Africa Geography

languages spoken in Africa

2,000 to 3,000 different languages are spoken in Africa Swahili is most common 50 million speakers lots of European influence from imperialism

Yoruba

A West African people who formed several kingdoms in what is now Benin and Southern Nigeria.

Nelson Mandela

ANC leader imprisoned by Afrikaner regime; released in 1990 and elected as president of South Africa in 1994; becoming the first black South African president.

Africa's vegetation

About two fifths of Africa's land is tropical grassland. Another name for this vegetation zone is savanna. In addition to short and tall grasses, shrubs and trees are scattered over this rolling grassland. Both the grasses and trees are adapted to a tropical wet and dry climate. Many trees drop their leaves in the long dry season. Some have trunks that can store water. The grasses have long roots that reach for water deep in the earth.

African Islands

Africa has 6 island nations: Cape Verde, Sí£o Tomé and Príncipe, Madagascar, Comoros, Seychelles, and Mauritius

Africa's Human Geography

Africa is home to 53 countries. The largest one is Sudan. It covers almost 1 million square miles. The smallest African country is Seychelles. This is a group of about 115 small islands scattered over the Indian Ocean, north of Madagascar. Together these islands have a land area of only about 176 square miles. Africa is a region of many cultural and language groups. By some estimates, Africans speak at least 2,000 languages. Some of these, such as Arabic and Swahili, are widely used. Others are spoken only by small groups. Despite their differences, all Africans share a long history.

Madagascar

Africa's largest island

desert

An extremely dry area with little water and few plants

Africa's population

As of 2008, about 967 million people lived in Africa. This is one seventh of the world's people. Only Asia has more people. Africa has the fastest growing population in the world. About three fifths of Africans live in rural areas. Most of them live in small villages, much as their ancestors did. In recent years, however, a growing number of Africans have been moving to cities. People in Africa follow many different religions. About 4 out of 10 Africans are Muslims. Most Muslims live in North and West Africa. Christians just slightly outnumber Muslims. The majority of Christians live in West, East, and Central and Southern Africa. More than 100 million people practice indigenous religions. There are hundreds of these local faiths. But they have many features in common. Like most other religions, they explain how the universe was created. They also teach what is right and wrong.

How did the end of apartheid change political power in South Africa?

Blacks gained control of the government through free elections.

What has the South Africa government done to help combat the issues caused by apartheid?

Blacks gained control of the government through free elections.

What do the Hausa and Fulani people have in common?

Both Hausa and Fulani people are mostly found in northern Nigeria. They both practice Islam.

During colonial times, both Nigeria and South Africa were controlled by which European empire?

British/ Great Britain

Central and Southern Africa: vegetation

Broadleaf evergreen forest covers the Congo basin, which lies on the equator. Hundreds of kinds of trees live in this forest. South of this basin, most of the land is tropical grassland. The Namib and most of the Kalahari have desert and desert scrub vegetation. The eastern Kalahari has tropical grassland. Mountain ranges in Southern Africa have highlands vegetation. The southern tip of this region is blanketed in chaparral.

North Africa: vegetation

Desert and desert scrub cover most of North Africa. Few plants grow in the desert. Small trees, bushes, and other plants adapted to a dry climate make up desert scrub. The land along the Mediterranean Sea is covered with chaparral plants. The small trees and bushes of this area are adapted to long, dry summers. A narrow strip of broadleaf evergreen forest runs along the Nile River through Egypt. Tropical grasslands cover the southern edge of the Sahara.

What is the relationship between dialects and linguistic groups?

Dialect is a specific kind of language spoken by a defined group or region.

T/F: all of Africa is a desert

False

Employment Equity Act

Federal law to remove employment barriers and to promote equality.

Central and Southern Africa: climate

In this large sub-region, the land nearest the equator has a tropical wet climate. Farther south, the climate shifts to tropical wet and dry, and finally to arid or semiarid. The climate shifts again in the southernmost part of this sub-region. Some coastal areas along the Indian Ocean have a marine west coast climate. People there enjoy warm summers, cool winters, and rainfall year round. Other coastal areas have a humid subtropical climate. Summers are hot with heavy rains. Winters are mild with some rain. The large island of Madagascar has three climate zones. The eastern half has a tropical wet climate. The northwestern and central areas have a tropical wet and dry climate. The southwestern part has a semiarid climate.

Bodies of water surrounding Africa

Indian Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, Red Sea

How has the Employment Equity Act affected job opportunities in South Africa since 1998?

It has opened jobs to all ethnic groups.

Apartheid

Laws (no longer in effect) in South Africa that physically separated different races into different geographic areas.

Africa's economic activity

Mining is an important economic activity in Africa. Mining is the process of digging minerals and coal out of the ground. Mining most likely began in Africa thousands of years ago. Today half of the value of Africa's exports is from mining. There are many methods of mining. Each method depends on where a mineral deposit is located. When the deposit is near the surface, mining can be done in large, open pits. When the deposit is deep underground, miners must dig tunnels to reach it. Both open pit and underground mines are used in Africa to get at its mineral wealth.

North Africa: climate

Most of North Africa is very dry. Some places in the Sahara can go for six or seven years without rain. Areas of North Africa near the Mediterranean Sea enjoy a Mediterranean climate. Here it is warm all year with dry summers and short, rainy winters.

What happened to blacks, coloreds, and Asians during apartheid?

Nearly 600,000 Coloured, Indian and Chinese people were moved under the Group Areas Act. Some 40,000 whites were also forced to move when land was transferred from "white South Africa" into the black homelands.---- racial segregation

Which African country is referred to as the "most diverse"?

Nigeria

four sub-regions

North Africa, East Africa, and West Africa occupy the northern half of the continent. The southern half is one large sub-region called Central and Southern Africa.

How is Nigeria a "country of many cultures"?

Northern Nigeria has the Hausa-Fulani people, Western Nigeria has the Yoruba people, and Eastern Nigeria has the Igbo people. This area of Africa has historically had many ethnic groups due to its favorable geographic position with rivers and coastline.

Africa's resources

Oil is a key resource in parts of North and West Africa. Most of the oil imported into Europe comes from this region. Central and Southern Africa are centers for diamond mines. In fact, Africa produces almost three fourths of the world's diamonds. Gold is another important resource. More gold is mined in Central and Southern Africa than in any other region of the world.

Igbo

People whose lands were east of the Niger River in what is now southern Nigeria in West Africa; they built a complex society that rejected kingship and centralized statehood and relied on other institutions to provide social coherence.

Africa's history

Scientists have found the bones of a humanlike species that lived in eastern Africa millions of years ago. For this reason, people call Africa the birthplace of the human race.

West Africa: physical features

South of the Sahara lies the Sahel region. The plains of the Sahel are mostly dry grassland. The Niger River runs through the western Sahel. This is the third longest river in Africa. Also in the Sahel is a large lake called Lake Chad. This lake shrinks and grows depending on the season. In general, it has been getting smaller for many years.

Which group of people has been most impacted by HIV in Africa?

Sub-Saharan Africa (South Africa, Nigeria, Botswana, Zimbabwe)

Central and Southern Africa: physical features

The Congo basin is a major physical feature of Central and Southern Africa. This large, low-lying area sits at the center of the continent. The Congo River loops through this basin and empties into the Atlantic Ocean. Farther south lies the Zambezi River. This river has many waterfalls. The largest of these is the beautiful Victoria Falls. Two deserts, the Namib and Kalahari, make up much of the southern part of this region.

North Africa: physical features

The Sahara is the main physical feature in North Africa. It is the world's largest desert. The Sahara has sand dunes, bare rock, gravel plains, and mountains. The Nile, Africa's longest river, runs through this desert and empties into the Mediterranean Sea. The Atlas Mountains stretch across the northwestern part of this region.

What are the names for the four main ethnic groups in South Africa?

The black population of South Africa is divided into four major ethnic groups; namely Nguni (Zulu, Xhosa, Ndebele and Swazi), Sotho, Shangaan-Tsonga and Venda.

West Africa: climate

The climate of West Africa varies widely from north to south. The northern part is arid and semiarid. Moving south, the climate changes to tropical wet and dry. This area is hot all year with rainy and dry seasons. Closer to the equator, coastal areas have a tropical wet climate. This means it is hot and rainy all year. Some coastal areas get an average of more than 120 inches of rain a year.

Africa's Climate

The equator divides Africa nearly in half. As a result, the climate in most of Africa is warm all year. However, some regions are very wet and others very dry. As you read in Chapter 2, places near the equator are warm because the sun is almost directly overhead all year. As the air over the equator warms, it expands and rises. Once it rises, the air begins to cool. If the air is wet, it drops moisture in the form of rain as it cools. In Africa, this rain falls in a wide band north and south of the equator. After rising, this air begins to move toward the North or South poles. But by this time, it is quite dry. As a result, little or no rain falls on parts of Africa farther away from the equator. This lack of rainfall has created vast deserts in northern and southern Africa.

Africa's land use

The grasslands of North and East Africa are used for nomadic herding. Herders move from place to place to find food and water for their animals. More than half of Africa's farmland is used for subsistence farming. This means that the farmers are raising just enough food to feed their families. In recent years, many Africans have turned to commercial farming. Egyptian farmers raise cotton along the Nile River and in the Nile Delta. Large groves of date palms grow around oases in the Sahara. The rainforests of West Africa produce cocoa beans. These are used to make chocolate. Most trade and manufacturing takes place in South Africa. This country produces about two fifths of Africa's manufactured goods, including cars, clothing, steel, and electronics. Many other nations across Africa are working to promote the growth of industry.

East Africa: climate

The parts of East Africa that lie in or close to the Sahara have an arid or semiarid climate. But the Ethiopian Highlands and Mount Kilimanjaro have a highlands climate. In these areas, the higher land is cooler and wetter. The lower land is warmer and drier. The southern part of East Africa has a tropical wet and dry climate.

Nile River

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

Why were the Igbo favored by the British?

They were most willing to work with the British colonizers. Because of that they received the best education, jobs, etc.

Why was apartheid the law of the land in South Africa?

This legislation served to institutionalize racial discrimination and the dominance by white people over people of other races.

East Africa: physical features

Three large lakes lie in or near the Great Rift Valley. Lake Tanganyika is the longest freshwater lake in the world. Lake Victoria is the world's second largest freshwater lake, and Lake Malawi is the ninth largest. To the east of Lake Victoria, Mount Kilimanjaro rises from the plains. At 19,340 feet, this peak is the highest point in Africa. The Ethiopian Highlands lie to the north of the lake. This rugged area covers two thirds of the country of Ethiopia.

Niger River Delta

Triangular shaped landform at the mouth of the river, great for oil production.

East Africa: vegetation

Tropical grassland also covers most of East Africa. Some coastal lands are broadleaf evergreen forests. Much of Ethiopia lies in a highlands vegetation zone. There, the kinds of plants change with the altitude. Bamboo, cedar trees, and tree ferns grow in lower areas. On the higher slopes are meadows covered in grasses and flowers. Mosses and lichen grow near the mountaintops.

West Africa: vegetation

Tropical grassland blankets much of West Africa. But over the years, some of this grassland has become desert. This has happened partly because of long dry periods with very little rain. The southern part of West Africa is a broadleaf evergreen forest. This is also called rainforest. Many trees grow to 100 feet or taller. The shady floor of this forest zone gets little direct sunlight. As a result, few bushes or grasses grow there.

linguistic group

a group of people who share a common language

Fulani People

a large ethnic group living over a wide area of the Sahel.

colonialism

a system in which one country rules another area as a colony. The ruling controls trade with its colony for its own benefit.

ethnic diversity

a variety of people from different ethnic groups

cultural region

an area that is set apart from other places by the ways of life of the people who live there

middle- age adults

are victims mostly effected by HIV

_______ is an important legacy of British rule in Nigeria

cultural conflict within country borders

four mighty rivers

flow from the basins to the seas: Nile, the Zambezi, the Congo, and the Niger

East African Rift

has volcanoes along it because asthenosphere is rising under the rift and supplying heat.

basins

huge, low-lying areas

Hausa People

known for agriculture, profited from caravan trade, spoke Hausa language. Largest in West Africa

Lake Victoria

largest lake in Africa

Although many Yoruba dialects are spoken in Nigeria, the Yoruba belong to one...

linguistic group

multiracial

made up of people from several ethnic groups

Which of these educational goals has South Africa emphasized since the end of apartheid?

preparing all students for good jobs

How did the Apartheid affect the people of color in South Africa?

the Apartheid restricted their rights and opportunities

Equator -- Africa

the equator travels through middle Africa (Gabon, Democratic republic of Congo, Kenya, Uganda, Somalia, Principe and Sao Tome)

segregation

the separation of one group of people from another, such as by race. Segregation can involve laws or customs that require different groups to use different facilities and live in separate areas.

distribution

the way people or things are spread out over an area or a space; also the way resources, power, or goods are divided among people or groups

Sahara Desert

the world's largest desert (3,500,000 square miles) in northern Africa

A cultural region is best defined as a region whose people share the same...

way of life