Newest country South Sudan

Capital: Juba

The worlds second largest continent

55 Nations; most of any continent

Between two oceans; Atlantic & Indian Part of major

trade routes since ancient times

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

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

Olduvai Gorge: bone that belonged to the ancestors of modern people

Mountains: edges – Atlas Mts, Drakensberg Range,Mt. Kilimanjaro – highest mountain in Africa

Deserts: Sahara (largest), Kalahari Coastal Plains

Usage Provides Food Transportation Irrigation Hydroelectric Power

Major Rivers Nile Zaire (Congo) Niger Zambezi

Longest river in the world 4,160 miles long That is flying from

California and back Home to early civilization Aswan High Dam

Over 11,000 feet tall and 10 feet thick

Pros – Hydroelectric Power, Irrigation

Cons – Farmers upstream need fertilizer now

Central AfricaProvides Hydroelectric Power

Can’t be navigated by boats

Poor Trade

West AfricaProvides water for irrigation

Predictable FloodingFood Crisis

South Africa Victoria Falls

1 mile wide 420 feet high Located b/w

Zambia and Zimbabwe

Kariba Dam Provides

Hydroelectric Power

Gold and Diamonds in African Rivers

Europeans mined much of their gold from West Africa beginning in the Age of Discovery

Power-Wealth-Trade

Copper Zaire and Zambia

Platinum and Cobalt South Africa, Zaire,

and Botswana Oil

Nigeria, Botswana, Libya, Algeria, and Gabon

Profits from African Nations often end up in other foreign countries

Societies developed near water sources Farming, Hunting

& Gathering, Herding, Fishing, & Industry

Major urban areas developed on: Mediterranean

Coast Western Savannas East Coast

Over 1,000 Languages

Groups few miles apart speak different languages Small tribes

migrated constantly and used their own language

Trade and diffusion create new languages

Work on only section 1 in the packetThese are the first two pages front

and back.