Northern Africa Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, Algeria, Morocco and Western Sahara

Natural Environments

Landforms  Coastal plains along Mediterranean  Atlas Mountains  Sahara Desert- Ergs (sand areas) Regs (gravel plains Depression ( quick-sand, salt marshes, dry lakebeds Wadis (dry stream beds)  Nile River

wadis regs Nile River Nile Delta

Climate Factors:  Coastal zone- Mediterranean climate, with mild rainy winters  Sub-tropical high pressure keeps region dry  Rain shadow on Atlas mountains  Hot dry wind (harmattan)- sweeps south across Sahara

Atals Mountains

Natural Resources  Oil and natural gas- especially in Libya  Minerals- iron ore, lead, phosphates, zinc  Fishing off Moroccan coast- sardines  Water from irrigation and a oases- produce grapes, olives, dates, grains, vegetables  Nile Delta- rich farmland

Settlers and rulers  Egyptian civilization arose along the nile around 3000 bc, pharohs  Phoenicians established trade colonies like carthage by 800 bc  Alexander the Great founded Alexandria in 332 bc  Roman Empire Controlled the area  Vandals set up a kingdom in Libya 400’s

 Byzantine Empire claimed North Africa in AD 500’s  Arab Muslims conquered the region in 600s  Ottoman Turks ruled from 1500s to late 1800s  European came in 1800s- French, Spanish, Italians and British  Independence came after WWII

Peoples and Cultures  Arabs, Berbers, and Bedouins  Arabic and European Languages  Muslims, with small Christian and Jewish minorities  Islam plays key role- prayer, holidays, govt  traditional clothing and customs

Berbers

Tuareg man gallibiya

Economic and urban environments  Economics Issues typical of developing countries- government spending, inflation, trade Oil and natural gas- key in several countries Agriculture also important Tourism-especially important in Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia Unemployment causes migration

 Cities Mixture of ancient and modern Crowded, with growing slums

Shopping in the medina

Challenges  Poverty fellahin  Political unrest  Islamic fundamentalism  Environment- desertification, pollution, effects of Aswan Dam