1. Chapter 3 Geography and Early History of Africa

2. Section 1- The shape of the land
LEQ’s
What is Africa’s relative location in the world?
How have landforms influenced movement across Africa?
What natural resources are important to African nations?
Vocabulary: Escarpment, cataract, hydroelectric power

4. Describe the relative location of Africa using the map on the following slide.

6. Relative location of Africa
Centrally located on Earth’s surface
Straddles the equator
To the West is the Atlantic Ocean and to the East is the Indian Ocean. To the North is the Mediterranean Sea and to the Northeast is the Red Sea.

7. Regions of Africa

8. Landforms
Most of Africa is vast plateaus with escarpments and cataracts
Great Rift Valley:
Contains some of Africans most fertile farmland
Rich in minerals and metals
Mining and transportation are difficult due to steep cliffs , high mountains and deep valleys- makes building roads and railroads dangerous and costly.

9. Rivers Provide: Fish Water for irrigation Means of transportation
Source of hydroelectricity
Nile River
Aswan Dam
Great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam
Major rivers map

10. Natural Resources Rivers are a major source of precious metals
Diamonds and gold
Major reason for Europe's interest in Africa
Mineral exports
Copper, platinum, cobalt, oil.
Most profit from natural resources flow out of Africa due to foreign companies investing in mining.
Uneven distribution
Few African nations have oil to export so most countries rely on expensive imported oil.
Much of Africa is not fertile and uncertain rainfall makes farming difficult.

11. Section 2- Climate and Diversity
LEQ’s
How do climates differ across Africa?
What way of life did Africans develop?
How do Africa’s language reflect its cultural diversity?
Vocabulary: tropics, drought, leaching, desertification

12. Climate Regions

13. Role of Latitude and Elevation
80% of continent is tropics because the equator runs through the middle so the area between the Tropic of Capricorn and Cancer is generally warm all year.
Coolest parts of the region are found in the highlands because of increased elevation.

14. Rainfall

15. Four major climate zones
Tropical wet(rainforest)
Tropical wet and dry(Savanna)
Deserts
Mediterranean

16. Tropical Wet (Rainforest)
Narrow belt along the equator (8% of Africa)
Hot and humid all year around
Average temp 80
inches of rain per year
Plentiful plant and animal life
Poor soil due to leaching
Poor place to live due to :
Disease carrying insects breed in standing pools of water
Termites attack wood buildings and furniture
Dampness causes mold and rotting in everyday items.

17. Tropical Wet and Dry(Savanna)
Largest climate zone that covers almost
half the continent.
Warm all year
Summer(rainy season)- hot and wet
Winter(dry season)- warm with little or no rainfall
20-80 inches of rainfall per year (depends on distance from the equator)
Close to the equator – wetter part and supports many trees and grasses
Outer edge- semi-arid(very dry) with short rainy season; scattered grass and small trees.

18. Tropical Wet and Dry(Savanna) Continued
Unpredictable rainfall
Rain may be heavy or light
Come weeks early or weeks late
Drought
Heavy downpours wash away the soil and cause flooding
Desertification- explain:

19. Deserts Cover 40% of Africa
Sahara
Larger than the US
Temps reach as high as 130
Can go for 10 years without rainfall
10 inches average rainfall per year
Few grassy areas that can support grazing animals

20. Deserts Continued Kalahari
Not as dry as Sahara and supports grasses and wild melons and antelopes graze here.
Namib
Driest places on earth; small trees get mist from nearby Atlantic Ocean

21. Mediterranean Summers are hot and dry; winters are cooler and moist
Mild climates and fertile soil support many crops and herding

23. Population
Population: Billion (2013)
Most populous countries in Africa:
Nigeria: 173,611,131
Ethiopia: 95,045,679
Egypt: 82,196,587
Democratic Republic of the Congo: 67,363,365
South Africa: 52,914,243
What influences where the people live?

24. Adapting to the land
Very diverse cultures that have different histories, religious beliefs, values and traditions.
Basic societies in Africa
Herding
Fishing
Hunting- very few societies remain
Food gathering- very few societies remain
Urban
Majority of Africans live in the Savanna
Cities flourish along the Mediterranean coast, the Savanna of West Africa and the coast of East Africa.

25. Languages
Estimated that 2,000-3,000 different languages are spoken in Africa. With as many as 8,000 different dialects
Official Languages of Africa.docx
How does having so many languages and dialects affect the people?

26. Religion
maps\religions.docx
Christianity- European Christian missionaries spread their religion to replace traditional African religion.
Islam- Muslim traders spread the teachings of Islam.
Traditional African Beliefs- read traditional beliefs section on page 91 in text and write a summary of there beliefs.

27. Research a traditional African religion and present the beliefs to the class.

28. Social Organization Family