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Name
Class
Date
Chapter 5 Early West African Societies
Section 1
HSS 7.4
MAIN IDEAS
1. The landforms, water, climate, and plant
life affected history in West Africa.
2. West Africa’s resources included farmland,
gold, and salt.
Key Terms and People
Students analyze the
geographic, political,
economic, religious, and
social structures of the
sub-Saharan civilizations
of Ghana and Mali in
Medieval Africa.
long, deep valleys formed by movements of the earth’s crust
sub-Saharan Africa Africa south of the Sahara Desert
Sahel a strip of land in West Africa that divides the desert from wetter areas
savannah open grassland with scattered trees
rain forests dense, wet forests near the equator
rifts
Section Summary
LANDFORMS, WATER, CLIMATE, AND PLANT LIFE
Africa is the second-largest continent in the world,
second only to Asia. The vast land is shaped like a
soup bowl, ringed with mighty mountain chains. In
eastern Africa, mountains extend along rifts, long
deep valleys that were formed by movements of the
earth’s crust.
There are large rivers that cross the plains of
sub-Saharan Africa, the name for Africa south of
the Sahara. Great civilizations grew up along the
Niger River, one of the rivers flowing through these
plains. The Niger River starts close to the Atlantic
Ocean and flows for about 2,600 miles before
ending in the Gulf of Guinea. The Niger River’s
middle section is called the inland delta. This part
of the river has several low-lying lakes and marshes.
Many animals and plants flourish in this area.
Four different regions make up the area around
the Niger. The regions, running from east to west,
range from very dry and sandy to very wet and
green. The northern band is the southern part of
What caused the great rift valleys
of eastern Africa?
What is the name of the part of
the ocean where the Niger River
empties?
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Chapter 5
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Interactive Reader and Study Guide
Name
Class
Date
Section 1, continued
the Sahara desert, so it is hot and dry here. Next
is the Sahel, a strip of land that divides the desert
from the wetter areas. Then there is the savannah,
which has open grasslands. Both the Sahel and the
savannah can support herds of animals for grazing.
The fourth region is rain forest, dense, wet area
with lots of trees and plants. The rain forests lie
near the equator.
WEST AFRICA’S RESOURCES
West Africa’s farmland is a major resource. Its
different climates help grow many different types
of crops. These crops include dates from the desert
and medicinal kola nuts from the forest. Minerals
are also an important resource.
The Sahara Desert has left many salt deposits.
Salt was important for people who lived on mainly
plant foods, like many early Africans who needed
to add salt to their diets. Salt was also a necessary
ingredient for curing and preserving meat.
For centuries, gold came from secret riverbed
mines in the forest region. Even today, no one is
sure which riverbeds yielded the valuable gold
nuggets. But gold was very important for trading.
What two areas along the Niger
are good for grazing cattle?
Underline the two sentences that
explain why salt was so valuable
to the West Africans.
CHALLENGE ACTIVITY
Critical Thinking: Drawing Inferences Draw a picture of the Niger
River, representing the four regions. Draw some animals and plants that
might be found in those regions. Now pretend that you are an explorer
traveling along the Niger River. Write about your discoveries in a travel
logbook. Write at least one entry for each of the Niger River’s four
regions. HSS Analysis Skills HR 3, HR 5, HI 4
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Chapter 5
29
Interactive Reader and Study Guide