Newest country
South Sudan
Capital: Juba
The worlds second
largest continent
 55 Nations; most
of any continent
 Between two
oceans; Atlantic &
Indian
 Part of major
trade routes since
ancient times

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North Africa – above the
Sahara Desert
 Linked to the Middle East
culturally

West Africa – extends into
Atlantic
 Part of major slave trade
routes to new world

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
Central Africa – home to
Africa’s tropical rain forests
South Africa – crucial to
trade b/w oceans
East Africa – Great Rift
Valley, fertile land

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Africa is a continent of
Plateaus
The land made exploration
difficult for Europeans
Great Rift Valley – a split in
the African Continent
 Rich in natural resources
 Hard to mine and transport
because of the rough
terrain
 Olduvai Gorge: bone that
belonged to the ancestors
of modern people
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Mountains: edges – Atlas Mts, Drakensberg Range,
Mt. Kilimanjaro – highest mountain in Africa
Deserts: Sahara (largest), Kalahari
Coastal Plains
Usage
 Provides Food
 Transportation
 Irrigation
 Hydroelectric Power
 Major Rivers
 Nile
 Zaire (Congo)
 Niger
 Zambezi

Longest river in the world
 4,160 miles long
 That is flying from
California and back
 Home to early civilization
 Aswan High Dam
 Over 11,000 feet tall and
10 feet thick
 Pros – Hydroelectric
Power, Irrigation
 Cons – Farmers upstream
need fertilizer now

 Central Africa
 Provides
Hydroelectric
Power
 Can’t be
navigated by
boats
 Poor Trade
 West Africa
 Provides
water for
irrigation
 Predictable
Flooding
 Food Crisis
South Africa
 Victoria Falls
 1 mile wide
 420 feet high
 Located b/w
Zambia and
Zimbabwe
 Kariba Dam
 Provides
Hydroelectric
Power

Gold and
Diamonds in
African Rivers
 Europeans mined
much of their gold
from West Africa
beginning in the
Age of Discovery
 Power-WealthTrade

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Copper
 Zaire and Zambia

Platinum and Cobalt
 South Africa, Zaire, and
Botswana

Oil
 Nigeria, Botswana,
Libya, Algeria, and
Gabon

Profits from African
Nations often end up in
other foreign countries

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Societies developed
near water sources
 Farming, Hunting &
Gathering, Herding,
Fishing, & Industry
Major urban areas
developed on:
 Mediterranean Coast
 Western Savannas
 East Coast

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Over 1,000
Languages
Groups few miles
apart speak different
languages
 Small tribes
migrated constantly
and used their own
language
Trade and diffusion
create new languages
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Work on only section 1 in the packet
These are the first two pages front and back.