World Geography Lesson 1
What year did the "stans" becomes independent from Russia?
1991
Which types of climate cover most of the region? Why will these climates create challenges for people?
A semi-arid climate and an arid climate cover most of the region. These climates include temperatures that vary widely from the heat of the day to the cool of the night and from season to season and have little rainfall. The varying temperatures would make traveling through the region and raising livestock more difficult and the sparse plant life due to the little rainfall would mean that fewer animals would live there, creating less diversity. It would also be more difficult to grow crops.
What are 5 of North Africa's largest cities? Where are they located?
Alexandria, Cairo, Asyut, Algiers and Tunis; Alexandria, Cairo, and Asyut are located in Egypt, while Algiers is located in Algeria and Tunis in Tunisia.
What is the official language of Egypt?
Arabic
How does water scarcity define the climate of North Africa?
Because of the water scarcity, the dominant climates of North Africa are desert and steppe.
How have the countries of Central Asia been governed over the centuries?
Both Georgia and Armenia formed kingdoms more than 2,000 years ago. Both places were Christianized under the Roman Empire in the A.D. fourth century. Beginning about 100 B.C., the Silk Road was established for trade between Europe and China. The Silk Road crossed Central Asia. The Silk Road made Central Asia a crossroads, and because Central Asia is surrounded by powerful neighbors, it has come under the control of various empires. In the seventh through the ninth centuries, Arabs conquered such areas as Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan. In the A.D. 1200s, Genghis Khan led Mongol forces—members of nomadic tribes that previously lived north of China—to conquer Central Asia. While tens of thousands of people died, the Mongols eventually established control over the region. Later, Mongol control weakened and ethnic groups in the region came to power. Georgia emerged as a new kingdom and gained power in the eleventh and twelfth centuries. Later, the Russian Empire expanded into Central Asia. After the Communist revolution in Russia in 1917, all of Central Asia, except Afghanistan, became Soviet Socialist Republics (SSRs) within the Soviet Union. The eight Soviet republics in the subregion gained independence at almost the same time the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991. While leaders in most of these countries said they would adopt democracy, they have not fully delivered on this promise. The leaders have generally ruled harshly, ignored human rights, and suppressed dissent. Elections are held, but the process of voting is questioned. Starting in 2011, Armenia's government took steps to become more democratic. Kyrgyzstan, in 2011, held largely fair elections that produced the first democratic transfer of power in any of these A new Afghan government was formed after elections were held in 2009. Afghanistan still faces many challenges in ruling its territory and providing basic services for its people.
A center in which cultures develop and from which they are spread
Culture hearth
A system of writing using wedge-shaped symbols that were pressed into clay tablets
Cuneiform
Process in which arable land becomes desert
Desertification
A ban on trade
Embargo
A tributary that feeds a larger river
Feeder stream
A chemical or natural substance added to soil or land to increase its fertility
Fertilizer
Which countries have areas that are part of the African Transition Zone?
Gambia, Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad, Sudan, and Eritrea
How would you describe the elevation of the region? What impact would it have on human settlement patterns?
In North Africa, the elevation of the region is relatively low. I would think that if one only looked at the elevation of the region, you could assume that the human settlement patterns would be all over the place in that area because the flat land would make travel easier. However, it is a desert. In Southwest and Central Asia, it is mountainous, besides the Steppes. I would assume the number of people would be more concentrated in the Steppes and more sparse throughout the mountainous region. However, after looking at the maps, I realized the most populated area is Southwest Asia.
List five countries from Southwest Asia.
Iran, Iraq, Turkey, Cyprus, and Syria
How has the Nile River been the lifeblood of Africa?
It supports the growth of plant and animal life, there is fertile land along its banks, it promotes human settlement and development, and the Nile Delta gave birth to some of the world's earliest civilizations.
Central Asia includes which 5 countries?
Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan
A communal farm or settlement in Israel
Kibbutz
A wetland typically covered with grasses
Marsh Marshland
Belief in one God
Monotheism
A cooperative settlement of small individual farms in Israel
Moshav
In Islam, a house of worship
Mosque
What are some aspects of the cultures of the people of Central Asia?
Most people in Central Asia speak one of the Turkic languages. Russian remains an official language in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan and is still widely spoken in other countries. Georgia has a unique language and alphabet. Islam is the predominant religion throughout Central Asia, although Christianity is the majority religion in Armenia and Georgia. The Russian Orthodox faith is present mostly in Kazakhstan. Education is universal across Central Asia, and in most countries, students have 11 years of school. Literacy is at 98 percent or more except in Afghanistan, where it is less than 30 percent. The average schooling there is 9 years, and much less for females. Except for Georgia, health care spending is generally low. The rate of infant mortality is high in Afghanistan, and life expectancy is lower than elsewhere in the subregion. People who live in rural areas tend to follow centuries-old ways of life. The Aimak people of Afghanistan live in yurts, a traditional form of housing made of fabric and skins stretched over wooden poles. Women's rights are a significant issue in some countries of the subregion. The building styles of both these ancient kingdoms influenced the architecture of the Byzantine Empire. The six countries in the eastern subregion have a rich oral literature centered on epic poems that relate the adventures of cultural heroes. Like several countries in Southwest Asia, they also have a tradition of weaving brilliantly colored and intricately designed rugs. Bukhara and Samarqand in Uzbekistan have some magnificent mosques and tombs that are many centuries old.
A boundary created by a physical feature, such as a mountain, river, or strait
Natural boundary
Grazing so heavily that the vegetation is damaged and the ground erodes
Overgrazing
The raising of animals for food and other products
Pastoralism
A chemical used to kill insects, rodents, and other pests
Pesticide
Person believed to be a messenger from God
Prophet
An underground canal first built by the ancient Persians
Qanat
A valley formed by the separation of tectonic plates
Rift Valley
An ethnic group without a formal country
Stateless nation
What is North Africa divided by from the rest of the continent of Africa?
The Sahara Desert
How do the people of Central Asia use resources to create economies?
The countries of Central Asia are less developed. Most are not very industrialized and rely instead on agriculture and natural resources exports. While many areas are not well suited for farming, the steppes of Central Asia do provide fertile soil for growing crops and supporting the grasslands that nomadic herders use in colder months for grazing their livestock. Uzbekistan is one of the world's largest cotton producers, one of the top exporters of cotton, and produces fine clothing from silk. Turkmenistan is another major cotton producer and is also a wheat producer. Kazakhstan is among the world's top ten wheat producers. Kyrgyzstan produces grains, wool, meat, and two export crops—cotton and tobacco. Georgia's humid subtropical climate is good for growing citrus fruits, grapes, and hazelnuts. Farmers in Azerbaijan grow wheat, cotton, rice, fruits and vegetables, and tea, with cotton as a major export. Armenians grow fruits and vegetables and raise livestock. Energy resources fuel Kazakhstan's economy. Oil accounts for some three-fourths of its export earnings. Oil and gas sales helped the country rebound from the worldwide economic crisis of 2008. Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan produce and export natural gas. Kyrgyzstan is a major gold exporter. Azerbaijan, an important oil producer, is improving its exports of natural gas. Pipelines and train lines built through Georgia have helped Azerbaijan export its oil and gas to European markets. The lines have also benefited Georgia. Georgia has developed hydroelectric power and exports some of the electricity. Armenia has economic ties to Russia and depends on that country for natural gas. Tajikistan relies on Russia as a source of employment income, with nearly a million Tajikistani guest workers sending their earnings back home. When the countries of Central Asia were part of the Soviet Union, they were also part of its command economy. Some of the countries in the subregion have not yet moved to a market economy. Along with government control of the economy, government corruption has plagued the economies of Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan. Uzbekistan has made more of a shift to a market economy. Still, the largest firms are government-owned. Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan have moved more fully to market economies. Kyrgyzstan and Georgia have adopted reforms aimed at fixing government corruption, which has helped their economies develop.
What physical process is responsible for shaping the landscape in North Africa?
The landscapes of North Africa have been shaped by the action of four tectonic plates: the African, Arabian, Anatolian, and Eurasian plates.
How have population patterns changed over time in Central Asia?
The population of Central Asia is diverse and complex. The countries of Central Asia have very different total populations. Afghanistan has the largest population, with more than 33 million people. Uzbekistan has under 30 million and Kazakhstan is under 17 million. The other five countries of the subregion all have fewer than 10 million. Overall population density is generally low. However, population density per acre of arable land is high. Mountainous and desert areas are sparsely settled. River valleys are much more densely populated. That is especially true of the lower reaches of the Amu Dar'ya in Uzbekistan. As the people of Central Asia traditionally lived by farming and herding, it is not a highly urbanized region. Cities in Central Asia are fairly small. Tashkent, Uzbekistan, is the largest city in the subregion, with over 2 million people. Baku, Azerbaijan, is the only other city to have more than 2 million people. Almaty, Kazakhstan; Tbilisi, Georgia; and Yerevan, Armenia, are the only other cities to surpass 1 million people. Central Asia is an ethnic mosaic. Afghanistan is one of the most ethnically complex countries in the subregion, with no one group having a majority of the population. In Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan the two main ethnic groups—Kazakhs and Kyrgyz (or Kirghiz)—include less than 66 percent of the population. During the Soviet era, a small population of Armenians living in an area called Nagorno-Karabakh was placed within the control of the Soviet republic of Azerbaijan rather than the Republic of Armenia. In the late 1980s, fighting broke out there, and in 1991 the Armenians living there declared their independence. They seized more territory to connect their region with Armenia. Thousands of Azeris fled Nagorno-Karabakh when Armenians there declared independence. Thousands of Armenians left their homes in other parts of Azerbaijan. The Fergana Valley is one of Central Asia's most ethnically diverse areas. Two decades of fighting in Afghanistan have left more than 250,000 people displaced as refugees. Ethnic fighting in the south of Kyrgyzstan in 2010 forced some 300,000 people from their homes. Only about half have returned.
Why are many Southwest countries wealthy?
They have large petroleum resources.
Which countries in the region are the most densely populated?
Turkey, Jordan, Iran, Iraq, and Israel are the most densely populated areas.
A large temple built by the Sumerians
Ziggurat
Compare the vegetation map with the economic activity map. Which type of vegetation supports livestock raising?
grasslands
What is Egypt's most important physical feature?
the Nile River
