McCormick

Name: ______Block: ______Date: ______

AFRICA

Political Map v. Resources Map pgs. 484-485

  • What are the major resources of Africa? ______

______

  • Where is oil found? How does it affect economies in the region? ______

______

  • What countries use water resources to produce hydroelectric power? ______

______

  • 1) What mainland countries have no resources? ______

______

  • 2)What economic activities do you think they depend upon? ______

Africa is divided into five (5) Regions:

North Africa: Physical Features

The Nile

  • The Nile River is the world’s ______river flowing upward about 4,000 miles; empties into the Mediterranean Sea
  • For centuries rain to the south caused floods in the north leaving rich ______in the surrounding fields.
  • Silt: ______

______

The Sinai and Suez Canal

•Desert and rocky mountains cover the Sinai Peninsula. Between the Sinai and rest of Egypt is the Suez Canal: a narrow waterway that connects the ______with the ______.

The Sahara

  • ______
  • Few people live there. Small settlements are located near a water source such as an ______; a wet fertile area where a natural spring or well provides water.
  • The Sahara desert is not flat. Some sand dunes and ridges are as high as 1,000 feet and the ______rise as high as 13,600 feet!

North Africa: Climate and Resources

  • Three Main Climates:
  1. ______: Very dry covers most of the region. Very hot during the day (up to 136° F) and drop quickly after sunset.
  2. ______: northern coast consists of moist, mild winters and hot, dry summers.
  3. ______: Areas between coast and Sahara
  • Oil and gas are important resources.

West Africa: Physical Features

•Plains and Highlands:

–Coastal plain is home to most of the region’s cities. Interior plains provide land where people grow crops.

–______Mountains to the northeast

•The Niger River

–Flows 2,600 miles, empties into the Gulf of Guinea

–Many people farm along its banks or fish

–______

West Africa: Climate

•Four different climate regions: “zonal”, meaning ______

  • ______- hardy any vegetation, dry climate, few or no people
  • ______- strip of land dividing desert from wetter areas, steppe climate.
    Desertification- spread of desert-like conditions
  • ______-Tall grasses, scattered trees and shrubs
  • ______- lies along coasts of Atlantic and Gulf of Guinea

West Africa: Resources

•Variety of resources including agricultural products, oil, and minerals (diamonds, gold, iron ore, bauxite- main source of aluminum)

•Ghana leading producer of ______(used to make chocolate)

•West Africa’s main exports include ______.

West Africa: History

•One of the earliest kingdoms was______. Controlled the Sahara trade in ______and ______became rich and powerful in 800.

•Empire of Mali replaced Ghana in about 1300 gaining control of the trade routes

–Mansa Musa was Mali’s most famous king

–Invasions caused the decline of Mali in the 1500s

•Replaced by kingdom of Songhai

–______was the cultural center with a university, mosques, and over 100 schools

–Declined around 1600 when Europeans began trading along coast

•The Slave Trade

–For a while European and Africans traded with each other however demand for labor in American colonies changed that.

–European traders met demand by selling enslaved Africans to the colonists

–Devastated West Africa: ______

______

•After end of slave trade France, Britain, Germany, and Portugal claimed colonies to access resources. Most of these did not become dependent until after WWII

East Africa: Physical Geography

  • ______: Places on Earth’s surface where the crust stretches until it breaks.
  • Great Rift Valley is the largest rift on the Earth
  • ______is the highest mountain in Africa rising 19,340 feet!
  • Home to one of the largest plains called the ______Plain. Wildlife includes elephants, giraffes, lions, and zebras.
  • Lake Victoria- Africa’s ______lake

East Africa: Climate and Vegetation

•Location on equator and differences in elevation influence climate and vegetation.

•North of the equator has cool, highland climate. Most of the ______lives in highland region.

•Areas near equator receive greatest amount of rainfall.

•Areas farther from equator are much drier and droughts are common causing______

______

East Africa: Religion

  • Christianity and Islam influenced the lives of many East Africans. Other influences included trade, the arrival of Europeans, ethnic conflict, and independence

•______was first introduced as early as 300 AD

•By about 700 AD ______spread from Egypt to Northern Sudan and spread to the Indian Ocean coast to what is now Somalia

–Many city-states became major Islamic centers controlling ______on the coast

Central Africa: Physical Features

•______- generally flat region surrounded by higher land such as mountains and plateaus

•Congo River is fed by hundreds of smaller rivers. Provides important ______to the interior of the region

•______is located on the Zambezi River

Central Africa: Climate, Vegetation, and Animals

•Lies along the equator. Congo Basin has a humid tropical climate.

–Large, dense tropical forest

–______live on the forest floor. People hunt large animals for food. National Parks have been set up to promote protection.

–Forests are in danger: rapidly being cleared for______.

Central Africa: Resources

•Most people are subsistence farmers (grow coffee, bananas, and corn)

•People trade products in periodical markets, ______

______

•Copper is the most important resource in this region.

•Poor ______have kept regions resources from being fully developed.

Southern Africa: Physical Geography

•Most of the land lies on a large plateau. The steep face at the edge of the plateau is called an ______.

•Many rivers flow in this regions providing ______

______. Also home to animals such as crocodiles, zebra, hippos.

Southern Africa: Climate and Vegetation

•Climate varies from east to west. The east coast is wet, whereas the west is very dry.