1. AFRICA GEOGRAPHIC UNDERSTANDINGS Factory Shoals Middle School
Mr. L. Smith
Days 6-8

2. Africa Geographic Understandings
Standard: SS7G2
Discuss environmental issues across the African continent.
a. Explain how water pollution and the unequal distribution of water impacts irrigation, trade, industry and drinking water.

3. FIRST FIVE
Agenda Message: Quiz Thursday on Africa’s Geography & Environment Issues.
Standard: Explain how water pollution and the unequal distribution of water impacts irrigation, trade, industry and drinking water.
Essential Question for Monday February 11, 2019: Explain the relationship between poor soil and deforestation in Sub- Saharan Africa
Warm-up: Describe Africa’s Great Green Wall.
Today We Will:
Finish Environmental Issues in Africa.

4. ANSWERS
Monday February 11th Answer: Crops grow best in topsoil-a nutrient-rich layer of dirt and organic matter. Trees play a vital role in protecting topsoil from erosion. Trees block wind from blowing away the soil, and tree roots stop soil from washing away. When trees are cut down, nothing remains to hold topsoil in place.
Warm-up: Africa’s flagship initiative to combat the effects of climate change desertification. Led by the African Union the imitative aims to transform the lives of millions of people living in the Sahel and Sahara.

5. FIRST FIVE
Agenda Message: Quiz Thursday on Africa’s Geography & Environment Issues.
Standard: Explain how water pollution and the unequal distribution of water impacts irrigation, trade, industry and drinking water.
Essential Question for Tuesday February 12, 2019: Explain the impact of location, climate, and physical characteristics on population distribution in Africa.
Warm-up:
What is causing the destruction of the Sahel?
Today We Will:
Finish Environmental Issues in Africa.

6. ANSWERS
Tuesday February 12th Answer: Africa has four main climates. Within each one is a way of life specific to those people. The densest populations are located in cities near a significant water source, either fresh or salt. As water resources shrink in an area so does the population.
Warm-up: Desertification is attacking the Sahel from the south. Three major reasons are overgrazing, poor agricultural practices, and the slash and burn policy in the rainforest.

7. FIRST FIVE
Agenda Message: Quiz Tomorrow on Africa’s Geography & Environment Issues. Writing Prompt #4 is assigned today and due next Thursday.
Standard: Explain how water pollution and the unequal distribution of water impacts irrigation, trade, industry and drinking water.
Essential Question for Wednesday February 13, 2019: What are the three largest cities by population on the African continent?
Warm-up:
People who live in the Sahara Desert are called what?
Today We Will:
Finish Environmental Issues in Africa.

8. ANSWERS Warm-up: Desert Nomads Wednesday February 13th Answer:
Lagos, Nigeria – 21 million
Cairo, Egypt – 20.4 million
Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo-13.3 million
Warm-up:
Desert Nomads

9. FIRST FIVE
Agenda Message: Practice Quiz TODAY on Africa’s Geography & Environment Issues. Writing Prompt #4 is assigned due next Thursday on Top-10 Black Billionaires.
Standard: Explain how water pollution and the unequal distribution of water impacts irrigation, trade, industry and drinking water.
Essential Question for Thursday February 14, 2019: What are the major ethnic groups in Africa?
Warm-up:
What is the definition of an ethnic group?
Today We Will:
Practice Quiz on Geography & Environmental Issues in Africa.

10. ANSWERS Arabs Ashanti Bantu Swahili
Thursday February 14th Answer:
Arabs
Ashanti
Bantu
Swahili
Warm-up: An ethnic group is a group of people who share cultural ideas and beliefs that have been a part of their community for generations.

11. FIRST FIVE
Agenda Message: Make-up Quiz TODAY on Africa’s Geography & Environment Issues. Writing Prompt #4 is assigned due next Thursday on Top-10 Black Billionaires.
Standard: Explain how water pollution and the unequal distribution of water impacts irrigation, trade, industry and drinking water.
Essential Question for Friday February 15, 2019:Analyze how deforestation, desertification, and drought lead to poor soil quality in the Sahel.
Warm-up:
What is the definition of a religious group?
Today We Will:
Review Practice Quiz on Geography & Environmental Issues in Africa.
Make-up Quiz

12. ANSWERS Friday February 15th Answer: Warm-up:
Deforestation leads to lack of shade from the sun leaving sun baked earth which turns into hard clay. Hard clay continues to form as wind & rain wash away nutrient rich topsoil
leaving hard baked clay consistency poor soil in its place.
Warm-up:
A religious group shares a belief system in;
A God or Gods
With specific religious rituals, and
Religious text or literature

13. Africa Geographic Understandings
African Environmental Issues
Africa faces many different types of environmental issues. The three most important issues are;
Lack of water,
Poor soil quality, and
Expanding deserts

14. Africa Geographic Understandings
Lack of Water Much of Africa has trouble having enough water for people to live. Large parts of Africa are arid (very dry deserts), other parts are semi-arid. Those areas with plenty of water have rolling grasslands (Savannas) and still others are humid and sub-tropical (Rain Forest).

15. Africa Geographic Understandings
Countries with large river systems have enough water for farming and for people in villages, towns, and cities. However, all countries have water problems due to increasing pollution from factories, animal and human waste.

16. Africa Geographic Understandings
Countries that do not have large rivers often experience poor harvests, they have very little grazing land for farm animals, and little clean water for drinking and washing.

17. Africa Geographic Understandings
Expanding Deserts Each year deserts claim more and more land. The tension between the needs of a growing population and the limited water supply is a serious environmental issue for most of Africa.

18. Africa Geographic Understandings
Egypt & the Nile River
Many countries in Africa do not have enough water even though they have large rivers. Egypt is a good example.
The Nile River, the longest river in the world, runs the length of Egypt. Most Egyptians live along its banks. The river is used for water and transportation.

19. Africa Geographic Understandings
In recent years, however, overpopulation and poor sanitation regulations have made life along the Nile River more difficult. People are concerned about the water’s contamination with human and industrial wastes.

20. Africa Geographic Understandings
Controlling Floods, Irrigation, & Electricity The Aswan High Dam has allowed farmers to have year round irrigation, so the farmers can grow three crops a year rather than just one. They no longer have to rely upon annual flooding of the Nile to bring water to their fields. The dam is also used to generate electricity for the people of Egypt.

21. Africa Geographic Understandings
However, because the Nile no longer floods, the silt (fertile top soil carried by floodwaters) is no longer deposited in the Egyptian fields. As a result irrigation requires farmers to use chemical fertilizers instead. These fertilizers are expensive and also contribute to the river’s pollution.

22. Africa Geographic Understandings
Fertilizers have caused some parts of Egypt’s farmland to develop heavy concentrations of salt. Land that is contaminated with salt is not suitable for growing crops and eventually returns to desert. Desertification: The process by which soil loses its ability to hold water and the desert spreads.

23. Africa Geographic Understandings
The Niger River
The Niger River provides some relief to the people living in the Sahel. The Niger is also a vital transportation route.
When the Niger River reaches the Atlantic Ocean in the country of Nigeria, it broadens into what is known as the “Oil Delta.” This area is rich in petroleum.

24. Africa Geographic Understandings
The silt (fertile top soil carried by floodwaters) from the Niger River makes good soil for farming, too. The Congo River The Congo River provides water to villages and towns, water for irrigation, and a fishing industry. It serves as a major transportation route for those who need to go from the interior of Africa to the Atlantic Ocean.

25. Africa Geographic Understandings
Much of the timber from the rainforests is transported down the river, and people travel the river in search of work.
Potential Conflicts Between Nations
Many who study this region believe that Africa could find itself in the middle of “Water Wars” in the coming years.

26. Africa Geographic Understandings
The Nile River runs through Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt. All of these countries have growing populations and growing water needs. The Niger River supplies the dry Sahel area before flowing into Nigeria. As more water is drawn off upstream, less is available to the countries farther down river.

27. Africa Geographic Understandings
Clean Water & Health Needs
Clean water is needed for basic health and sanitation. People who are not able to have access to clean water are at risk for many diseases.
Lack of water to wash with causes;
Increased frequency of skin and eye infections
Increased problem of water-borne diseases spread by parasites living in unsanitary water.

28. Africa Geographic Understandings
Water & Economic Development
Some countries in Africa have tried to improve their economies by starting factories. Some of these same countries have paid little attention to the factory wastes that are flushed into rivers and streams causing environmental problems for people living downstream.

29. Africa Geographic Understandings
Sometimes the local factory workers are harmed by the industrial waste that pollutes local water supplies of villages and towns where the workers and their families live. African government officials often ignored these environmental problems as long as the factories made profits.

30. Africa Geographic Understandings
International Cooperation
The United Nations (UN), the World Bank, and the United Children’s Fund all have clean water programs at work in Africa.
The African Union had a special meeting on African water issues during the summer of The problems are large, but African countries are working hard with world organizations to try and find solutions.