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