Africa The Ancient Romans called the continent Africa from the Latin word aprica meaning sunny….

Africa World’s 2nd largest continent. Location: Almost centered on the equator, which affects its vegetation, climate, and population patterns. Continent stands between Atlantic Ocean (west) and Indian Ocean (east). Mediterranean Sea in the north and the Red Sea in the Northeast also border Africa

Africa Regions: North Africa, West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa. Each region is unique and has it’s own identity. Regional differences contribute to the diversity of African peoples. Rich in natural resources, but unevenly distributed

Regions North Africa stretches from Morocco in the west to Egypt in the East. Location contributes to its historical ties to Europe and Middle East.

Regions North Africa linked to the regions south of the Sahara. These regions are often referred to as sub-Saharan Africa.

Regions South of Sahara, West Africa bulges to Atlantic Central Africa, includes the large nation of Democratic Republic of the Congo (on equator). East Africa largest nations are Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania. Great Rift Valley-a series of mountains and valley’s slices eastern part of continent Southern Africa: SA, Zimbabwe, Zambia

Africa Region: 650 million of Africa’s 800 million people live south of the Sahara. Divided into more than 800 ethnic groups, each with it’s own language, religion, and culture.

Landforms Mt. Kilimanjaro Most Africa = 2/3’s either desert or dry lands Mt. Kilimanjaro Mountain ranges toward the edges (Atlas Mts in NW & Drakensberg Mts in SE) Highest Plateaus in East (Mt. Kilimanjaro) Escarpments: steep cliffs divide plateaus from coastal plains Cataracts: large waterfalls

Africa: Cradle of Civilization? Anthropologists claim that Homo Erectus, the walking predecessors of modern humans, migrated from Africa about 1.8 million years ago. * Birthplace? Olduvai in Tanzania *Source: Palmer, R.R. “A history of The Modern World,” McGraw-Hill, 2002. pg. 1

Great Rift Valley Flanking the Rift Valley are high, cliff like walls. Soils have washed down into valley The valley contains some of Africa’s most fertile farmland. Valley is rich in minerals & metals. Mining and transportation difficult due to terrain.

Great Rift Valley Split along East that extends 4,000 miles Plates of Earth’s crust have moved apart, volcanic activity created Mt. Kilimanjaro and Mt. Kenya .

Climate and Diversity Four Major Climate Zones: differences in amount of rainfall distinguish each zone. Rainfall –or lack of it-determines climate on the continent. Money in Botswana called, pula = rain http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhB1B6cObdU&feature=related Northern and Southern half are mirror images of each other. Climates are: tropical wet, tropical wet and dry, desert, & Mediterranean.

Deserts of Africa Deserts cover nearly 40% of Africa…Sahara in the north and Kalahari and Namib (na-mib) in the south Sahara Desert is larger than continental U.S. Temp’s can reach as high as 130 F., can go years w/o rain, avg. less than 10 in. annually Sahara historically both a barrier and a highway for travel-camel caravans salt and goods Namib Desert, one of driest places on Earth

Desertification Process by which land becomes increasingly dry until almost no vegetation grows on it, making it a desert

Desertification: Process of becoming a desert How? Natural forces and human action put land at risk. Grazing herds destroy the roots of the grasses, so the thin layer of topsoil turns to dust. Desertification 3 Big Problems associated with it Famine, leads to no crops to eat cause no water for plants, poor soil Conflict Migration

Desertification and the Problems associated with it Social Disruption Desertification increases drought, poverty and hunger around the world! It also contributes to increased social violence, abuse of women and children, cultural genocide and emigration to cities and other countries. Climate Change Poverty Water issues such as runoff and flooding (leads to drought) Famine

So how to address the problem? (Desertification reading and worksheet) Preventing soil exhaustion Diversify production Land restoration Reducing the herd One way that incorporates all of these is something called “Holistic Management” which results in ecologically regenerative, economically viable and socially sound management of the world’s grasslands!

How to address the problem? Tunisia (Northern Africa) Tunisia: crops planted along the contour line is a sensible method to adapt agricultural practices to topographic realities. *this is effective in preventing soil exhaustion © Yann Arthus-Bertrand / Earth from Above/ UNESCO

How to address the problem? Mali (Western Africa) Mali: diversifying agricultural production better employs land resources and prevents over production of a sole product. In the drylands and oases, man has had to devise clever ways to exploit the fragile natural resources in a sustainable way.  © Yann Arthus-Bertrand / Earth from Above / UNESCO 

How to address the problem? South Africa South Africa: holistic land management land restoration is possible as seen here! The most promising – if not the only – way to effect this positive change on a large-scale is use properly managed livestock to restore the grasslands of the world. © Yann Arthus-Bertrand / Earth from Above/ UNESCO 1 cow every 44 acres versus 1 cow every 68 acres

Allan Savory: Grassland ecosystem pioneer Holistic management http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LHoh-OKUfU Hear Allan Savory: http://www.ted.com/speakers/allan_savory.html AFRICA CENTRE FOR HOLISTIC MANAGEMENT This is an excellent website http://www.savoryinstitute.com/