North Africa
GEOGRAPHY: THE WORLD AND ITS PEOPLE
CHAPTER 17
Chapter 17: North Africa
Chapter 17 Section 1
EGYPT
The Nile River
 The Nile River is the
lifeline of Egypt

Supplies 85% of Egypt’s
water
 3 Gifts of the Nile
 Water
 Fertile Soil
 Transportation
Egypt’s Land
Egyptian Desert
3 Main Land Areas
 Nile River Valley
 Begins in East Africa
 Flows North Through
Sudan into Egypt to
Mediterranean Sea
 Sinai Peninsula
 Actually Part of Southwest
Asia
 Desert Areas
 Cover Most of Egypt
Economy
Egypt's Economy
 Agriculture
 Still Egypt’s main economic
activity
 Only 4% of land used for
farming (along Nile River)
 Grow cotton, dates,
vegetables, sugarcane, and
wheat
 Cotton is Egypt’s leading
agricultural export
Harvesting Cotton in
Egypt
Economy Cont.
Alexandria, Egypt. Gas fired
plant on the Nile Delta.
Egypt's Economy
 Industry
 Cairo and Alexandria are
main industrial centers
 Factories produce food
products, textiles, and
consumers goods
 Oil is Egypt’s main
mineral resource
The Aswan High Dam
 Provides Hydroelectric




Power
Allows Fellahin to plant
crops two or three times
a year
Stops flow of Silt, which
makes the soil fertile
Farms now rely on
expensive fertilizers
Causes salty water from
Mediterranean to flow
into Nile River Delta
Egypt’s People
 Most people live within 20





miles of the Nile River
55% live in rural areas
Most Fellahin are subsistence
farmers
Extra food is sold at bazaar,
or marketplace
Cairo is the capital and
largest city in Egypt, and all
of Africa
Cairo is growing because of
high birthrates in Egypt, and
Fellahin are moving to cities
to find work
Cairo, Egypt
Egypt History
 One of the ancient world’s





most advanced civilizations
Ruled by Pharoahs
Hieroglyphs
Made paper from papyrus
Created a calendar
Built lasting monuments

Pyramids, Sphinx
 Conquered by several
Great Pyramids of Giza, Egypt
groups over centuries
 Is now Arabic and Islamic
Egypt Today
 Became a Republic in 1953
 Gamal Abdel Nasser:
President from 1954-1970
 Nasser opposed Israel, and
took control of the Suez
Canal
 Britain, France, and Israel
invaded Egypt to regain
control of canal
 UN convinced countries to
settle their differences
Suez Canal from Space
QUIZ
17-1 EGYPT
Particles deposited by a river
A. Fellahin
B. Hydroelectric Power
C. Silt
D. Bazaar
E. Delta
A triangle-shaped area of land at a river’s mouth
A. Fellahin
B. Hydroelectric Power
C. Silt
D. Bazaar
E. Delta
Electric energy from moving water
A. Fellahin
B. Hydroelectric Power
C. Silt
D. Bazaar
E. Delta
Egyptian farmers
A. Fellahin
B. Hydroelectric Power
C. Silt
D. Bazaar
E. Delta
marketplace
A. Fellahin
B. Hydroelectric Power
C. Silt
D. Bazaar
E. Delta
Most of Egypt has a…
Tropical Climate
Mediterranean Climate
C. Desert Climate
D. Polar Climate
A.
B.
Most of Egypt’s water supply comes from the
A.
Mediterranean Sea
B. Atlantic Ocean
C. Suez Canal
D. Nile River
The section of Egypt that is actually a part of
Southwest
Asia is the…
Sinai Peninsula
B. Libyan Desert
C. Aswan High Dam
D. Nile Valley
A.
Egypt’s leading agricultural export is…
A.
Vegetables
B. Wheat
C. Dates
D. Cotton
The largest city in Egypt is…
A.
Alexandria
B. Suez
C. Cairo
D. Aswan
Chapter 17 Section 2
OTHER NORTH
AFRICAN COUNTRIES
Libya
 Capital is Tripoli
 More than 90% desert
 Poor until the discovery of
oil in 1959
 Has 5 million people of
mixed Arab and Berber
ancestry
 70 percent of people live
in cities near the
Mediterranean coast
 In 1969 a dictatorship
was set up by Muammar
al-Qaddhafi
Desert in Libya
Tunisia
 Capital City is Tunis
 Former French colony
 Belongs to region known as



Shepherding in the Atlas
Mountains

Maghreb, or “The West”
Includes large areas of the
Sahara Desert and Rugged
Atlas Mountains
Depends on agriculture and
Mining
60% of Tunisia’s 9 million
people live in urban areas
Ancient city of Carthage,
which fought unsuccessfully
against Rome for control of
Mediterranean
Algeria
 Capital City is Algiers
 Largest country in North Africa
 Has deserts, mountains, and




plains
Between Atlas and Ahaggar
Mountains are ergs
Narrow strip of farmland along
Mediterranean called the Tell,
which is the arabic word for
“hill”
Economy depends on mining,
agriculture, and manufacturing
Most of Algeria’s 28 million
people practice Islam and speak
Arabic

Old areas of Algiers called casbahs,
section of shops, bazaars, and
mosques
Morocco








Capital city is Rabat
Located in Northwest corner of Africa
Most of 29 million people are of mixed
Arab and Berber ancestry
Land: Coastal plain, Atlas Mountains,
Sahara Desert
Economy depends on agriculture,
mining, tourism, and fishing
From 1000’s to early 1900’s Morocco
was a Muslim kingdom
In 1900’s ontrolled by France and Spain
Became Independent kingdom again in
1956
QUIZ
17-2 OTHER NORTH AFRICAN
COUNTRIES
A government under one all-powerful leader
A. Tell
B. Ergs
C. Dictatorship
D. Casbahs
E. Algiers
Old sections of Algiers with shops, mosques,
and bazaars
A. Tell
B. Ergs
C. Dictatorship
D. Casbahs
E. Algiers
Arabic word meaning “hill”
A. Tell
B. Ergs
C. Dictatorship
D. Casbahs
E. Algiers
Huge areas of shifting sand dunes
A. Tell
B. Ergs
C. Dictatorship
D. Casbahs
E. Algiers
Capital of Algeria
A. Tell
B. Ergs
C. Dictatorship
D. Casbahs
E. Algiers
Libya became wealthy because of the discovery of…
A.
B.
C.
D.
Uranium
Water
Gold
Oil
More than 90% of Libya is…
A.
B.
C.
D.
Water
Swampland
Desert
Farmland
Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco from a region
known as the…
A.
B.
C.
D.
Sahara
Maghreb
Egypt
Algeria
The largest country in North Africa is …
A.
B.
C.
D.
Tunisia
Morocco
Egypt
Algeria
The major economic activities of Morocco are
agriculture, mining, and…
A.
B.
C.
D.
Heavy industry
Tourism
Oil production
Manufacturing
Results
FURTHER QUESTIONS?