1. Africa Vocabulary

2. Basin a region drained by a river system

3. Savanna Tropical grasslands

4. Rift valley A deep valley formed when the Earth’s crust separated, as in East Africa.

5. Sahel A semiarid grassland that separates the Sahara in the north from the tropical grassland in the south.

6. Escarpment A steep slope.

7. Desertification The gradual transition from fertile to less productive land.

8. Deforestation Widespread cutting of forests.

9. Literacy rate Percentage of people who can read and write.

10. Epidemic & Pandemic Epidemic An outbreak of a disease affecting a great number of the population in a particular community. Pandemic An outbreak of a disease that spreads over a wide geographic area.

11. Genocide the systematic killing of people because of their national, ethnic, or religious group.

12. Refugee A person who flees a place to find safety.

13. Poaching Illegal hunting or fishing

14. Apartheid The legal separation of the races; a system that denied black South Africans their rights.

15. Coup A sudden, illegal takeover of government by force.

16. Malnutrition Lack of enough food or nourishment.

17. Erosion The process by which rocks and soil slowly break apart and are worn away.