6th grade ubd - unit 8 - geography of africa. african geography- africa is a large continent...

Geography of Africa6th Grade UBD - Unit 8 - Geography of Africa

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African Geography- Africa is a large

continent surrounded by oceans and seas.

It is divided in two by the Sahara Desert.

Sub-Saharan Africa is the region south of

the Sahara Desert.

Farming, Herding, and Trade- The lives

of people in Sub-Saharan Africa were

shaped by their environment. People

migrating between climate zones had to

adapt.

Reach Into Your Background

Predict how

geography affects

patterns of

settlement and

commerce? Then

explain how the

geographic features

of an area affect its

development.

( 5 minutes)

Partner Activity

Work with a neighbor and compare your answer with theirs. What things are the same and what things are different? (3 minutes)

Key Ideas- African Geography

Africa lies between two oceans, the Atlantic and the

Indian. It also is bordered by the Red Sea and the

Mediterranean Sea.

Africa has four major rivers: the Nile, the Niger, the

Congo, and the Zambezi. All of the rivers are

navigable in places. However, near the coast, each

river has a series of cataracts, or waterfalls. These

keep boats from traveling from the coast to the

interior.

Sub-Saharan Africa has four climate zones: desert,

semiarid or Sahel, savanna (grasslands), and

tropical forests.

Key Term

Africa- The

second-largest

continent in the

world. It is large

enough that you

could put the

United States,

Europe, China,

and most of India

within its

borders.

Africa's GeographyVideo- Africa's Geography

African Geography

Africa is the second-largest

continent on Earth,

comprising about one-fifth,

or 20 percent, of the

world’s total land mass.

In 2010, its population

topped 1 billion; its

peoples spread across 54

countries—and several

territories, or states of

disputed status.

African Geography

Most of Africa lands lie within

the tropics.

Despite this, Africa has diverse

vegetation and climate zones

as well as many unique

physiographic features.

Its landscapes range from

tropical rainforest to desert

and from savanna to snow-

capped mountain.

Key Term

Rainforest- A

dense forest

rich in

biodiversity,

found typically

in tropical areas

with

consistently

heavy rainfall.

Climate and VegetationVideo- Climate and Vegetation

The SahelReading Handout- The Sahel

Large Rivers

Perhaps Africa’s

greatest resource

throughout its history

has been its rivers,

which carry much

needed water inland,

vital to the growth of

agriculture and

civilization.

Large Rivers

Although Africa is best

known as home to the Nile

River, the longest river on

the globe, the Niger,

Congo, and Zambezi river

systems, as well as many

smaller rivers, have also

helped shaped the land

and its peoples.

African Geography

The continent is

also bordered by

three oceans—the

Atlantic, the

Indian, and the

Southern—and by

the Mediterranean

Sea and the Red

Sea. 

On the Move

It was from Africa that the earliest ancestors of

modern humans mostly likely first walked.

The Olduvai Gorge in northern Tanzania, part of

the Great Rift Valley, has been credited as the

home of the oldest stone tools and was once

inhabited by human ancestors, known as homo

habilis and homo erectus, more than a million

years ago.

Major Cities

Africa is also home to the

great civilization of the

ancient Egyptians, which

emerged along the Nile

River more than 5,000

years ago.

Its greatest cities included

Memphis and Thebes and,

later, Alexandria. 

On the Move

These waterways and landways made

possible not only early human migration

but also later trade and conquest.

Traffic among the peoples of Europe, Asia,

and Africa has a long tradition, especially

in the north and along the eastern and

western coasts of the continent.

Major Cities

The modern capital of

Egypt is Cairo.

Cairo is situated close

to the renowned

pyramids at Giza,

would not be built

until centuries later

during Arab rule.

Key Ideas- Farming, Herding, and Trade

Climate zones have determined how people made a living in

Sub-Saharan Africa. In the forests, farmers grew yams, palm

trees, and kola trees. In the savannas, farmers grew grain

crops. In the semiarid and desert areas, people were nomadic

herders. They moved from place to place seeking water and

food for their animals.

There were different resources in each climate zone. People

traded for goods they could not produce themselves. This

caused trade routes to develop.

Key Term

Climate Zone-

A specific area

that has a

specific climate.

Each climate

zone will have its

own certain

parameters.

Climate zones

can be tropical,

dry, temperate,

or polar. 

On the Move

Although Egypt has

long been the source of

myth, legend, and even

popular movie-making,

other great civilizations

also arose across

Africa.

Among these were the

Bantu peoples.

On the Move

The Bantu peoples who spread from West Africa

south and east in a series of migrations from

2000 BCE to 1000 CE.

Most of the modern-day peoples of southern and

eastern Africa descend to some degree from the

Bantu who branched out across the lands,

forming their own ethnic groups, languages, and

cultures.

Trade

In West Africa, several

kingdoms—Ghana, Mali, and

Songhai—prospered from the

trade of gold and salt.

On the Horn of Africa, the

trading city of Aksum (or

Axum) flourished from the

300s through the 600s, after

which it began to decline.

Trade

The waters of Africa proved

valuable as a source of

irrigation for agriculture,

travel, and trade.

The vast deserts of the

Sahara, though largely

uninhabited, nonetheless

saw frequent use by

nomadic herders and trade

caravans. 

Key Term

Desert- An arid

region that it

receives little

precipitation.

Most deserts

receive an

average of fewer

than 10 inches of

precipitation

each year. 

Key Term

Caravan- A

company of

traders or other

travelers

journeying

together, often

with a train of

camels,

through the

desert.

The Sahara DesertVideo- The Sahara Desert

Resources

The forests of Africa,

particularly along the

western coast and

the interior, also

provided valuable

sources of goods such

as kola nuts, cacao,

and the wood itself. 

Resources

African gold once

helped give rise to

great trading empires,

many other minerals

continue to bolster the

economy in Africa,

even to this day—most

notably diamonds.

History

The continent of Africa has had a

long, complicated history rich in

diverse and celebrated peoples but

marked as well by tragedy. Its

resources have given rise to great

empires but have also attracted not

only foreign trade but also foreign

invasion.

History

Some conquests sought to reap raw materials;

others took Africa’s peoples for the purpose of

enslavement.

Today, the many countries and territories of Africa

struggle to overcome not only geographic challenges

—including a scarcity of clean water sources—but

also the legacy of their colonial histories and

rivalries between ethnic, religious, and tribal groups.

Independent Activity

What has been the

“muddiest” point so

far in this lesson?

That is, what topic

remains the least

clear to you? (4

minutes)

Partner Activity

Work with a neighbor and compare your muddiest point with theirs. Compare what things are the same and what things are different? (3 minutes)