World Geography Practice Flashcards

Educational flashcards covering Middle Eastern political conflicts and the geography and history of Sub-Saharan Africa.

PLO

The Palestinian Liberation Organization, one of the two biggest Palestinian political organizations.

Hamas

A political party linked to Iran that is more aggressive and radical than the PLO and won the elections in Gaza in $2007$.

Nakba

The War of Independence or catastrophe involving refugee displacement following the $1947$, $1956$, and $1967$ conflicts.

West Bank

An occupied territory near the Jordan River with a Palestinian population of $3.3\,million$ people.

Gaza Strip

A tiny strip of land on the Mediterranean Sea acquired by Israel from Egypt, often described by Palestinians as an open-air prison.

Iron Wall

A massive border wall with two layers, watchtowers, camera, and radar built by the Israeli government around Gaza.

Empire States

A term used in geography textbooks to refer to the upper mountainous region made up of Turkey and Iran due to their history as historic empires.

Persia

A term synonymous with the state and civilization of Iran, referring to the Persian people and their history.

Shah

The title for an Iranian king; the last one remained in power until the revolution in $1979$.

Ayatollah

The supreme leader of Iran who acts as commander in chief, controls the military, the judiciary, and the state-run media.

Proxies

Organizations funded and supported by a country that operate in foreign countries to act in the interest of the supporting nation.

Strait of Hormuz

A crucial water corridor and oil and gas corridor through which all traffic entering or leaving the Persian Gulf must pass.

Africa Rising

A term referring to the recent trend of increasing economic success and high GDP growth in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Ecotourism

A significant sector of the Sub-Saharan African economy that generates revenue through wildlife safaris and heritage sites.

Subsistence Agriculture

A type of farming where people grow crops or raise animals primarily to feed themselves and their communities.

Extractive Economy

An economy largely based on removing natural resources, such as oil, gas, gold, and diamonds, from a country for export.

Resource Curse

Also known as the Paradox of Plenty, this refers to the failure of resource-rich countries to achieve their developmental potential.

Land Tenure

The system describing how families and communities occupy, hold, and control land.

Fragile State

A sovereign state in danger of falling apart due to weak central governments, corruption, and failing public services.

Berlin Conference ($1884$)

A meeting of European powers to partition the African continent and impose colonial boundaries without indigenous involvement.

Boers

The descendants of original Dutch colonists in South Africa who fought against British annexation in several wars.

Afrikaners

A white minority group in South Africa of Dutch descent who held cultural and political supremacy through institutionalized laws.

Apartheid

A policy of racial segregation and discrimination in South Africa that lasted from $1949$ to $1994$.

Rift Valley System

A divergent plate boundary in East Africa extending for $6,000\,miles$ where the continental plates are pulling apart.

Congo Basin

A massive, wet central region near the equator characterized by tropical rainforests and a large watershed.

Great Escarpment

A dramatic geographical feature in South Africa where high plateaus come to an end at the coastal plain.

Lingua Franca

A common language used for communication between groups who speak different native languages, such as Swahili or Hausa.

Animism

A series of traditional African religious practices centered on beliefs in ancestors and earth spirits.

Prosperity Gospel

A growing trend in Sub-Saharan Africa where preachers promise God's rewards and healing in return for financial contributions.

Tsetse Fly

An insect found in African savannah grasslands that transmits sleeping sickness to humans and animals.