1. Chapter 23 Equatorial Africa

3. Section 1 - Physical Geography of Equatorial Africa
Landforms
Equatorial Africa, or the Heart of Africa, is a tropical subregion located on and near the Equator in Central Africa.
Covered by thick rain forest, it is home to Africa’s most famous and colorful wildlife.
A basin is an area that is drained by a river and its tributaries, and the Congo Basin is the second- largest river basin on Earth.

4. Congo Basic

6. Section 1 - Physical Geography of Equatorial Africa
Water Systems
Five of Equatorial Africa’s countries border the Gulf of Guinea, making fishing important in all of these nations.
The Congo River and its many tributaries form a large network of navigable highways, although some of these routes have rapids and waterfalls that block boat traffic.
Lake Tanganyika, the second-largest and second- deepest lake in the world, acts as a major food source and transportation route.

8. Climate, Biomes, & Resources
Section 1 - Physical Geography of the Equatorial Africa
Climate, Biomes, & Resources
A region of high temperatures and tropical climates, most of the subregion has a tropical rain forest climate.
The highland areas surrounding the Congo Basin experience montane, or highland, climates.
The complex biome of the rain forest is home to a wide variety of animal and insect life.
The subregion’s mineral resources are abundant.
Although water is a major natural resource, controlling it for practical purposes is difficult.

9. Rain Forest Vocabulary
Section 1 - Physical Geography of the Equatorial Africa
Rain Forest Vocabulary
The canopy is a layer of trees and leaves with a maximum height of 130 feet
Understorya lower layer of the rain forest
Emergent
Canopy
Understory
Undergrowth

11. Section 2 - Human Geography of Equatorial Africa
History & Government
In the 1400s, European explorers arrived in Equatorial Africa to expand their trade networks.
The slave trade ensued, taking young people away and harming the societies left behind.
By the 1900s, European powers established colonies that promoted European culture and weakened traditional African cultures.
Resistance to colonial rule grew, resulting in all of the countries achieving independence in 1960.

13. Section 2 - Human Geography of Equatorial Africa
Population Patterns
Society is mostly rural but has pockets of dense, urban populations.
Most people exist by subsistence agriculture, or eating most of what they grow, and raising cattle.
Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is the political, cultural, and economic hub, or center of activity.
Gabon is the most urbanized country, while South Sudan is the most rural.

14. Society & Culture Today
Section 2 - Human Geography of Equatorial Africa
Society & Culture Today
The subregion contains hundreds of ethnic groups and languages, with French being the most dominant language, reflecting France’s colonial influence.
Religion and family life are intertwined, with Christianity, Islam, and indigenous religions, such as animism, all practiced in the subregion.
Due to its lack of financial resources, Equatorial Africa struggles to stop the spread of preventable diseases.
Ethnic conflicts continue in the subregion.

15. Section 2 - Human Geography of Equatorial Africa
Economic Activities
Farming is the main economic activity with most of the population practicing subsistence farming.
Countries along the Congo and on the coasts rely on fishing for economic support.
Although the subregion is rich in mineral resources, corruption and governmental mismanagement have prevented the people from benefiting from these natural resources.
Manufacturing output is low, but investment from foreign countries will push industrialization.

17. Section 3 - People and Their Environment: Equatorial Africa
Managing Resources
Management of natural resources is sometimes a low priority, or something that needs attention among competing alternatives, when daily survival is the primary concern.
Extensive conflict hampers, or impedes, normal economic activity, along with widespread government corruption.
Poverty also takes its toll on the subregion’s people, as some in Equatorial Africa are the poorest in the world.

19. Section 3 - People and Their Environment: Equatorial Africa
Human Impact
The pollution of the air and water, along with soil erosion and deforestation, are all negative human influences on the area’s vast natural resources.
The ivory trade, demand for ivory from elephant tusks, has greatly depleted the number of elephants that once roamed the continent.
Poaching and illegal hunting of endangered species has threatened the populations of monkeys, antelopes, gorillas, bonobos, and elephants.

24. Section 3 - People and Their Environment: Equatorial Africa
Addressing the Issues
Protection of tropical rain forests has become a priority, with the foremost efforts being scientific tree farming and replanting projects.
Many nongovernmental organizations, or NGOs, and charitable groups are working to help make biofuel cook stoves cleaner and more efficient.
Governments have deployed troops to combat illegal poaching and to decrease the trade in bushmeat, but economic struggles continue to make this task difficult.