Africa: South Of the Sahara
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Transcript Africa: South Of the Sahara
South of Sahara desert 9.5 million
square miles
Region of plateaus, “stair steps”
down toward sea
Edges of plateau marked by
escarpments
Rivers running across land create
great rapids and waterfalls
Great Rift Valley in East Africa home
to continents greatest mountain
ranges
Most of the region lies in the
tropics, great tropical rain forests
across central Africa, vast
grasslands on either side of tropical
forests
Wide variety of physical features
Higher average elevation than any
other continent, but few major
mountain ranges
Eastern Highlands, Ruwenzori
Mountains, Drakensberg Range
Highest mountain Mt. Kilimanjaro
(Tanzania)
Great Rift Valley in East Africa,
formed by tectonic plates moving
apart
Series of faults along region shape
valley today
Volcanic mountains are found along
the eastern part of the rift
Deep lakes formed by faultsTanganyika, Malawi- are found on the
western side of the Great Rift Valley
Water Systems
Most large lakes near Great
Rift Valley
Largest lake in Africa Lake
Victoria, source of White Nile
River (shallow compared to
Tanganyika, Malawi)
Lake Chad (North Central
Africa) shrinking
Droughts , too much water
used for irrigation and
desertification (caused by long
periods of drought and poor
land use) have caused Lake
Chad to shrink
Drought, arid climate threats
to its existence
Lakes
and rivers of southern Africa found in
huge basins formed by uplifting land
Rivers originate in high plateaus and flow to
the sea, across ridges and escarpments
Hard to navigate inland from sea because of
waterfalls and rapids
Niger River main river in West Africa, vast
inland delta formed before it meets the sea
Zambezi River, south- central Africa, course
interrupted by many waterfalls
Congo River in central Africa, most easily
navigated from the sea inland
Natural
resources distributed
unevenly across region
Countries in western Africa
have petroleum reserves
Gold and diamond deposits
found in some countries
(South Africa worlds leading
producer of gold)
Water is an abundant resource
in some regions
Great variety of climates across
region
Near Equator, tropical rain forest,
wettest region of continent
Farmers clearing land to grow cash
crops in rain forest cause soil
depletion
Tropical grasslands called savanna
covers almost half of continent
Rainfall is seasonal (6 months wet,
6 months dry)
Main vegetation is trees and tall
grasses
Savanna is home to African wildlife
(Serengeti Plain)
Away from tropics climate becomes drier
In North Africa separating savanna from
deserts is semiarid steppe called Sahel
Low growing grasses, little rainfall
Over past 50 years much of region has
undergone desertification
Human overuse and drought depletes
topsoil and degrades quality of
environment
Possibly caused by climate change that
affects the lands ability to recover
Southern African deserts include the
Namib and Kalahari
Moderate climates are found along the
southern coast and parts of East Africa
673 million people (10% of world population)
Highest birthrate, highest death rate in the
world
Highest infant mortality, shortest life expectancy
Population growth faster than anywhere else in
the world
Nigeria population will be 300 million in 50 years
70% of worlds AIDS cases found in Africa, may
limit population
Population and food production
Most Africans farmers (70%),
but soaring population, makes
it hard to feed people
Countries also gear economies
toward export, don’t grow
products for local consumption
Environmental degradation,
over grazing, drought, intensive
over cultivation has depleted
the soil
Population and healthcare
Famine, poor sanitation, poor
nutrition cause high infant
mortality, high death rate (only
1/3 have clean water to drink)
AIDS has reached epidemic
proportions
Zimbabwe- child born there
more likely to die of AIDS than
any other cause
Life expectancy there has
dropped to 39
Disease and health care issues
will cause shortage of workers,
collapse of industry, families and
communities will have lost
generations
Most population is not evenly
distributed
Rwanda one of the region’s most
populated countries, Namibia one
of the least populated
Climate, land factors in
distribution of population
Most people crowded along West
African coast, east coast of South
Africa
Population found where there is
easy access to water, mild climate,
fertile soil
Agriculture, industry and
commerce concentrated in these
areas
Growing Cities
One of the least urbanized areas of the world,
but has the world’s fastest rate of
urbanization
1950 only 35 million lived in urban areas,
today 270 million
Leave rural areas for cities for opportunity
Most cities near the coast, or near natural
resources
Largest city Lagos, Nigeria (10 million)
Other important cities Johannesburg, South
Africa
Kinshasa, Democratic Re public of the Congo
(economic, cultural and political hub of the
country)
Nairobi, Kenya important city in east Africa
Earliest human bones found in East
Africa
Early civilizations found along the
Nile (Kush, Axum)
Trading empires based on transSahara trade established around A.D.
700 in West Africa
Ghana, Mali Empires traded gold for
salt
Around 800 AD Bantu speaking
people spread out from central Africa
(Bantu migration)
Founded kingdoms of Kongo in central
Africa
150 million Bantu speakers in Africa
today
European
Colonization
Europeans heard of wealth of
Africa and by the 1400’s they
had established trading posts
along the western coast
1600 and 1700’s trading with
African kingdoms for gold,
silver, ivory and slaves
Europeans shipped African
slaves to their plantation in
the Americas
A.
B.
C.
By the 1800’s Europe regarded the
African continent as a source for raw
materials
Central Africa last part of continent to
be settled
1914 all of Africa except Ethiopia and
Liberia were under European control
European control upset the social
political and economic structure of
Africa
Divided up the continent by placing
boundaries across ethnic
homelands, set African groups
against one another
Missionaries who opposed slave
trade still forced European religious
ways, weakened traditional life
African agriculture replaced by
large scale plantation agriculture
for profit to non-African
businessmen
A.
B.
C.
From Colonies to Countries
Many Africans benefitted from
European rule (education,
urbanization)
In the second half of the 1900’s
many demanded self-rule
Faced challenges after independence
as a result of colonial rule
Had to industrialize, set up
economies to meet local needs
Had no experience in government,
had to establish new democratic
systems
Because of European boundaries,
rivals struggled for power and
many civil wars broke out
Colonial legacy
Ongoing ethnic struggle in Nigeria
Formed by British in1914 from
several different ethnic, religious
groups
Religious problems- North was
Islamic, south practiced traditional
religions
1960 Nigeria becomes independent
country and civil war erupted
To maintain control a harsh military
dictatorship took over
Country struggles today as it tries
to become a democracy
Early 1900’s becomes independent of
British rule
For most of the rest of the century
white minority controlled the social,
political, economic institutions of the
country
Policy called apartheid (separation of
the races)
International pressure ended this
system in the early 1990’s
1994 anti- apartheid leader Nelson
Mandela elected as first black
president
Distinct cultural divisions in north and
south Sudan
North is Islamic and favor Islamic
oriented governments and more of the
population is urban, south is subsistence
farmers that prefer secular government
Region of Darfur is in conflict between
government backed militias and agrarian
non Arab black African Muslims
Conflict has led to thousands being
displaced and overcrowding in refugee
camps
Food distribution and famine is another
problem caused by this civil war
Region of Darfur has been called the
worlds worst humanitarian crisis
Colonial powers (Belgium) favored Tutsi ethnic group
over Hutu ethnic group
Provided them with government jobs, better
education
After independence violence erupted between the
two groups that lasted for decades
1994 800,000 Tutsi were killed by Hutus in ethnic
clashes sparked by the assassination of the Hutu
Rwandan president
70%
of farms owned by 4,000
people (descendants of European
settlers)
2000- Government proposed land
reform, sometimes through violent
means
Land was redistributed without
compensation to land owners
Land redistribution has caused
farming to come to a halt in
country, threat to economy that
depends on commercial agriculture
Many diverse ethnic groups
3,000 ethnic groups, also non Africans (Europeans, South Asians,
Arabs)
Borders of Africa meaningless to groups that share same cultural
characteristics, language; connected along tribal not national lines
800 different languages
Variety of religions (most Christian, Muslim, traditional religions),
many follow a blend of religions
Islam most prominent in West Africa, the Sahel region, and Eastern
Africa
Europeans brought Christianity
Education was allowed only to select few during colonial period
Since independence greater access to education, less access in rural
areas
60% literacy rate in Africa (not an even distribution)
Oral tradition, stories passed down from one generation to the next
has helped preserve African history
Farming main occupation of many Africans
Most are subsistence farmers (two thirds of the population)
Most large commercial farms are owned by foreign companies
Commercial crops provide many countries main source of
income, crops leave the country to be processed somewhere
else (money not kept in country)
Crops include coffee, peanuts, palm oil, cacao
World demand for products can have an effect on entire
countries economy
Growing population has led to food shortage
Logging, Mining
Deforestation occurring at alarming
rate, need for agricultural land,
population pressure
Logging heavier in West and Central
Africa (rain forest)
Mineral wealth great in South Africa,
world’s largest producer of gold,
diamonds
Most mining operations are foreign
owned
Little money reaches miners
Oil reserves found in Nigeria
Uneven distribution of mineral
resources causes economic imbalance
Few people profit from mineral wealth
(mostly foreigners)
Industrialization
Obstacles to industrialization
Many countries lack
infrastructure to develop
natural resources, lack skilled
workforce
Political conflict, lack of
money hold back
industrialization
Usually major trading partners
are former colonizers
Most economy is export based
Transportation and
Communication
Economic, political problems
plague transportation
systems as well
Rivers hard to navigate
because of geography
Satellite access and wireless
technology have improved
communications
Low literacy rates limit use
of traditional media
(newspapers, magazines)
Trade
and Interdependence
Most countries maintain economic ties
with their former European colonizer
China is a growing trade partner in many
African countries
Africa south of the Sahara is the poorest
region in the world, it owes billions to
foreign countries and this makes
economic development difficult
Drought, wars contribute to famine in
Horn of Africa, many countries depend
on imports for food
Severe drought has turned
overgrazed, marginal farmland into
desert
Many countries have approached or
exceeded their carrying capacity
(number of people a place can support
on a sustained basis)
Refugee populations displaced
because of civil war have strained
food resources of many countries
(Sudan, Rwanda, Somalia)
Groups in conflict keep food aid from
reaching those in need