Geography unit 4

Nile River

The world's longest river, which flows northward through East Africa into the Mediterranean Sea

Provides drinking water, irrigation, easily navigable trade route

Most densely populated areas in Africa

Sahara Desert

The world's largest desert - located in northern Africa

Covers 31% of African continent

Covered in rolling hills, gravel, sand dunes

Expanding to the south at a rate of 2-5 kilometers a year due to desertification

Niger River

Largest river in western Africa & 3rd largest on the continent

Flows through Guinea, Mali, Niger, Benin, & Nigeria, before entering the Atlantic Ocean

River delta has a large oil reserve

Sahel

A narrow band of dry grassland/semi-arid steppe, running east (Red Sea) to west (Atlantic Ocean) separating the Sahara from the savanna, that is used for farming and herding.

It is the Arabic word for "border" or "shore".

Land is being lost to desertification.

Congo River

2nd largest river in Africa

Located in Central Africa (Democratic Republic of the Congo) - flows into Atlantic Ocean

Too treacherous to be used for navigation / trade

Sustains tropical rain forest

Kalahari desert

2nd largest desert in Africa

Located in southern Africa - covers parts of Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa.

It is not a true desert but is mostly semi-arid - it is sparsely populated.

Savanna

Tropical grassland with sparse trees - rainy season in the summer.

Covers much of Central Africa

Home to Africa's famed wildlife

tropical rain forest

Forest biome that grows near the equator;

Receive large amounts of rain and have dense growths of tall, leafy trees; weather is warm and wet year-round

Africa's tropical rain forest is being reduced each year

Habitat for species that do not exist anywhere else

Lake Victoria

The largest lake in Africa - 2nd largest freshwater lake in the world.

Source of the Nile River

Important source of fresh water and fishery

Atlas Mountains

Africa's longest mountain range.

It extends across Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria and separates the Mediterranean sea from the Sahara Desert.

Mount Kilimanjaro

Tallest mountain in Africa - located in Tanzania

What physical features and climate/vegetation zones attract high population densities in Africa?

River valleys and rainier regions like the tropical savanna due to the arable (good for farming) land.

Name four factors that impact climate in Africa.

elevation
distance from the equator (latitude)
distance from large bodies of water
land forms (mountains)

Name four major environmental issues that impact Africa.

water scarcity (droughts)
unsafe drinking water (pollution)
deforestation
desertification

What contaminates African drinking water in rural areas?

microorganisms (bacteria, human waste)
agricultural runoff (fertilizer)
sewage runoff (water pollution)
industrial runoff (chemicals)

desertification

The process by which fertile land becomes desert

Occurring in the Sahel - the Sahara is expanding 2-5 kilometers south each year

What are the causes and effects of desertification?

Causes: deforestation, drought, overgrazing, agriculture

Effects: loss of farmland, grazing land, wildlife habitat, famine

deforestation

The removal of trees faster than forests can replace themselves

Occurring in the Sahel and in the tropical rain forest region

What are the causes and effects of deforestation?

Causes: logging, farming, cutting trees for firewood

Effects: loss of wildlife habitat, desertification

drought

a long period without rain

People are unable to farm, resulting in famine and poverty

famine

a severe shortage of food resulting in hunger, starvation, and death

What are some results of water scarcity / pollution in Africa?

decreased economic growth, famine, sickness from waterbourne deseases

Why do many African governments do little to improve environmental issues?

They are afraid it will be too costly and slow down economic growth.

traditional religions

Religions that often believe that different aspects of nature have divine powers (animism). A major type of religion in many parts of Africa.

Bantu

Ethnic/language group

Began in West Africa, but migrated to East, Central, & Southern Africa.

Many groups can trace their heritage to this group.

Known for iron-work skills (created tools)

Religion dependent on where they settled - some Muslim, Christian, traditional

Swahili

"one who lives on the coast"

Ethnic group that developed along the Eastern coast of Africa - influenced by Arab traders

Language is a mix of Bantu & Arabic

Majority of people are Muslim, some also follow traditional religions

Islam

Religion based on the teachings of Muhammad that spread across North Africa by Arab conquests and to West and East Africa by trade with the Arabs.

Christianity

Religion based on the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth spread by European missionaries to many parts of Africa.

animism

The oldest known type of belief system in the world. It is still practiced in a variety of forms in many traditional societies. Animists practice nature worship. They believe that everything in nature has a spirit.

Great Rift Valley

area in Eastern Africa that is experiencing tectonic plate movement - creates new valleys and lakes

irrigation

Humans supplying water to an area of land that does not receive enough rainfall from nature.

subsistence farming

farming in which only enough food to feed one's family is produced

slash and burn agriculture

a farming technique in which trees are cut down and burned to clear and fertilize the landLocation of Nile

Location of Sahara

Top part of Africa

Location of Congo Basin

Location of Sahel

the strip right below the Sahara

Why is Africa referred to as the Dark Continent?

Unexplored continent due to physical barriers that
limited settlement, movement, and economic development

Environmental Factors that limit globalization in Africa

5 physical barriers
Tropical (diseases)
Landlocked countries (no access to coast)

Five physical barriers

1. plateaus
2. arid (DRY) climates
3. waterfalls/cataracts
(Cataract = waterfall with larger, more powerful volume of water, with rapids)
4. rain forest
5. Great Rift Valley (escarpment = "cliff")

List the process of climate that has the biggest impact on disease in Africa.

(Hint: LAME COW)

Latitude
90% in tropics, closer to the equator is wetter,
tropical climate means mosquitos/malaria
govt spends $$ fighting diseases and not infrastructure

Africa's biomes

desert 30%
grasslands 60%; includes Sahel : dry grasslands; droughts, desertification, famine
forests 10%

Africa Level of Development

Less Developed

Africa Level of Economic Activity

Primary

Africa Most Common Economic Activity

Agriculture

Africa Age

Young (40% under age of 15)

Africa BR/GR

High birthrate, rapid growth

Africa Life Expectancy

Low

Africa Literacy Rate

Low

List two common economic PRIMARY level economic activities in Africa.

Subsistence agriculture/cash crops
Mining

List the least common economic activity in Africa (hint China)

Manufactured Goods - only 1% comes from China

Impact of European imperialism in Africa.

Poverty: few teachers and schools, low literacy rates, diseases, low life expectancy
Political Instability: civil war, genocide, loss of political power, elections denied for decades

Define PUSH factors

Conditions that drive people to leave their country

Define PULL factors

Conditions that attract people to a new country

PUSH-PULL FACTORS OF AFRICA--ECONOMIC

dependence on agriculture=lack of money, lack of jobs, low standard of living

PUSH-PULL FACTORS OF AFRICA--SOCIAL

famine, poverty, pandemic-educational opportunities, health care infrastructure

PUSH-PULL FACTORS OF AFRICA--POLITICAL

persecution;genocide, war, authoritarian gov.

PUSH-PULL FACTORS OF AFRICA--ENVIRONMENTAL

drought, desertification, shrinking lake chad

List CAUSES & RESULTS of desertification. Where in Africa?

Desertification: Spread of desert into surrounding areas

Causes: Climate change, pop. growth, overgrazing, deforestation, over farming
Results: Crop failure, soil erosion, famine, hunger

Found in the Sahel

List CAUSE & RESULTS of shrinking lakes. Where in Africa?

Lake Chad
Caused by drought and increased irrigation for commercial crops
Results - there might not be enough water to support irrigation in Chad, Niger, Nigeria, and Cameroon

Describe genocide of Rwanda.

In April 1994, the Hutu presidents of both Rwanda and Burundi were killed when plane shot down. Hutus suspected that Tutsis were behind the assasinations.

In reprisal, Hutus killed nearly 1 million Tutsis from early april until mid july

created 2 million refugees and destroyed economy-many workers were dead or had fled

Describe genocide/conflict of South Sudan.

Civil war in Sudan fought over religion (muslim vs. non-muslim). 2M killed and 4M displaced.

Describe the impact of Mugabe ("big glasses") to Zimbabwe's economy,

society, and government.

The white population (only 1%) in Zimbabwe owned more than half of the farm land. President of Zimbabwe, Mugabe, decided to rectify the situation by redistributing the farmland to non-whites. First started out as forced sale of land to black population, but turned into seizing white owned farms by force without providing compensation.

This policy has negatively impacted agricultural output - which has led to famine. This has caused short life spans, unemployment, and refugees. Also b/c of erratic nature of Mugabe, other governments don't want to invest or provide support.

List CAUSES & RESULTS of rapid urbanization in Africa.

Causes:
Push
Economic - dependence on ag, lack of jobs
Social - poverty, famine, pandemic,
Political - persecution, genocide, war, auth govt
Pull
Economic - Hope of jobs, modern infrastructure
Socialeduc opport, healthcare infrastructure

Results:
Economic - Low paying jobs, collapse of infrastructure
Social - over crowding, disease, crime, high drop out
Envir - landfills, pollution, destruction of ecosystem, depletion of resources

List main CAUSE of Africa's recently slowed urbanization rates.

limited globalization/lack of development = shortage of jobs
slowed migration from rural to urban areas in parts of Africa over the last two decades

Name the one African country that is Newly Industrialized?

South Africa

List key traits (ESPN) that countries must have to be industrialized/at the secondary level

inference

infrastructure

external forces that change earth's surface (4)

Sahel

a semi-arid belt of barren,sandy and rock-strewn land which stretches 3,860km across the breadth of the African continent and marks the physical and cultural divide between the continent's more fertile south and
Saharan desert north.

South African Apartheid

Policies of racial segregation enforced by the National Party in South Africa. Under Apartheid, nonwhite South Africans (a majority of the population) would be forced to live in separate areas from whites and use separate public facilities, and contact between the two groups would be limited.

Nelson Mandela lead the opposition group to Apartheid. He was imprisoned from 1963-1990.

Apartheid ended in 1989 partly due to an embargo by the united nations in 1976 and economic sanctions imposed by US and UK in 1985.

migration

Human migration is the movement by people from one place to another with the intentions of settling temporarily or permanently in the new location

refugee

a person who has been forced to leave their country in order to escape war, persecution, or natural disaster

urbanization

a population shift from rural to urban areas

authoritarian government

AUTHORITARIAN LEADERS have the power:

no "civil rights" or protesting

limited voting or no voting

The 4 types of Authoritarian Government are:
Absolute Monarchy
Dictatorship/Totalitarianism
One Party Rule
Theocracy

climograph: bar graph

graphs of annual precipitation

climograph: line graphs

graphs of annual temperature

supernationalism

when two or more countries work together for a goal (NAFTA, EU)

imperialism

when a bigger country takes over a smaller country or region

White Man's Burden

European superior attitude that it was their responsibility to "fix" the indigenous people

indigenous

native

famine

extreme scarcity (shortage) of food