Geography and it’s Effect on Africa’s People October 21, 2014

Physical Features and Their Effect Africa is home to many different types of landforms: desert, grassland, tropical rainforest, etc. Each of these landform types affects the people living in Africa in several different ways Where they live The type of work they do Transportation

The Sahara Desert The Sahara covers much of the entire northern part of the continent Very few people are able to live there There are some nomads (people who move from place to place looking for food) who live in the Sahara They usually travel by camel, carrying trade goods from the Mediterranean coast to the southern edges of the desert As they encounter other nomads, they trade with each other for what they need

The Sahel The Sahel forms a wide band of dry grassland stretching from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea While there is some rainfall in the Sahel, farming is still difficult because desertification is an issue Most people who live in the Sahel are semi- nomadic and move to a new location when they run out of food or water Others practice subsistence farming (only growing enough to survive) or try to grow enough to sell in small marketplaces

The Savanna The African savanna is the largest in the world, covering almost half of the continent Many animals (lions, zebras, giraffes, etc.) live there and grass is able to grow naturally More people are moving into the savanna as the population of the continent grows This is harming the animals because people are building roads and towns and forcing natural animal habitats to disappear

The Rainforest Rainforests are found in Africa in the Congo River Basin and other areas near the equator The rainforests are home to small groups of people who live by gathering food or live on small subsistence farms Today, their way of life is being destroyed by deforestation. This leads to the extinction of species of plants and animals that cannot be found anywhere else in the world

Questions 1. What are 3 ways that Africa’s landforms affect people? 2. What type of people live in the Sahara? 3. What is a nomad? 4. How do nomads travel? 5. How do nomads get the goods that they need? 6. Why is farming difficult in the Sahel? 7. What is subsistence farming?

Questions 8. What is happening to the population of the savanna? 9. What is happening to the animals of the savanna? 10. What types of people live in the rainforests? 11. What is causing the way of life to change in the rainforest? 12. How is deforestation affecting the plants and animals of the rainforests?