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World Geography Africa Notes

World Geography Africa Notes. Africa – 2 nd largest continent

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Page 1: World Geography Africa Notes.  Africa – 2 nd largest continent

 

World Geography Africa Notes

Page 2: World Geography Africa Notes.  Africa – 2 nd largest continent

PHYSICAL

Page 3: World Geography Africa Notes.  Africa – 2 nd largest continent

Africa

Africa – 2nd largest continent

Page 4: World Geography Africa Notes.  Africa – 2 nd largest continent

Landforms

Plateaus - Huge plateau covers most of Africa,

Basins - huge depressions on plateau

Plateaus separated by escarpments—steep slope with flat plateau on top

Page 5: World Geography Africa Notes.  Africa – 2 nd largest continent
Page 6: World Geography Africa Notes.  Africa – 2 nd largest continent

Landforms

Mountains - Mount Kilimanjaro is Africa’s highest mountain

Page 7: World Geography Africa Notes.  Africa – 2 nd largest continent

Landforms

Valleys – long, thin rift valleys were formed when Pangaea broke apart

Eastern part is still slowly pulling away from Africa

Page 8: World Geography Africa Notes.  Africa – 2 nd largest continent
Page 9: World Geography Africa Notes.  Africa – 2 nd largest continent
Page 10: World Geography Africa Notes.  Africa – 2 nd largest continent

  

Rivers

Congo River - Africa’s largest river network (2,900-mile)

32 cataracts (waterfalls) make much of Congo impassable

Page 11: World Geography Africa Notes.  Africa – 2 nd largest continent
Page 12: World Geography Africa Notes.  Africa – 2 nd largest continent

Rivers

Nile River—world’s longest river

- Provides 95% of Egypt’s water

Page 13: World Geography Africa Notes.  Africa – 2 nd largest continent

Aswan High Dam (1970)

Created 300-mile Lake Nasser to regulate the water supply along the Nile

Benefits - Provides regular supply of water for farmers & holds back Nile floodwaters for irrigation

Egypt’s farmable land increased by 50% ( now have two or three harvests a year)

Page 14: World Geography Africa Notes.  Africa – 2 nd largest continent
Page 15: World Geography Africa Notes.  Africa – 2 nd largest continent

Aswan High Dam (1970)

Problems - River no longer deposits rich silt—sediment—on farmland

Irrigation raises water table & river doesn’t flush out salts that decrease soil fertility

Mosquitoes thrive in Lake Nasser, spread malaria, other diseases

Millions of gallons of fresh water lost yearly to lake evaporation

Page 16: World Geography Africa Notes.  Africa – 2 nd largest continent
Page 17: World Geography Africa Notes.  Africa – 2 nd largest continent

Lakes

Lake Victoria - Africa’s largest lake

World’s 2nd largest freshwater lake

Victoria Falls – Named after Queen Victoria

DavidLivingstone was the 1st European explorer to see the waterfalls

Page 18: World Geography Africa Notes.  Africa – 2 nd largest continent

 Climates

Deserts - Sahara is world’s largest

May go years without rain

Temperatures as high as 136 degrees in summer, freezing at night

Fewer than 2 million of Africa’s 800 million people live in Sahara

Page 19: World Geography Africa Notes.  Africa – 2 nd largest continent
Page 20: World Geography Africa Notes.  Africa – 2 nd largest continent
Page 21: World Geography Africa Notes.  Africa – 2 nd largest continent
Page 22: World Geography Africa Notes.  Africa – 2 nd largest continent

Climates

Aquifers - located 6,000 feet under Sahara

creates oasis when water comes to the surface

Page 24: World Geography Africa Notes.  Africa – 2 nd largest continent
Page 25: World Geography Africa Notes.  Africa – 2 nd largest continent

Climates

Sahel - narrow band of grassland runs east-west along southern Sahara edge

Page 26: World Geography Africa Notes.  Africa – 2 nd largest continent

Climates

Desertification—expansion of dry conditions into nearby moist areas

Human Causes of Desertification - Livestock overgrazing, Water drilling& irrigation increase soil’s salt levels

Page 27: World Geography Africa Notes.  Africa – 2 nd largest continent
Page 28: World Geography Africa Notes.  Africa – 2 nd largest continent
Page 29: World Geography Africa Notes.  Africa – 2 nd largest continent

Climates

Tropical Savanna - covers half of Africa

- Six-month rainy season

- Longer rainy seasons near equator; longer dry seasons near desert

Tropical Grassland - covers most of Africa dry climate, hard soil prevent growth of trees, crops

Page 30: World Geography Africa Notes.  Africa – 2 nd largest continent
Page 31: World Geography Africa Notes.  Africa – 2 nd largest continent

Climates

Serengeti Plain (northern Tanzania) - best grasslands in the world (Serengeti National Park)

Ideal for grazing animals like wildebeests, gazelles, zebras

Site of largest numbers of migrating land mammals

Page 32: World Geography Africa Notes.  Africa – 2 nd largest continent
Page 33: World Geography Africa Notes.  Africa – 2 nd largest continent
Page 34: World Geography Africa Notes.  Africa – 2 nd largest continent

Climates

Mediterranean climate – Located on northern & southern tips of Africa

- Clear blue skies, moderate summers, rain in winter

Page 35: World Geography Africa Notes.  Africa – 2 nd largest continent

Climates

Tropics - Africa has largest tropical area of any continent

- 90% of Africa lies between tropics of Cancer & Capricorn

- High temperatures year around

Page 36: World Geography Africa Notes.  Africa – 2 nd largest continent

Climates

- Major tropical rain forests are on equator in Congo Basin

- Most animals live in canopy—uppermost branches, 150 feet off ground (birds, monkeys, flying foxes, snakes)

Page 37: World Geography Africa Notes.  Africa – 2 nd largest continent
Page 38: World Geography Africa Notes.  Africa – 2 nd largest continent

Natural Resources

Africa’s minerals make it one of world’s richest continents

Oil - Libya, Nigeria, Algeria among world’s leading petroleum producers

Nigeria is world’s 6th leading oil exporter (most shipped to U.S).

Page 39: World Geography Africa Notes.  Africa – 2 nd largest continent
Page 40: World Geography Africa Notes.  Africa – 2 nd largest continent
Page 41: World Geography Africa Notes.  Africa – 2 nd largest continent

Natural Resources

Coffee - Africa’s second most profitable commodity

-20% of world’s supply is grown there few but only a Africans drink it

42% of world’s cobalt South Africa is largest

producer of chromium, for stainless steel & produces 80% of world’s platinum, & 30% of gold

Page 42: World Geography Africa Notes.  Africa – 2 nd largest continent
Page 43: World Geography Africa Notes.  Africa – 2 nd largest continent
Page 44: World Geography Africa Notes.  Africa – 2 nd largest continent

Review Questions

What are rift Valleys? What is Africa’s highest peak?What is an escarpment?What is the largest lake in Africa?Africa is the largest continent. What African country receives 95% of its water from the Nile River?What is the Serengeti? What is the Sahel?Where is a canopy & who lives there?What is the main purpose of the Aswan high Dam?What is an aquifer? What is desertification? What is the longest river in the world?What is an oasis?Where are aquifers in the Sahara Desert? Name three ways that humans cause desertification?What is Africa’s 2nd most profitable commodity?

Page 45: World Geography Africa Notes.  Africa – 2 nd largest continent

 Early History

Prehistoric remains found in Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania

3100 B.C. - Egyption civilization developed along the Nile

Nile provided water & rich soil

Pharaohs rule Egypt for 2,600 years

Egyptian geometry and medicine are spread by trade

Page 46: World Geography Africa Notes.  Africa – 2 nd largest continent

Early History

814 B.C. - Ancient city of Carthage was founded in location on Gulf of Tunis peninsula

A.D. 800 -1591 - Ghana, Mali, & Songhai empires grew on Sahara trade routes (gold, salt)

Page 47: World Geography Africa Notes.  Africa – 2 nd largest continent
Page 48: World Geography Africa Notes.  Africa – 2 nd largest continent
Page 49: World Geography Africa Notes.  Africa – 2 nd largest continent

 Slave Trade & Colonialism

1400s to 1800s - Slave traders exchanged guns & goods for captive Africans

Colonialism – 1800s – Europe began colonizing the region

- Berlin Conference – European powers divided the continent

Effects of Colonialism - Lost resources as well as the cultural & ethnic oppression of people

Little infrastructure or money for transportation, education systems

Most countries gained their independence by 1960s

Page 50: World Geography Africa Notes.  Africa – 2 nd largest continent
Page 51: World Geography Africa Notes.  Africa – 2 nd largest continent
Page 52: World Geography Africa Notes.  Africa – 2 nd largest continent

Apartheid in South Africa

White minority government in South Africa instituted apartheid

Complete separation of races in schools, hospitals, & neighborhoods

Blacks make up 75% of population, but owned little land

Page 53: World Geography Africa Notes.  Africa – 2 nd largest continent

Apartheid in South Africa

1949 - Nelson Mandela became leader African National Congress

-Worked to end apartheid & was imprisoned

Page 54: World Geography Africa Notes.  Africa – 2 nd largest continent

Apartheid in South Africa

1980s - South Africa began reform

-Pressured by international sanctions

1989 - F.W. de Klerk became president

Early 1990s - Peaceful revolution ended apartheid

1994 – Nelson Mandela was freed & elected president

1996 - New, democratic constitution passed

Page 55: World Geography Africa Notes.  Africa – 2 nd largest continent
Page 56: World Geography Africa Notes.  Africa – 2 nd largest continent

LIVING IN AFRICA TODAY

Page 57: World Geography Africa Notes.  Africa – 2 nd largest continent

Review Questions

Trade in the Ghana, Mali, & Songhai Empires was

based on what two products?What was the main purpose of the Berlin

Conference?What did the rest of the world implement in

an attempt pressure South Africa to end apartheid?

 What is infrastructure?

Page 58: World Geography Africa Notes.  Africa – 2 nd largest continent

Economics

Mineral wealth has not created general African prosperity

Most African countries are worse off today than in 1960

- Average incomes have decreased

Page 59: World Geography Africa Notes.  Africa – 2 nd largest continent
Page 60: World Geography Africa Notes.  Africa – 2 nd largest continent
Page 61: World Geography Africa Notes.  Africa – 2 nd largest continent
Page 62: World Geography Africa Notes.  Africa – 2 nd largest continent

Economics

- Worldwide: accounts for 1% of total GNP, 1.5% of exports

- Lack crucial infrastructure (roads, airports, railroads, ports)

- Little access to computers or high technology

manufacturing to achieve economic growth and stability

Page 63: World Geography Africa Notes.  Africa – 2 nd largest continent
Page 64: World Geography Africa Notes.  Africa – 2 nd largest continent

Economics

Most countries do little manufacturing - Sell raw materials to industrialized

countries (Serves as the economic base for most African nations)

Page 65: World Geography Africa Notes.  Africa – 2 nd largest continent

Economics

Agriculture is Africa’s single most important economic activity

- 66% of Africans earn a living farming which accounts for 1/3 of exports

Page 66: World Geography Africa Notes.  Africa – 2 nd largest continent

Economics

“One-commodity” countries rely on export of one or two commodities (economies unstable)

- Commodity - agricultural or mining product that can be sold (supply and demand)

Economists want Africans to diversify - create variety in economies & promote

Page 67: World Geography Africa Notes.  Africa – 2 nd largest continent
Page 68: World Geography Africa Notes.  Africa – 2 nd largest continent

Education

Uneducated populace is a large barrier to economic development

Brain Drain - Many professionals migrate to Western nations

Average schooling time for women up only 1.2 years in last 40 years

Page 69: World Geography Africa Notes.  Africa – 2 nd largest continent
Page 70: World Geography Africa Notes.  Africa – 2 nd largest continent
Page 71: World Geography Africa Notes.  Africa – 2 nd largest continent

Education

2001 - less than half the sub-Saharan young adults attended school

- shortage of teachers and secondary schools high dropout rate

Civil wars have destroyed school systems in Angola and Somalia

In Cameroon, most children leave school at age 12

Algeria - 94% get a formal education 83% of Mauritians over 15 are literate

Page 72: World Geography Africa Notes.  Africa – 2 nd largest continent

Serious Diseases

Epidemic diseases are killing Africa’s people in huge numbers.

Cholera—sometimes fatal infection that is spread by poor sanitation & lack of clean water

Page 73: World Geography Africa Notes.  Africa – 2 nd largest continent

Serious Diseases

Malaria - often-fatal infectious disease marked by chills & fever

carried by mosquitoes (resistant to drugs due to overuse)

Page 74: World Geography Africa Notes.  Africa – 2 nd largest continent

Serious Diseases

Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) (caused by HIV virus)

- 70% of adult & 80% of child AIDS cases are in Africa

Often paired with tuberculosis - infectious respiratory infection

Page 75: World Geography Africa Notes.  Africa – 2 nd largest continent
Page 76: World Geography Africa Notes.  Africa – 2 nd largest continent

AIDS Stalks the Continent

2000 - 3 million died from AIDS worldwide

- 2.4 million lived in sub-Saharan Africa

Swaziland, 3 of 4 deaths were from AIDS

- life expectancy has fallen from 58 years to 39

2000- 26 million people in Africa had HIV or AIDS

Page 77: World Geography Africa Notes.  Africa – 2 nd largest continent
Page 78: World Geography Africa Notes.  Africa – 2 nd largest continent

Economic Consequences of AIDS

Sick people work less or not at all, earn less,& slip into poverty

AIDS is lowering South Africa’s GDP - by 2010, it could be 17% lower compared

to without AIDS UNAIDS estimates $4.63 billion needed

to fight AIDS in Africa UNAIDS—United Nations program

studying AIDS epidemic

Page 79: World Geography Africa Notes.  Africa – 2 nd largest continent

Review Questions

What is a commodity?What is a “one –commodity” country?What does it mean to diversify a country’s economy?What is AIDS?What is cholera & what causes its spread? What is malaria & what insects carry it?What is tuberculosis, how is it spread & what other

disease does it usually accompany? What serves as the economic base for most African

nations?What is “brain drain”? What disease has the greatest negative impact on

Africa?