Sub-Saharan
Africa
Geography• The worlds second largest
continent
• most nations of any continent–Newest country South Sudan
• Location and Effects– Above and below equator– Between two oceans; Atlantic & Indian –
linked and isolated– Part of major trade routes since ancient times
Newest country South Sudan
Capital: Juba
Regions
• North Africa – above the Sahara Desert– Linked to the Middle East culturally
• Sub-Saharan Africa– West Africa – extends into Atlantic
• Part of major slave trade routes to new world
– Central Africa – home to Africa’s tropical rain forests
– Southern Africa – crucial to trade b/w oceans – East Africa – Great Rift Valley, fertile land
Landforms • The land made exploration difficult for Europeans =
natural barriers• Africa is a continent of Plateaus
– Escarpments: steep cliffs & basins, swamps, lakes
• Mountains: edges – Atlas Mts, Drakensberg Range• Great Rift Valley – a giant fault – Red Sea to
Zambizi River – Series of mountain, valleys, lakes– Rich in natural resources, fertile soil– Hard to mine and transport because of the rough terrain
– Olduvai Gorge: bone that belonged to the ancestors of modern people
• Deserts: Sahara (largest), Kalahari• Coastal Plains
First discovered by anthropologist Mary Leakey on July 17, 1959
Rivers
• Provide food, transportation, irrigation and hydroelectric power– Cataracts: waterfalls; river rapids
• Major Rivers
–Nile, Congo (Zaire), Niger, Zambezi
Nile River – East Africa
• Longest flowing river in the world 4,160 miles – flows north
• Home to early civilizations– Predictable floods supported huge population
• Aswan High Dam– Pros – Hydroelectric Power, Irrigation– Cons – Farmers upstream now need to
purchase fertilizers
• Nile River Route and its tributaries
• Zaire (Congo) River– Central Africa
– Provides hydroelectric power
– Cannot be navigated with boats
– Poor for trade
• Niger River– West Africa
– Provides water for irrigation
– Floods predictably
Zaire (Congo) River
Niger River
Zambezi River
• Southern Africa
• Creates Victoria Falls, 1 mile wide and 420 ft. high, between Zambia and Zimbabwe
• The Kariba Dam provides hydroelectric power
Victoria Falls (Zambezi River)
"The smoke that thunders" is a local name for Africa's most famous waterfall thundering over a 100m-high cliff.
Mosi-O-Tunya
Africa’s Natural Resources
Rich source of resources
• Mineral Resources (see map)• Resources unevenly distributed• Gold and Diamonds
• Profits from African nations often end up in foreign countries
• Europeans mined much of their gold from west Africa beginning in the Age of Discovery
• Power-Wealth-Trade
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Africa’s Resources Today
• Copper – Zaire and Zambia
• Platinum and Cobalt – S. Africa, Zaire, and Botswana
• Oil – Nigeria, Botswana, Libya, Algeria, and Gabon
• Profits from African nations often end up in foreign countries
Adapting to the Land
• Societies developed near sources of water– hunting and gathering– farming– herding– fishing– urban
• Major urban areas developed on the Mediterranean Coast, western savannas, and East Coast
Language
• More than 1,000 languages• Groups only a few miles apart often speak
different languages– Small tribes migrated constantly and used their
own language
• Scholars group African Languages into large families
• Trade and diffusion created new languages– Swahili: Bantu and Arabic
Section 1 Quiz Answers
1. E Hydroelectric Power
2. D cataract
3. A escarpment
4. C Nile
5. B Aswan Dam
6. B the Pacific Ocean
7. A mountains
8. C 4,000 mile fault line that splits the continent
9. B halted annual flooding of the Nile
10. B seize a share of Africa’s gold and diamonds
Climate and Diversity
Climate Facts• Latitude and Elevation = climate
– Most tropics = area between Tropic of Cancer and Capricorn of all the continents
– Temperature is warm to hot– Colder temperatures seen in higher elevations
• Therefore, rainfall distinguishes the climate in Africa not temperature
• Precipitation – Less than an inch to more than 80 inches
Climate Zones
• Tropical Wet
• Tropical Wet and Dry
• Desert
• Mediterranean
• Climate Map of Africa
Tropical Wet – 8% of Africa
• Narrow strip along equator• Home of the rainforests• Average Temp – 80 F• Average Rain – 60-120 inches per year• Hard to settle
– Leaching: rain washes away nutrients and destroys soil, unsuitable for farming
– Moisture feeds disease and destroys daily items– Concrete and steel are expensive fixes– Disease from insects; sleeping sickness, malaria
(Nothing But Nets)
Tropical Wet and Dry – 50% of Africa• Either side of tropical wet climate to the tropics• Rainfall varies by season
– Summer – Hot temps & Rainy Season– Winter – Warm temps & Dry Season
• Major Feature– Savanna – most people - grasslands that cover half
the continent. More rain near the equator support plant and wild life
– Sahel: semi-arid; separates Sahara from savanna– Unpredictable rainfall makes daily life difficult– Drought– Desertification – land turning into deserts; causes
over grazing and drought
Deserts and Desertification
Deserts – 40% of Africa• Sahara – Means ‘desert’ in Arabic – Northern
Africa– Larger than the continental United States
– Rain rarely falls, less than 10 inches a year
– Temperatures reach as high as 130 F
– Traders traveled across the Sahara
• Diffusion of European, Asian, and African cultures
• Kalahari – Southern Africa– More rain than the Sahara allows food to grow
• Namib – Southern Africa
• The Sahara Desert
• Kalahari Desert
Deserts – 40% of Africa
• Namib Desert – one of the driest places on Earth– One of the oldest deserts in the world: 80
million years– Averages less than .4 inches of rain a year– Dune 7: the highest sand dune in the world,
383 meters ~ 1200 feet
• Namib
Desert
Mediterranean - ~2%
• The Southern Tip and the Northern Coast
• Climate similar to LA– Hot, Dry Summer– Cool, Wet Winter
• Fertile soil good for farming
• Major travel destination
• Mediterranean Zones are in Purple
Answers to Section 2 Quiz
1. C Kalahari
2. E Sahel
3. A Sahara
4. D Tropic of Capricorn
5. B Tropic of Cancer
6. C-Desert
7. A-Tropical wet zone
8. D- in the savanna
9. D- all languages belong to one language family
10. B- they carry diseases that are fatal to humans
Early Civilizations of the Nile Valley
Egypt
I. Religion
-played a major role in daily life
-polytheistic
-God’s controlled forces of nature
-life after death
-priests and pyramids
-pharaoh
ruler of Ancient Egypt considered a god
II. Economic Activities
-farming
-trade
III. Achievements
-hieroglyphics
-365 day calendar
-math
-medicine
-art
Kush
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Kush
I. Achievements
- 750BC
- King Kastha conquers Nile Valley for short time
-Meroe: capital city
-adapted hieroglyphics
II. Historical Importance
-Egyptian Influence
-polytheistic
-grew rich and powerful from iron industry (learned from Assyrians)
-traded with Egypt and Mediterranean world
-weakened by invasion and internal rivalries
Meroe Pyramids
Axum
I. Achievements
- 350 AD
-King Ezana conquered Kush
-sacred writing (geez)
-controlled port cities (ivory trade)
II. Historical Importance
-present day Ethiopia
-center of trade
-Ethiopic Church (one of the oldest forms of Christianity)
-lost power to Muslim empires
Closure
What were the results of the interaction between civilization?
•exchange of knowledge and ideas– diffusion
Africa: Geography and Early History
Open-Ended Questions
What is a key factor in differentiating between Africa’s
climates because temperatures do not vary greatly from place to
place?
• Amount of Rainfall
List 5 types of societies of Africa
• Hunting and gathering
• Farming
• Fishing
• Herding
• Urban
Factors that influences where people live in Africa.
• Environment
• Climate
• Geography
• Availability of water and resources
• Tropical Wet– Hard to settle because of leaching, insects,
disease, mold and rot• Tropical Wet and Dry
– Unpredictable/unreliable rainfall difficult on farmers/herders, desertification caused by people but still home to most Africans
• Desert– Few areas have grasses to support herding, not
enough rain for farming• Mediterranean
– Supports farming and herding=large population
Identify Africa’s climate regions and describe ways in which that climate has affected the ways of life
of the African people.
Describe ancient Egypt in terms in terms of religion, economy
activities, and achievements.• Religion
– polytheistic, connected to nature, life after death, Pharaoh
• Economic Activities– trade, farming
• Achievements – hieroglyphics, 365 day calendar, math,
medicine, art, architecture
Bonus Info:Civilization of the Nile Valley
• Kush– Rich from iron industry– Meroe: capital city, center of trade
• Axum– King Ezana convert to Christianity– Ethiopic Church – Center for trade