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Landforms Africa’s Plateau - most of Africa is at least 1,000 ft above sea level - known as the “plateau continent” Basins and Rivers • Basins—huge depressions on plateau • Nile River—world’s longest: 4,000 miles - waters used for irrigation; 95% of Egyptians get water from Nile • Aswan High Dam – has decreased silt deposits due to the Nile not flooding anymore • Congo River - 2,900-mile more spread out - 32 cataracts (waterfalls) can not sail down • Suez Canal – Speeds transportation Continued . . . NEXT Rift Valleys and Lakes - land sank, formed long, thin rift valleys - stretch 4,000 miles and is pulling away from Africa • Long, deep lakes form at bottoms of rift valleys • Lake Victoria is Africa’s largest Mountains • Mount Kenya, Mount Kilimanjaro - Mount Kilimanjaro is Africa’s highest mountain Continued . . . NEXT A Wealth of Minerals • Africa’s minerals make it one of world’s richest continents - copper, phosphates, diamonds, chromium, platinum • Mineral wealth has not created general African prosperity - colonial rulers sent natural resources to Europe - nations are slow to develop industries Oil Resources • Libya, Nigeria, Algeria among world’s leading petroleum producers Continued . . . NEXT Major Commodities • Coffee is Africa’s second most profitable commodity • Other commodities include sugar, palm oil, cocoa, lumber • Agriculture is Africa’s single most important economic activity - 66% of Africans earn a living farming; accounts for 1/3 of exports NEXT Climate Desert • Sahara is largest desert in world - 3,000 mi from Atlantic to Red Sea; 1,200 mi north to south - temperatures as high as 136 in summer, freezing at night • Only 20% is sand; rest is mountains, rocks, gravelly plains • Saharan travel on camels that can go 17 days without water • 6,000 ft under Sahara are aquifers— underground water - when this water comes to the surface it creates an oasis • Other African deserts include Kalahari, Namib Continued . . . NEXT Tropical Grassland • Tropical grassland covers most of Africa • Serengeti Plain—northern Tanzania grassland - dry climate, hard soil prevent growth of trees, crops - ideal for grazing animals like wildebeasts, gazelles, zebras -site of largest numbers of migrating land mammals NEXT Rain Forest • Major tropical rain forests are on equator in Congo Basin • Most animals live in canopy—uppermost branches, 150 feet off ground - birds, monkeys, flying foxes, snakes • Farmers’ slash-and-burn methods endanger rain forest Continued . . . NEXT The Spreading Sahara • Sahel means “shore of the desert” - narrow band of grassland runs east-west along southern Sahara edge - used for farming, herding • Since 1960s, desert has spread into Sahel - desertification—expansion of dry conditions into nearby moist areas Causes of Desertification • Overgrazing, Clearing land for farming, Water drilling, increased population Results of Desertification Lake Chad is vanishing Continued . . . NEXT East Africa • Burundi, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, Tanzania, Uganda • Prehistoric human remains found in Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania • Area becomes cultural crossroads of goods, ideas, people NEXT Colonization • 19th-century Europeans seek African resources - 1884–85 Berlin Conference divides Africa among European countries; African input denied Conflict in East Africa • Independent by 1970s, many countries suffer civil wars, disputes - colonial boundaries mix ethnic groups, lead to internal conflicts Rwanda – Tutsi and Hutu genocide Darfur genocide NEXT Farming • Countries grow cash crops for direct sale (coffee, tea, sugar) - such crops take up farmland needed for sustainable farming Tourism • Wildlife parks in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania attract tourists, income - because of a need for food, farmland is threatening wildlife reserves and therefore tourism NEXT Cultures of East Africa • 160 different ethnic groups in region • Kikuya are largest Kenyan ethnic group, centered around Mount Kenya Health Care in Africa • Africa devastated by AIDS pandemic - pandemic—disease outbreak in large population over a wide area • AIDS caused by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) • Experts fear worst-affected countries could lose 1020% of populations NEXT North African Countries • Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Sudan, Tunisia Egypt Blossoms Along the Nile • Nile’s flooding provides water, rich soil, to help civilization grow • Nile villages united into first Egyptian dynasty around 3100 B.C. - Pharaohs rule Egypt for 2,600 years • Egyptian geometry and medicine are spread by trade Carthage • 814 B.C.- location on Gulf of Tunis make it a trade center Islam in North Africa • Over time, invaded by Greeks, Romans, Phoenicians, Ottoman Turks • Islam is main cultural, religious influence - monotheistic religion based on Muhammad’s Continued . . . teachings NEXT Economy • Oil has replaced cash crops as economic base Women • Homes are centered around males, few women work after marriage • Women’s roles are changing - multiple wives are prohibited; both spouses can seek divorces - high spouse-abuse penalties, & no more arranged marriages • More women have professional jobs, equal pay for equal jobs NEXT West African Countries • West Africa includes Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Chad, Cote d’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo The Slave Trade • Gorée Island departure point for slaves during slave trade, mid1500s to mid-1800s - Europeans moved 20 million Africans through the island - 20% of Africans died in transit to the Americas (Middle passage) Three Trading Empires • Ghana, Mali, Songhai empires grow on Sahara trade routes -Gold & Salt two major resources • Dominate the trade industry Continued . . . NEXT Stateless Societies • Stateless society—people rely on family lineages to govern themselves - no elected government or monarch; members share power • 1700–1800s, stateless societies are challenged by colonizers West Africa Struggles Economically • Post-colonial switch to democracy brought military rule, civil war • Political instability has hurt their economies • Poor transportation systems, unskilled workers Ashanti Crafts • Ghana’s Ashanti known for weaving asasia (kente) cloth NEXT Colonialism • Belgium’s King Leopold II controls interior by 1884 - holds Berlin Conference, forms Congo Free State - uses forced labor to get rubber, palm oil, ivory Effects of Colonialism - European borders disrupt traditional governments, ethnic regions - new governments face diverse populations, corrupt leaders Economic Effects • Lost resources; cultural, ethnic oppression of people • Little infrastructure or money for transportation, education systems NEXT Education Faces Barriers • In 2001, less than half the sub-Saharan young adults attend school - shortage of teachers and secondary schools, high dropout rate • Language problems: different languages spoken in homes, schools • “Brain Drain” – Best and brightest leaving Africa for educational and economic opportunity. Few return, despite intentions to return. Learning in Central Africa • In Cameroon, most children leave school at age 12 • In Central African Republic, kids 6 to 14 are required to attend school • Most countries in Africa you have to pay for education • Health care education increasing: AIDS, Ebola virus, cholera, others NEXT Southern African Countries • Angola, Botswana, Comoros, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius Mozambique, Nambia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia, Zimbabwe Gold Trade • Great Zimbabwe— gold-trading city abandoned around 1450 Mutapa Empire - Mutapa Empire soon covered almost all of Zimbabwe • Thriving gold empire declines in 1500s amid Portuguese interference Ethnic Clash for Southern Africa • In 1700s, 1800s, ethnic groups fight each other & Europeans for land • In late 1800s, British defeat Zulu, then Boers (Dutch farmers) - form Union of South Africa in 1902 Continued . . . NEXT The Policy of Apartheid in South Africa • In 1948, white minority government institutes apartheid - complete separation of races in schools, hospitals, neighborhoods - blacks make up 75% of population, but own little land • Blacks form African National Congress (ANC) in 1912 to seek rights • Nelson Mandela becomes an ANC leader in 1949, is later imprisoned The Policy of Apartheid in South Africa - peaceful revolution leads to end of apartheid in early 1990s - Mandela is freed, elected president in 1994 - new, democratic constitution passes in 1996 Continued . . . NEXT Africa’s Economy A History of Problems • Most countries do little manufacturing - sell raw materials to industrialized countries • European colonizers exploited Africa’s resources, people - millions sold into slavery or died from harsh working conditions • Land was mined, drilled; environment was ignored Africa’s Economic Status • Most African countries are worse off today than in 1960 - average incomes have decreased • Lack crucial infrastructure (roads, airports, railroads, ports) • Little access to computers or high technology Continued . . . NEXT Economy • Apartheid hurts economy, other nations impose economic sanctions - majority of young blacks uneducated • Two economies in South Africa: - upper-middle income in industrial cities like Johannesburg - poor rural areas, black townships, shantytowns Success at a Cost • Botswana became world’s third-largest diamond producer accounts for 64% of profits AIDS Affects Southern Africa • Southern Africa has the countries most severely affected by AIDS - 25% of adults infected in Zimbabwe, Botswana - Botswana’s life expectancy is 39 years Continued . . . NEXT Reducing Debt and Increasing Cooperation • Newly independent countries borrowed money to build economies • Trying to improve economies through regional cooperation - Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) - Southern African Development Community (SADC) Building Industries • “One-commodity” countries rely on export of one or two commodities - commodity—agricultural or mining product that can be sold - value varies daily based on worldwide supply and demand • Economists want Africans to diversify—create variety in economies Continued . . . NEXT Improving Education • Uneducated population is a barrier to economic development • Average schooling for women only 1.2 years • In Angola and Somalia, civil wars have destroyed school systems Reversing the Brain Drain • Many educated people migrate to Western nations - Go to Western countries for higher education and end up staying. NEXT