West and Central Africa Ch. 22- Holt

Landforms and Rivers  Plains and low hills: a few highlands  Broad depressions- El Djouf (desert), Lake Chad, Congo Basin  Key rivers- Niger and Congo  Coastal plain, with few natural harbors

Niger River, Mali Congo River

Climates and biomes:  All within the tropics: climate bands run east-west  Arid- Sahel region, bordering Sahara, scattered trees, shrubs, grasses  Tropical wet and dry-south of Sahel: open grasslands: once home to many large animals (zebras, elephants)  Tropical humid- near equator: dense forest many birds and insects, primates

Sahel Region

Key resource include tropical timber, good soils and minerals.  Oil- Niger is is Africa’s leading producer  Minerals- copper, diamonds, cobalt in DRC  Cacao- world’s main source  Other crops – coffee, coconuts, peanuts

Cacao- pod and map Cobalt- used in magnets/color

Historical eras:  Pre-colonial- this era saw the rise of great empires, including Ghana and Mali, along with smaller groups of forest peoples. European contact began in the late 1400s with the slave trade.

1050ad ’s 1337 These great empires gained their wealth through the trans-Sahara trade.

 Colonial- European powers took control of the region, establishing plantations, mines and coastal cities.  1884 Berlin Conference

Post colonial  Ghana was the first to win independence, in1957: others followed. Colonialism created dependence on commodity exports, many political and economic problems.

Cultural features:  Great diversity- reflecting African, Muslim, European influences  Most languages in Niger-Congo family: Arabic and European languages also used  Mainly rural residents, but urban population growing rapidly  Religions- Islam in the Sahel: Christians to the south: African spirit religions

 Low literacy rates, high poverty  Staple crops- cassava, corn, yams, millet, sorghum  Societies based on extended family –It takes a village to raise a child.

Levels of development  Developing countries- poverty, low levels of education  Dual economies- for export market and local market  Plantation agriculture hurt subsistence farming and grazing  Dependence on export of a few key primary products

Challenges  Economic development  Population growth – crowding, hunger  Political problems – war and conflict  Environmental destruction- deforestation, species extinction, desertification  Disease- HIV

HIV 2004 HIV Prevalence trends in South Africa