Download East Africa

Geography
and the
Early
History
of Africa
Creation Story of the Kikuyu
• People from the land of Kenya
– Called the Kikuyu
• Used to explain how they are connected to
the land
– “This land I hand over to you. O man and
woman it’s yours to rule and farm in peace,
sacrificing only to me, your God, under my
sacred tree.”
• ?? Why do cultures have creation
stories ??
Vast Continent
• Africa is the world’s second (2nd) largest
continent
• Location on the Earth:
– Africa is located on the Equator (1/2 of the
country is above and ½ below)
– Between the Atlantic Ocean and the Indian
Ocean
– Mediterranean Sea and Red Sea border it as
well
Explain the importance of
being surrounded by
oceans and seas.
Regions of Africa
• Main Regions of Africa are:
–
–
–
–
North Africa- from Morocco to Egypt.
West Africa- south of the Sahara Desert.
East Africa- Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, etc…
Central Africa- Democratic Republic of the Congo
(On the Equator).
– Southern Africa- from the Atlantic Ocean to the
Indian Ocean.
• Look at page 62 in your textbook (Map of
Africa)
Geography helps to determine lifestyle and culture
Landforms of Africa
• Most of Africa is plateau region
– Plateau- large area of high flat, or gently rolling land
• These plateaus are at different elevations
throughout Africa
– Escarpments- steep cliffs that divide the plateau from
the coastal plain
– Cataracts- large waterfalls and rapids
• Changes in elevation cause the rivers to change
course and direction
• Explain how these cataracts would have
made passage on the rivers problematic.
What do you see?
Great Rift Valley
• Goes through the Eastern part of Africa
– See page 61 in your textbook
• It is a giant fault (break in the Earth’s
crust)
– From the Red Sea to the Zambezi River
• High cliffs surround the valley and deposit
rich soil into the valley
• Many minerals and metals are also here
• Costly and dangerous to mine these areas
Rivers
• Rivers provide:
– Fish, Irrigation, and transportation
– Hydroelectric Power- energy produced from
moving water
This is how the
power of water
is used to
make
electricity
What is
important
about this
method ??
Rivers
• The Nile- flows for 4,160
miles (largest in the world)
– Played a major role in human
development
– Deposits rich soil onto the land
for farming
– Aswan Dam created in 1970
for hydroelectric power
– Begins in the highlands of East
Africa and flows northward
across Africa
Rivers
• Congo River- drains the area of
Central Africa
– Major source of hydroelectric power
– Large parts are unable to be
navigated
• Niger River- starts in Sierra
Leone and Guinea
– Forms a large swamp by the
Sahara
– Major transportation route for ships
and barges
• Zambezi River- flows in
Southern Africa
– Flows over Victoria Falls
Natural Resources
• Africa’s rivers provide many precious
metals and minerals
– Gold and Diamonds
• Vast resources of precious minerals were
the reason that European powers carved
up Africa
What problems would this have caused?
• Examples:
– Oil, diamonds, gold, cobalt, copper
• Resources are distributed unevenly
through the country