A Satellite View

Africa at Night

• *The primary influences on the climates of Africa are latitude and wind systems

Africa’s Size

# Second largest continent 11,700,000 sq. mi.

# 10% of the world’s population.

# 2 ½ times the size of the U. S.

5000

MILES

4 6 0 0 M I L E S

Bodies

Of

Water

Nile River

Congo River

Zambezi River

Niger River

Orange River

Limpopo River

Mediterranean Sea

Atlantic Ocean

Pacific Ocean

Indian Ocean

Red Sea

L. Victoria

L. Albert-->

L. Chad-->

L. Tanganyika->

<--Gu

lf of A

den

The Mighty Nile River:

“Longest River in the World”

The Congo River Basin

# Covers 12% of thecontinent.

# Extends over 9countries.

# 2,720 miles long.

# 99% of the countryof Zaire is in theCongo River basin.

The Niger River Basin

# Covers 7.5% of the continent.

# Extends over 10 countries.

# 2,600 miles long.

Hydroelectric Power

Draje

nsburg

Mts

.

Ruwenzori M

ts.

Δ Mt. Kenya

Δ Mt. Kilimanjaro

Mountains

&

Peaks

Atlas Mts.

The African Plateau

Deserts Sahara Desert

Sahel

Kalahari

Desert

Nam

ib D

esert

Libyan Desert

The Sahara Desert

*The Sahara limits much migration

between northern and southern

Africa.

Desertification

The shift of desert is called desertification- an expanse of dry conditions into moist areas that are

next to deserts.

The Sahel

It is a narrow band of dry grassland that runs east to west along the southern edge of the

Sahara.

Sahel• A narrow band of semi-arid land south of the Sahara, the

Sahel attracted both Arabs looking for gold from Sudan and

Europeans looking for slaves from West Africa.

• The Sahel is widely French-speaking, Islamic and takes its

name ("shore") from Arabic.

• In the 1970s, the Sahel captured international attention

when drought and famine killed nearly 200,000 people.

Though conditions have since improved, it has yet to shake a

vicious cycle of soil erosion, insufficient irrigation,

deforestation, overpopulation, desertification and drought.

• The area tends to find Islam

religions in the North and non-

Islam in the South. Since a

majority of this region is

religiously divided, there have

been many civil wars between

the Islamic and non-Islamic

people in the countries.

Valleys

&

Plains

Gre

at R

ift

Val

ley

Great Rift Valley

3,000 miles long

*As the continent plates(tectonics) pulled apart the

land sank to form long thin valleys-

called rift valleys.

Seismic Activity in Africa

Africa:

The“Tropica

l”Contine

nt

Tropic of Cancer 20° N

Tropic of Capricorn20° S

Equator 0°

African Trade Winds

*The primary influences on the climates of Africa are latitude and wind

systems

West Africa: Home of our Hurricanes

Vegetation Zones

The African Savannah:

13 million sq. mi.

African Rain Forest

# Annual rainfall of up to 17 ft.

# Rapid decomposition (very humid).

# Covers 37 countries.

# 15% of the land surface of Africa.

Mt. Kilimanjaro:Snow on the Equator?

The

Complete

Topography

Of

AFRICA

Nile River

Congo River

Zambezi River

Niger River

Orange River

Limpopo River

Mediterranean Sea

Atlantic Ocean

Pacific Ocean

Indian Ocean

Red Sea

L. Victoria

L. Albert-->

L. Chad-->

L. Tanganyika->

<--Gu

lf of A

den

Drajensburg Mts.

Ruw

enzori Mts.

Δ Mt. Kenya

Δ Mt. Kilimanjaro

Sahara Desert

Sahel

Kalahari

Desert

Nam

ib D

esert

Libyan Desert

Gre

at R

ift

Val

ley

Atlas Mts.

Tropic of Cancer 20° N

Tropic of Capricorn20° S

Equator 0°

Natural Resources*Agriculture is the single most important economic activity in Africa.

• After oil, coffee is the most profitable commodity in Africa.

• *Lumber (Central Africa) is another important commodity.

• Sugar, palm oil, and cocoa (main ingredient in chocolate) are other commodities.

Subsistence Agriculture• *Primary

economic activities like subsistence agriculture make up the majority of Africa’s economy.

Migration and Emigration• *People have moved in

Africa because of disease, conflict and famine.

• A person emigrates FROM a specific place (Germany or Norway or wherever). This person can then immigrate to the United States or somewhere else. Emigration is the act of leaving and immigration is the act of entering another nation.

Triangular Trade

• The trade system of African slaves to the Americas and plantation crops to Europe was called the triangular trade.

http://videos.howstuffworks.com/discovery/29554-assignment-discovery-triangular-trade-video.htm

The Policy of Apartheid in South Africa

• In 1948 the White minority government of South Africa instituted a policy of apartheid or complete separation of races.

• In 1912 blacks founded the African National Congress (ANC) to fight for their rights.

• *A lasting effect of Apartheid still evident today is that white South Africans are much wealthier and have more opportunities than black South Africans.

http://videos.howstuffworks.com/discovery/29503-assignment-discovery-apartheid-in-south-africa-video.htm

Colonialism

• After World War I, Britain and France divided the lands of the Ottoman Empire.

• Colonialism is the extension of a state’s authority through conquest and/or settlement. This term is often used to describe the pattern of global control exercised by the European powers from around the 1400s until after World War II.

• *South Africa still has many of the cultural traits of its former British colonial rulers

Legacy of Colonialism• Africa is still recovering from the effects of

colonialism. • Europeans invested little in Africa. They left

behind no money to develop roads, airports, or a productive educational system.

• The area is rich in natural resources, however money and infrastructure are needed to develop these resources. They only built transportations systems like railroads because it helped to get resources out of Africa.

Berlin Conference• *Europeans did not want to

fight over Africa so they convened the Berlin Conference in order to divide Africa and obtain it’s resources.

• Liberia and Ethiopia remained free of European control.

14 States divided up Africa withoutconsideration of cultures• Results of superimposed

boundaries• African peoples were divided.• Unified regions were ripped

apart.• Hostile societies were thrown

together.• Hinterlands were disrupted.• Migration routes were closed off.

Health Care in Africa

• AIDS has become a pandemic.

• A pandemic is an uncontrollable outbreak of a disease over a large area.

• Some Geographers predict that the worst affected countries population could decline by 10 to 20 percent.

MALARIA

Malaria is probably Africa's No. 1

most widely spread disease and

in most regions of Africa you

should take protective measures.

Although it is not possible to

protect yourself totally you can

reduce the risk of getting a

serious, sometimes life

threatening, bout of the disease.

Malaria can take from 7 days to

several months to incubate and

the symptoms range from

headaches, pain and flu-likes

aches to sometimes experiencing

disorientation and high

temperatures. www.africaguide.com

Kimberly Process• The Kimberley Process is

an attempt to halt the sales of diamonds from conflict areas, where those funds are used to support the unlawful and illegal operations of rebel, military and terrorist groups.

• The Kimberly Process has been successful at preventing the sale of blood diamonds. 

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/38583776#38583776

Conflict in Sub Saharan Africa

Causes Contributing to Conflict• Poverty• Ethnic/Religious

differences• Poor education• Competition for natural

resources• Political boundaries• Internal power

transitions• Changes in the balance

of power among states

How many of these do you think relate to Sub-Saharan Africa?

• ©2012, TESCCC

Effects of Conflict

• Civil War• Destruction of

infrastructure• Poverty• Refugees• Migration• Terrorism• High death tolls• Corruption• Genocide

How many of these effects can be seen in Sub-Saharan Africa?

• ©2012, TESCCC

Rwanda Genocide

• Civil War between the Hutu and Tutsi groups in Rwanda. Resulted in almost 1 million deaths. Ethnic conflict resulting in mass migration and refugee camps.

• ©2012, TESCCC