2012-2013 Possible Answers for Short Answer Question for Midterm
1. Rivers:
Key Characteristics and Explanations:
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Rivers in Africa provide fish for food;
water for irrigation;
transportation routes;
hydroelectric power (energy produced by moving water);
and, are a source of precious metals.
Depth varies depending on the season-if it’s the rainy season or the dry season
Plateaus prevent easy navigation due to water falls.
Therefore, the interior of Africa remained largely unexplored
The rivers in Sub-Saharan Africa are difficult to navigate because they have many waterfalls and rapids.
Rapids and Waterfalls…Limits transportation
Congo…Good for Tourism with Whitewater Rafting
Examples and Effects/Results:
a)The Niger River:
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starts in the far west of Africa, on the slopes of the Futa Jallon Highlands and then flows inland toward
the Sahara Desert.
Then after forming an interior delta, it suddenly turns southward, leaves the desert area, plunges over
falls as it cuts through the plateau area of Nigeria,
Creates another large delta at its mouth.
Africa’s third longestCovers 7.5% of the continent.
Extends over 10 countries.
2,600 miles long.
Used for irrigation and transport
Principal river of western Africa
Floods yearly---Flows into the Niger River Delta
Used for irrigation and electricity
Navigable only part of the year
Ancient civilizations flourished here
Ghana:
o Ghana developed in West Africa between the Niger (NI-jhur) and the Gambia Rivers.
o Open plains of Senegal and Niger River
o First powerful kingdom in West Africa
o It was an important kingdom there from about AD300 to about 1100.
o The rivers helped Ghana to grow rich because they were used to transport goods and develop
trade.
o Ghana also collected taxes from traders who passed through the kingdom.
o The people called their nation Wagadu; we know it as Ghana --that was the word for war chief.
o Ghana became a rich and powerful nation, especially when the camel began to be used as a
source of transport.
o Ghana relied on trade and trade was made faster and bigger with the use of the camel
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The kingdom of Ghana probably began when several clans of the Soninke people of west Africa
came together under the leadership of a great king named Dinga Cisse.
o Ghana had few natural resources except salt and gold.
o They were also very good at making things from iron.
o Ghanaian warriors used iron tipped spears to subdue their neighbors, who fought with
weapons made of stone, bone, and wood.
 Mali Empire:
o 1100-1600s AD
o Mandingo farmers who conquered lands in the area and found gold
o Mali was located along the upper Niger River. The fertile soil helped Mali grow and control
river trade.
o Sundiata, Mali’s first strong leader, built up a strong army and won back his country’s
independence.
o He conquered Ghana and took over the salt and gold trades.
o He had new farmlands cleared for crops of beans, onions, and rice. He also introduced cotton
as a new crop.
o To protect his authority, he took power away from others and adopted the title mansa.
o Brought peace and order to West Africa.
Benin Empire:
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Arose in a thickly forested area near the equator
Developed in the delta region of the Niger River
Ruler – set up a centralized government
Had intersecting streets, workers produced brass, wood, ivory, and woven goods
Best known for their Bronze art
b) The Zambezi River:
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whose headwaters lie in Angola and northwestern Zambia,
it first flows south, toward the inland delta known as the Okovango Swamp;
then it turns northeast eventually to reach its delta immediately south of Lake Malawi.
Africa’s fourth longest
Victoria Falls, used for hydro-electric power
c) The Nile River:
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has a famed and erratic course, which braids into numerous channels in the Sudd area of the Southern
Sudan.
In its middle course it actually reverses direction and flows southward
before resuming its flow toward the Mediterranean delta.
world’s longest (4,000 + miles)
Floods annually---The Nile flooded every year, Predictable floodwaters with spring rains left rich, black
silt
o Delta - - Egypt---Narrow band of fertile soil
o One of the most densely populated region in Africa
o Egypt’s most fertile soil in Nile Delta
o Silt deposits at mouth of river
o Black Land of rich arable soil
o Red Land unlivable but afforded protection
Most important physical feature in Egypt
o flows through the Sahara Desert ---Without the Nile’s waters, no one could live there
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Became home of Egyptian civilization of the Egyptians, Nubians or Kushites
o Nile afforded protection itself
o Flowed through cataracts to the south
o Currents and waterfalls made sailing impossible
o Not an easy invasion route
o Egyptians:
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 The Nile used to flood each summer leaving fertile silt deposits
 Egyptians began farming along the Nile about 5000 B.C.
 Ancient Egypt was ruled by Pharaohs and Queens
 Hieroglyphs- picture writing symbols
 3000-750BC
 Pharaohs were rulers who were seen as Gods
 Large empire
 Polytheistic---chief God was the Sun God
 Believed in life after death
 Built huge pyramids and filled with food, jewels, clothing, etc for the afterlife
 Flooding of the Nile River brought rich soil for farming
 Developed calendar
 Strong knowledge of human anatomy and mathematics
 Weakened and conquered by the Kush
Nubians or Kushites:
 750BC-200AD
 Kushites ("Nubians")
 Location: Sudan / Ethiopia
 Many similarities with neighboring Egyptians
 The Land
 5,000 miles long
 Sahara is the great divide
 Kush
 Agriculture may have first appeared in Nubia rather than the lower Nile valley
 Perhaps the site of the first true African kingdom
 Nubia became an Egyptian tributary
 Disintegration of the Egyptian New Kingdom (end of second millennium B.C.E.)
resulted in the independent state of Kush
 Kush became a major trading state
 Little known about the society of Kush
 Seems to have been widespread material prosperity
 Approximately 2000 B.C. – 200 A.D.
 Kush and Nubia are the same place
 It developed along the Nile River in present day Sudan
 Fought with Egypt over control of the Nile River
 Polytheistic like the Egyptians
 Traded with Egypt, the Mediterranean, the Middle East, and East Africa
 Black Africans
 Kush produced many resources like gold, ivory, copper, frankincense and ebony.
 Important center of trade
 Kush traded with all civilization along the Nile River.
 Cultural Diffusion is a direct result from this.
 Nubia was also known as Kush and The Land of the Bow.
 Nubian archers (warriors who used a bow and arrow) were feared by all who saw
them in battle.
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Nubia had a long line of powerful kings.
They were often at war with Egypt, to the North.
From about 2,000 to 1,000 BC, Egypt controlled Nubia but when Egypt weakened,
Nubia came north and conquered Egypt (800-700 BC.)
The Aswan High Dam controls flooding on the Nile.
o Because of the lack of silt, farmers need to use fertilizer to grow crops.
o Created artificial lake- Lake Nasser, which covers 300 miles
o Prevents flooding
o Controls irrigation
o Can plant 3 crops instead of only 1 a year
o Creates Hydroelectric power- supplies Egypt with 40% of its electricity
o Amount of farmland has increased by 2.9 million acres
o New layer of fertile soil no longer deposited by annual flood, must use fertilizers that are very
expensive
o Run off pollutes river, pollution kills fish
o New soil not added to Delta, which causes erosion
o Water flow has decreased.
o Stagnant water allows disease to increase.
o Salt content has increased, which can ruin crops
o Some experts think weight of Lake Nasser may be producing earthquakes
d) The Congo River:
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Produces hydroelectric power.
Has many waterfalls and rapids preventing boats from traveling the entire river.
Africa's most powerful river and the second most voluminous river in the world with a discharge of
1,500,000 cubic feet of water per second.
It is the fifth longest river in the world, draining a basin of nearly 1.5 million square miles
Covers 12% of the continent.
Deepest river in the world (measured depths of 750 ft+)
Total 9,000 mostly navigable miles
o Living-Highway providing, food, water and transport
o Boats travel from areas deep within the country to Kinshasa
o However, below Kinshasa are waterfalls and rapids
2. Rift Valley:
Key Characteristics and Explanations:
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Tectonic activity has shaped the geography of East Africa, forming two rift valleys, known as the
Western and Eastern Rift Valleys.
The Western rift runs from Lake Malawi on the border of Tanzania and Mozambique northwards
through Tanzania and the valleys of Lake Tanganyika and then ending in Southern Sudan.
The Eastern rift runs from Mozambique northward through the East coast of Africa and into Southwest
Asia.
4,000 miles long
Examples and Effects/Results:
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The Great Rift Valley is rich in minerals and metals
Good soil for farming
Because of volcanic ash there are well preserved bones and the world’s oldest human fossils have been
found there---Evidence has found that the earliest Africans first lived in this area
o Olduvai Gorge – located on the edge of the Great Rift Valley in Tanzania
o Archaeologists – Mary and Louis Leakey discovered bone over 2 million years old
o This has led some scientists to believe that the first people were from Africa
2 largest lakes in Africa are along the Great Rift Valley: Lake Tanganyika and Lake Malawi
3. African Rain Forest or Tropical Wet Climate:
Key Characteristics and Explanations:
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Annual rainfall of up to 17 ft.
Rapid decomposition (very humid).
Covers 37 countries.
15% of the land surface of Africa.
Congo Basin & coast of W. Africa
20% of World’s Remaining Tropical Rain Forests
Examples and Effects/Results:
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Diseases like Malaria spread by the Anopheles Mosquito
Rapid Deforestation—For example in Madagascar, 90% have been cut down
Endangered Species like Lemurs due to Habitat Destruction…
4. Savannas or Savannahs:
Key Characteristics and Explanations:
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Grasses and scattered trees
The savannah is the largest climate zone in Africa covering over ½ of the continent
There is a Wet (winter) and Dry (summer) season
Unpredictable rainfall can lead to drought (long periods with little or no rain)
Savannah is a type of grassland located in tropical wet and dry climates.
Most of the savanna in Africa is located in east Africa in Kenya or Tanzania.
Steppe is a dry grassland located on the edges of the deserts.
13 million sq. mi.
Examples and Effects/Results
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T.S. more rain than Sahel, supports livestock and game.
T.S. Holds the Serengeti plains and Nairobi national park.
T.R.F. covers only 8% of Africa, on the equator.
T.R.F. faces destruction from logging companies.
T.R.F. make poor farmland.
T.R.F. cocoa, rubber, palm-oil.
Serengeti Plains:
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contains several national parks and game reserves
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diverse species due to diverse habitats ranging from riverine forests, swamps, grasslands and
woodlands
Best Wildlife: Kenya & Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Botswana & Republic of S.A
Poaching of Animals:
• Elephants for Ivory Tusks
• 2.5 million (1970)
• 1.8 million (1978)
• 350,000 (1997)
• 600,000 (2005)
• Rhino---Horn used as aphrodisiac in Asia
• 65,000 Black Rhinos in 1982
• 2300 (1992)
• 3600 (2004)
Masai Tribe---Nomadic Herding of Cattle
• Cattle-Herding
• Destroys wilderness
• Nat. Veg. Lost
• Soil compacted, eroded
• Loss of Wildlife Habitat
• Tsetse Fly – sleeping sickness
• Disease to Animals & Humans
• Wildlife Unaffected
• Benefits Wildlife by preventing spread of domesticated cattle
5. Sahel:
Key Characteristics and Explanation:
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Steppe region below Sahara that is spreading into a desert region.
Sahel” = “Shore”
Southern edge of the Sahara
Semi-Desert Between Savanna & Desert
Grasses and small trees
The Sahel is a geographic zone of about 5,000 km long and 300 km wide along the southern fringes of
Africa's Sahara desert.
Climate, agriculture, and ways of life are relatively uniform across national boundaries.
The actual borders of this zone are usually defined not in political or geographic terms, but in terms of
mean annual rainfall.
In the north, where the Sahel merges with the Sahara, annual rainfall averages 200 mm.
Along the southern border with the Sudan zone the average is 600-700 mm (see Figure 1).
The chief characteristic of the Sahel zone is that it is prone to frequent and lengthy periods of drought.
Sahel means “border.”
Lies between the desert and fertile grassland to the south.
Long, dry seasons & wet seasons
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Countries: Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, Chad, Sudan, and the “Horn.”
Examples and Effects/Results:
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Drought has brought famine, misery, & hardship.
Desertification” happening in the Sahel. Sahara taking over.
This dryland belt stretches across Africa and is under stress from land use and climate variability.
Persistent, unchecked land damage claims both soil and vegetation, leaving little habitat for the
region's wildlife.
Ultimately, there will be no resources here for people.
Sahel, site of one of the world's most devastating famines, which has caused widespread starvation
Soil erosion has created bare rock
Vegetation is sparse
Expansion of Sahara, due to Drought and Overgrazing
Drought: low rainfall since 1968.
o Soils become dry and there is no water left in wells.
o Trees die, grass withers and is replaced by poor desert scrub.
o Crops fail and cattle feed on poor pasture.
o Less roots to protect the topsoil, less humus; soils become more sandy and dry.
o Wind erosion removes the soil, causing dust storms, leaving bare rock.
Population is high and increasing fast.
o To increase food supplies more crops are grown and more cattle kept leading to overcultivation and over-grazing.
o Farmers use semi-arid land next to desert - yields poor crop
o Overgrazing by cattle and goats
o Overcutting of trees for firewood
o With no grass or tree roots, the topsoil blows away, the desert advances
o Yields decline and cattle are undernourished and die.
o Demand increases for water as population grows.
o Trees are cut down for fuel supplies.
o Less vegetation; more dry, bare soil; more wind erosion.
Locusts destroy the crops.
o Overgrazing means all vegetation is eaten.
o Animals trample the ground reducing it to dust.
o Animals die and can’t breed.
Environmental impacts
o Because of the vegetation loss, desertification makes areas more flood-prone.
o It also causes the salt level in soil to rise, results in deteriorating quality of water, and silting of
rivers, streams and reservoirs.
Economic impacts
o Desertification has huge economic consequences –
o the World Bank estimates that at the global level, the annual income foregone in the areas
affected by desertification amounts to US$ 42 billion each year,
o while the annual cost of fighting land degradation would cost only US$ 2.4 billion a year.
Poverty and mass migration
o `Land degradation brings hunger and poverty.
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People living in areas threatened by desertification are forced to move elsewhere to find other
means of livelihood.
o Usually they migrate towards urban areas or go abroad.
o Mass migration is a major consequence of desertification.
From 1997 to 2020, some 60 million people are expected to move from the desertified areas in
Sub-Saharan Africa towards Northern Africa and Europe.
o Food and water shortages lead to malnutrition, famine, disease and high death rates.
Drought in the horn of Africa Feb 2006 update
o The Horn of Africa is facing its worst drought for at least a decade.
o The Secretary of State for International Development visited the region in January 2006 and
saw at first-hand the terrible effects this is having.
o The UK is at the forefront of the international response. DFID has committed £35.9 million to
the immediate relief effort in the worst affected countries - Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya and
Eritrea. We are helping to provide food aid, water, health services and life saving nutritional
therapy for children. We stand ready to do more, in these countries and the wider region.
o We are also working to tackle the underlying causes of the persistent food crises affecting the
region, and elsewhere in Africa.
o This includes a three-year commitment of £70 million to the Productive Safety Nets
Programme which got underway in Ethiopia last year and is helping millions of people fight
hunger.
North of Sahel – Light-skinned Muslims
South of Sahel---Black Africans who are Christian or Animists
6. Deserts:
Key Characteristics and Explanations:
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40% of the land surface of Africa
Sahara -- North Africa 1/3 of the continent (= to the USA!!) majority is rock and gravel
Kalahari--Southwest Africa
Deserts cover a larger percentage of Africa than any other continent.
Sahara covers north.
Namib Desert, coast of Namibia.
Kalahari Desert most of Botswana.
Examples and Effects and Results:
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slows cultural diffusion - does not totally prevent it
a) Sahara Desert:
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Largest desert in the world, covering most of North Africa---The Sahara is the world’s largest
desert, stretching 3.5 million square miles.
Very dry, so very few people live there
Nearly every settlement in the Sahara is located near an oasis, a wet and fertile area in a desert
where a spring or well provides water.
Gold and Salt Trade of West Africa:
o Traveling caravans crossed the vast Sahara desert to the Middle East
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Travelers looked to profit from the desert crossing with large trades
The savanna lands of West Africa lacked salt, which is essential to survival
In West Africa, salt was more valuable than gold
Mali often traded its gold for salt
Salt was sometimes more valuable than gold!
People’s bodies need salt to live
o In the desert heat, salt is lost through perspiration
Salt was used to preserve food
Salt was brought in large slabs (coins)
b) Namib Desert:
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the oldest desert in the world.
Namib-Naukluft National Park,
the largest game reserve in Africa
Large arid to semi-arid area that supports more animals and plants than a true desert.
c) Kalahari Desert:
o The Kalahari Desert of Botswana features sandy plains and pans, or low, flat areas
o The Kalahari is not as dry as the Sahara. Grasses and wild melon grow and animals are able to
graze
o Bushmen…