africa-Apartheid

• The African National Congress was formed in 1912 to try and end apartheid.

• In 1990, the government released Nelson Mandela, the leader of the ANC.

• In 1994, open elections were held in South Africa.

• Mandela was elected the first black President of South Africa.

Southern Africa-Culture

• Many native tribal languages are still spoken in Southern Africa.

• Because of this, European languages are often adopted for official government business.

• The language usually depends on which country held that region during the colonial periods.

Southern Africa

• Most people in Southern Africa practice some brand of Christianity.

• How does this differ from the religion practiced by many in North Africa?

• Why did religion spread this way?