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SubSaharan
Africa
Newest country
South Sudan
Capital: Juba
Geography
• The worlds second largest
continent
• Most nations of any continent
–Newest country South Sudan
• Location and Effects
–Between two oceans; Atlantic &
Indian – linked and isolated
–Part of major trade routes since
ancient times
Regions
• North Africa – above the Sahara Desert
– Linked to the Middle East culturally
• Sub-Saharan Africa
– West Africa – extends into Atlantic
• Part of major slave trade routes to new world
– Central Africa – home to Africa’s tropical rain
forests
– Southern Africa – crucial to trade b/w oceans
– East Africa – Great Rift Valley, fertile land
Landforms
• The land made exploration difficult for Europeans = natural
barriers
• Africa is a continent of Plateaus
– Escarpments: steep cliffs & basins, swamps, lakes
• Mountains: edges – Atlas Mts, Drakensberg Range,
Mt. Kilimanjaro – highest mountain in Africa
• Great Rift Valley – a giant fault – Red Sea to Zambezi River
– Series of mountain, valleys, lakes
– Rich in natural resources, fertile soil
– Hard to mine and transport because of the rough terrain
– Olduvai Gorge: bone that belonged to the ancestors of
modern people
• Deserts: Sahara (largest), Kalahari
• Coastal Plains
Rivers
• Provide food, transportation, irrigation and
hydroelectric power
– Cataracts: waterfalls; river rapids
• Major Rivers
–Nile, Congo (Zaire), Niger,
Zambezi
Nile River – East Africa
• Longest flowing river in the world 4,160
miles – flows north
• Home to early civilizations
– Predictable floods supported huge population
• Aswan High Dam
– Pros – Hydroelectric Power, Irrigation
– Cons – Farmers upstream now need to
purchase fertilizers
• Nile River
Route
and its
tributaries
• Zaire (Congo)
River
– Central Africa
– Provides
hydroelectric
power
– Cannot be
navigated with
boats
– Poor for trade
• Niger River
– West Africa
– Provides water
for irrigation
– Floods
predictably
Zaire (Congo) River
Niger River
Zambezi River
• Southern Africa
• Creates Victoria Falls, 1 mile wide and 420
ft. high, between Zambia and Zimbabwe
• The Kariba Dam provides hydroelectric
power
Victoria Falls (Zambezi River)
Africa’s Natural Resources
Rich source of resources
• Mineral Resources (see map)
• Gold and Diamonds
• Europeans mined much of their gold from
west Africa beginning in the Age of
Discovery
• Power-Wealth-Trade
Africa’s Resources Today
• Gold and Diamonds – South Africa, D.R. Congo
• Copper – Zaire and Zambia
• Platinum and Cobalt – S. Africa, Zaire, and
Botswana
• Oil – Nigeria, Botswana, Libya, Algeria, and
Gabon
• Profits from African nations often end up in
foreign countries
Adapting to the Land
• Societies developed near sources of water
– hunting and gathering
– farming
– herding
– fishing
– urban
• Major urban areas developed on the
Mediterranean Coast, western savannas,
and East Coast
Language
• More than 1,000 languages
• Groups only a few miles apart often speak
different languages
– Small tribes migrated constantly and used their
own language
• Scholars group African Languages into large
families
• Trade and diffusion created new languages
– Swahili: Bantu and Arabic
Section 1 Quiz Answers
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
E Hydroelectric Power
D cataract
A escarpment
C Nile
B Aswan Dam
6. B the Pacific Ocean
7. A mountains
8. C 4,000 mile fault line
that splits the continent
9. B halted annual flooding
of the Nile
10. B seize a share of
Africa’s gold and
diamonds