AFRICA
Natural Environments
North Africa-Landforms
• North Africa stretches from the Atlantic Ocean
to the Red Sea.
• Coastal Plains extend from Morocco to
Tunisia.
• South of the coastal plains are the Atlas
Mountains.
• What do you think lies south of the
mountains? Why?
• South of the Atlas Mountains is the Sahara
Desert.
North Africa-Landforms
• The Sahara covers roughly 3.5 million square
millions, about the size of the United States.
• It is the largest desert in the world!
• Erg: high shifting sand dunes that help to
create a sea of sand.
• Reg: gravel covered plain in which the wind
has blown away the sand and dust.
Which is which?
North Africa-Landforms
• Depressions: large low areas.
• The Qattara Depression is 440 ft. below sea
level. It is a wilderness of quick sand and land
marshes.
North Africa-Landforms
• In the eastern Sahara, the Nile River flows
north through Egypt.
• The Nile is the longest river in the world!
North Africa-Climate
• Along the coast, the Mediterranean climate
produces warm, dry summers and mild rainy
winters.
• An arid climate covers most of North Africa.
What is an arid climate?
• A rain shadow created by the Atlas Mountains
contributes to the dry conditions. (Think
orographic effect.)
West Africa-Landforms
• Plains and low hills make up most of the
landscape.
• There are a few highland areas and broad
depressions. What is a depression?
• Two of Africa’s major rivers, the Congo and
the Niger are found here.
Congo River
Niger River
West Africa-Climate
• In the north, areas farthest from the equator
have an arid region. What does that mean?
• Along the southern edge of the Sahara is a
semiarid region known as the Sahel.
• South of the Sahel is a zone of tropical wet
and dry climate.
• What might this type of climate look like?
West Africa-Climate
• The climate zone closest to the equator is
tropical humid.
• Most of Africa’s tropical rain forests are found
in this area.
• Why does West Africa have such a diverse
climate?
Dry
Semi-Dry
Wet
East Africa-Landforms
• Tectonic processes have played an important
role in shaping the physical landscape.
• The Great Rift Valley is a series of faults.
• The Great Rift Valley can be divided into two
smaller areas, the Eastern Rift Valley and the
Western Rift Valley.
East Africa-Landforms
• What might we find a lot of along fault lines?
• Mt. Kilimanjaro, near the Tanzania-Kenya
border, is the most famous rift volcano.
• Even though it is near the equator, its peaks
are almost always covered with snow.
East Africa-Climate
• This area’s climate is very unpredictable.
• There are periods of extreme drought that
causes grass and cattle to die.
• There is little vegetation which leads to
overgrazing and desertification.
• There are also periods of heavy rains that lead
to an increase in locust and grasshopper
populations.
East Africa-Animals
• Tsetse Fly: small fly that carries a human
disease called sleeping sickness.
• Many of the large plains animals are immune
to the disease.
• How then could this fly benefit the animals of
the Serengeti Plains? (Hint: Think about
farming.)
Southern Africa-Landforms
• Most of the region lies on a plateau just inland
from the coast.
• The area between the coastal plain and the
plateau is called an escarpment.
• What is an escarpment?
Southern Africa-Landforms
• The Drakensburg Range in South Africa causes
a rain-shadow effect.
• As a result, areas to the east get more rainfall
than areas to the west.
• Veld: grasslands of South Africa.
NORTH AFRICA-HISTORY AND
CULTURE
Early Civilizations
• Where do you think the earliest civilizations
settled in North Africa?
• Why did they settle there?
Remember
the Nile!!
Early Civilizations
• The unique thing about the Nile River is that
every year it floods.
• Why would this be a GOOD thing?
• When the river floods it deposits silt, very
fertile soil.
• This soil is great for farming.
• The people counted on the flooding for their
survival.
Culture-People and Languages
• Nearly all the people consider themselves
Arab or Berber.
• Berber: group of people that lived in North
Africa before the Arabs came.
• Arabic is the official language of every country.
Culture-Settlement and Land Use
• Most of the people live along the
Mediterranean Sea or along the Nile River.
• Urban overcrowding is becoming a major
issue.
• Why would people in North Africa be moving
to the cities?
Culture-Religion
• Most North Africans are what religion?
• Muslim
• There are a few small groups of Christians and
Jews.
WEST AFRICA-HISTORY AND
CULTURE
European Influence
• European explorers arrived in West Africa in
the early 1400s.
• What were they looking for?
• They were looking for a water route to Asia.
• Many traders were also attracted to the
possibility of gold.
European Influence
• In the mid 1500s, Europeans changed their
focus from gold to what?
• Slaves
• What did they need slaves for?
• Europeans needed slaves for their colonies in
the Americas.
Slave Trade Revisited
• Europeans created trade routes between the
Americas, Europe, and Africa.
• What was this known as?
• Triangular Trade.
Slave Trade Revisited
• Europeans would sail to Africa and pick up
captured Africans.
• Most of those sold into slavery were sold by
rival African tribes.
• In exchange for slaves, Europeans often traded
iron, guns, gold, and food.
Slave Trade Revisited
• Europeans would then take the slaves to the
Americas.
• The slaves would be sold to colonists to work
the land.
• The money from the slaves could then be used
to buy raw materials such as tobacco, sugar,
cotton, and coffee.
• The boats are then loaded up and taken back
to Europe.
The Colonial Era
• By the mid 1800s, the slave trade was coming
to an end.
• What was happening to European industries
at this time?
• They were beginning to develop.
• What do you need for factories?
• Raw materials.
• What happened to the European’s supply of
raw materials?
The Colonial Era
• So, European countries began to grab land in
Africa to support their industries.
• Do you see any problems that might occur
here?
• What is scarcity?
• How might Europe solve the problem of
competing interest?
The Berlin Conference (1884-1885)
• In 1884, European powers met in Berlin to
divide up Africa.
• Who was not invited to the conference?
• The AFRICANS!!
What was the
only country
that managed
to remain
independent?
Long Reaching Effects
• How did the scramble for European colonies
shape the borders and countries of modern
Africa?
EAST AFRICA-THE
REGION TODAY
East Africa-Economy
• Most of the people in East Africa are still
involved in subsistence agriculture.
• What is subsistence agriculture?
• It means you only grow enough food for
yourself and your family to eat.
• What does this mean about their standard of
living?
East Africa-Economy
• Some people will make money by gathering
wild plants like coffee beans and gum arabic
from acacia trees.
East Africa-Economy
• All the countries in East Africa are developing
nations.
• What are some of the differences between
developed and developing nations?
East Africa-Economy
• Tourism has great potential for economic
growth in the region.
• Animal life, cool highlands, snowcapped
mountains, clean beaches and cultural events
all draw tourists in.
• The biggest barrier to tourism in the region is
what?
• Terrorism and violence
East Africa-Urbanization
• East Africa’s cities are growing rapidly.
• Why?
• People want better jobs, environment not
good for farming, etc.
• However, too many people are moving to the
cities.
• What types of problems could this cause?
• Too few houses, not enough food, not enough
jobs, people not trained for jobs, high crime
rate.
East Africa-Issues
• East Africa’s main issue is a population that is
growing rapidly.
• What types of problems does this cause?
• Not enough land, not enough food, not
enough clean water, not enough jobs, not
enough money.
• Remember scarcity, what is it?
• How might people react to these issues?
East Africa-Issues
• Ethnic hatreds between groups have led to
genocide.
• Genocide: the intentional killing of a group of
people.
• Why are people of different ethnic groups
living in one country like this?
• Remember the Berlin Conference, who
divided up Africa?
SOUTHERN AFRICA-HISTORY AND
CULTURE
Southern Africa-Colonial Period
• In 1652, the Dutch set up a small settlement
on the Cape of Good Hope.
• The good climate made it a great place to
farm.
• The European settlers were known as “Boers”,
which is farmer in Dutch.
• They thought of Africa as home, so they called
themselves Afrikaners.
Southern Africa-Colonial Period
• In the early 1800s the British took control of
the Cape area.
• Wanting to be free of British rule, the
Afrikaners moved inland.
• In the late 1800s gold and diamonds were
discovered in the area.
• What do you think this meant for the region?
• War!!
Southern Africa-Colonial Period
• The quest for riches led to the Boer War
(1899-1902).
• The British won control of the entire region.
• Britain granted South Africa independence in
1910.
• Why would they do this?
South Africa-Apartheid
• The Afrikaners still controlled South Africa.
• Remember, who were the Afrikaners?
• The whites in South Africa prevented blacks
(about 95% of the population) from
participating in the political system.
• This was known as apartheid.
• Apartheid: term that means separateness.
• Has this even happened in the U.S.?
Southern Africa-Apartheid
• The African National Congress was formed in
1912 to try and end apartheid.
• In 1990, the government released Nelson
Mandela, the leader of the ANC.
• In 1994, open elections were held in South
Africa.
• Mandela was elected the first black President
of South Africa.
Southern Africa-Culture
• Many native tribal languages are still spoken
in Southern Africa.
• Because of this, European languages are often
adopted for official government business.
• The language usually depends on which
country held that region during the colonial
periods.
Southern Africa
• Most people in Southern Africa practice some
brand of Christianity.
• How does this differ from the religion
practiced by many in North Africa?
• Why did religion spread this way?