Longest river largest desert abundant natural resources General Facts

 Plate Tectonics creates Great Rift Valley in East Africa  Coasts = narrow plains/ escarpments.  Much of Africa a series of plateaus/highlands.  NW Africa=“Maghreb” (Arabic for “West”). Fertile soil found here.  Northern plateau contains Sahara Desert- worlds largest- covers 30% of Africa

 Dry semi-arid scrubland.  Southern edge of Sahara.  Home to nomadic tribesman.  Desertification! Causes?

 Woodlands/ Grasslands  West to East south of Equator  South Africa’s Atlantic Coast  Annual Rainfall of in/year  Serengeti Plain- home to Africa’s Wildlife Parks

 World’s largest?.  West Africa thru the DR Congo  in. rain/year. Avg temp over 80 deg.  Prolific biodiversity (vegetation and animals)  Gorillas, snakes, flying squirrels, monkeys  People in Congo forced to hide here during wartime- many die from lack of food/disease

 Highlands of Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, Djibouti (serves as port for US Navy)  Ample rainfall, cool climate, rich soil  Ancient Greeks: “Favorite Earthly Residence of the Gods”  Horn being pulled from rest of Africa by Plate Tectonics.  Land/water fills in the crack, called the Great Rift Valley.  Today known more ethnic warfare/drought/famine “USA for Africa”/ “Black Hawk Down”

 Vast plateau surrounded by coastal strip.  2 Deserts- Kalahari and Namib- get less than 5 inches of rain/year.  Cold area during winter (M-J- July) Which type of desert?  Vegetation: forests, grasslands, and scrublands.  Wildlife: hyenas, antelopes, cheetahs, crocodiles

 Historically important for communication and trade. 3 major river basins 1.Nile River- World’s longest! (4,100 miles). Over 90% of Egypt’s people live w/in 10 miles. 2.Niger River-2,600 miles. Flows thru rain forests of West Africa, center of ancient kingdoms. 3.Congo River-3,000 miles. Tropical forest area of central Africa.  Africa’s rivers make 40% of world’s hydroelectric power!!

Algeria, Angola, Gabon, Libya, Nigeria. South Africa mines 40% of world’s gold and platinum Angola, Botswana, C.A.R., D.R.C., Ghana, Namibia, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tazania Botswana,DRC, South Africa, Zambia Botswana, South Africa, Zimbabwe DRC, CAR Gabon, Namibia, Niger, South Africa D.R.C- make cell phones/Play Station

 Steven Decatur- Barbary Pirates –1803  Liberia- Abolitionist/Back to Africa Movement  “USA for Africa” –Ethiopia famine 1984  Somalia-1993 “Black Hawk Down” Current day Pirates  Assist Libyans to overthrow Dictator Khadafi 2011  US troops hunt for Joseph Kony(LRA)  $4.3B US aid to Africa (24% of all US aid money)-most to emergency food and HIV drugs…not to economic development (Egypt- 1.55B Kenya-437M Ethiopia-474M Liberia-102M)

 Only 30% of people live in cities of more than 20,000. Africa is a Rural Continent.  71% of Africa’s people are under age 25  Africa’s growth rate in cities 3.5%  Most populous city is Lagos, Nigeria at 16.9 million  Most populous nation Nigeria with 131 million  15 million refugees- 3.3million who flee b/c of war, 12 million who are internally displaced  Only 19 of 53 nations are considered Democratic  66% of the people are dependant on farming  50% of Africans live on less than $1 a day  Richest nation: Equatorial Guinea, PCI $36,000  32 nations classified by World Bank as “heavily indebted”  In Sub- Saharan Africa, only 45% of rural peoples have access to clean drinking water  102 of 1,000 infants die before age 1 in Sub- Saharan Africa (33 in North Africa)  Average life expectancy 46 Sub-Sahara, 67 North Africa (Zimbabwe 37 men, 34 women)  AIDS/HIV kills over 2 million per year  Literacy rates: Average is 60% - Seychelles (island nation) 92% Burkina Faso 12%