THE AFRICAN CONTINENT

FACTS AFRICA WAS ONCE THE CENTER OF EARTH’S ONLY CONTINENT – PANGEA ABOUT 3 TIMES THE SIZE OF THE U.S.A. PANGEA BROKE UP, AND OTHER CONTINENTS DRIFTED AWAY AFRICA CONSISTS OF 2 MAJOR LANDFORMS; LOWLANDS IN THE NORTH AND WEST, AND HIGHLANDS IN THE SOUTH AND EAST

MAJOR PHYSICAL FEATURES HIGHEST MOUNTAIN – KILIMANJARO “SHINING MOUNTAIN” FROM SWAHILI LONGEST RIVER – NILE (LONGEST IN THE WORLD FLOWING STRAIGHT NORTH) LARGEST DESERT – SAHARA (LARGEST IN THE WORLD) GREAT RIFT VALLEY – PULLING APART FOR 50 MILLION YEARS WILL SOMEDAY TURN EAST AFRICA INTO AN ISLAND. ATLAS MOUNTAINS – NORTHWEST CORNER OF AFRICA ON THE WESTERN EDGE OF THE SAHARA LAKE VICTORIA – SOURCE OF THE NILE; SECOND LARGEST FRESH WATER LAKE IN THE WORLD. KALAHARI DESERT – SOUTH CENTRAL AFRICAN DESERT; WETTER THAN THE SAHARA AFRICAN RAIN FOREST – AFRICA IS SPLIT IN HALF BY THE EQUATOR DRAINING FROM EAST TO WEST SOUTH OF THE SAHARA.

WATERWAYS OF AFRICA NILE RIVER CONGO RIVER OKAVANGO RIVER NIGER RIVER ZAMBEZI RIVER VICTORIA FALLS (ON THE ZAMBEZI RIVER) LAKE VICTORIA LAKE TANGANYIKA

CLIMATE ZONES DESERT (ARID) SEMI ARID TROPICAL EQUATORIAL RAINFALL AMOUNTS AND TEMPERATURE MAKE EACH UNIQUE

DESERT AND SEMI ARID REGIONS FOUND IN SAHARA TO THE NORTH;AND NAMIB AND KALAHARI TO THE SOUTH THE SAHEL IS SEMI ARID AND EXPERIENCING DESERTIFICATION DESERTIFICATION IS CAUSED BY DROUGHT AND OVER GRAZING AND OVER FARMING DESERTIFICATION CAN AND HAS LED TO FAMINE IN AFRICA

TROPICAL AND EQUATORIAL REGIONS Extends both north and south from the equator to the semi-arid regions 2 seasons; wet season lasts 6 months, and dry season This is an area of savannas and rain forest Savannas make up 4.5. million square miles of Africa Closest to the equator there are 2 rainy seasons and 2 dry seasons Annual rainfall here is 50 to 60 inches per year Trees grow as tall as 195 feet

RESOURCES GOLD, DIAMONDS, COPPER, TIN, CHROME, NICKEL, AND IRON ORE ARE AMONG AFRICA’S NON-RENEWABLE RESOURCES TREES, COCOA BEANS, CASHEW NUTS, PEANUTS, VANILLA BEANS, COFEE, BANANAS,RUBBER, SUGAR, AND TEA ARE AMONG AFRICA’S RENEWABLE RESOURCES AFRICA’S WILDLIFE RESOURCES DRAW VISITORS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD

AFRICAN CULTURES AND EMPIRES HUMANS HAVE LIVED IN AFRICA FOR MILLIONS OF YEARS AMONG THESE EARLIEST HUMANS IN AFRICA WERE THE BANTU THE BANTU SPREAD ACROSS CENTRAL AFRICA STARTING AROUND 1,000 B.C. THIS MOVEMENT WAS KNOWN AS THE BANTU MIGRATION FROM THE BANTU SPLINTERED MANY DIFFERENT GROUPS WHO TOOK ON THEIR OWN IDENTITY SUCH AS THE SWAHILI, ZULU, AND OTHERS

TRADE NETWORKS TRADE NETWORKS GREW BETWEEN PERMANENT BANTU VILLAGES SALT WAS WORTH ITS WEIGHT IN GOLD!!! IT WAS NEEDED FOR LIFE AND FOOD PRESERVATION SALT WAS TRADED FOR WITH GOLD, SLAVES, IVORY, AND KOLA NUTS

CAMELS AND CARAVANS CAMELS EXPANDED AFRICAN TRADE WHEN THEY CAME TO AFRICA IN THE A.D. 600’S THEY WERE UNIQUELY SUITED TO TRAVEL ACROSS THE DESERTS CAMEL CARAVANS TRADED ACROSS THE SAHARA FOR PRODUCTS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD

AN EMPIRE BUILT BY TRADE 300A.D. TO 400A.D. TRADE EMPIRE OF GHANA AROSE NIGER RIVER VALLEY LOCATION ALLOWED GHANA TO CONTROL TRADE BETWEEN NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICA TRADERS WERE TAXED IN GOLD FOR PASSAGE THROUGH THE KINGDOM THE KINGDOM WAS LITERALLY CALLED THE KINGDOM OF GOLD GOLD WAS TRADED FOR SALT, SLAVES, COOKING UTENSILS, CLOTH, JEWELRY, COPPER, AND WEAPONS.

THE MALI EMPIRE MUSLIM ARMIES CONQUERED GHANA IN 1235 A.D. SUNDIATA BROUGHT WARRING PEOPLE TOGETHER IN A NEW EMPIRE CALLED THE MALI EMPIRE ISLAM WAS INTERWOVEN INTO THIS NEW EMPIRE’S RELIGION MANSA MUSA WAS MALI’S GREATEST RULER FROM 1312 TO 1332. 1324, MUSA WENT TO MECCA. MUSLIM ARTISANS AND SCHOLARS CAME BACK WITH HIM TIMBUKTU, MALI’S CAPITAL BECAME A MAJOR CULTURAL CENTER NATIVE WEST AFRICANS BENEFITTED FROM THIS COLLABORATION OF CULTURES IN EDUCATION, ARCHITECTURE, LAW, MEDICINE, MATHEMATICS, AND ASTRONOMY.

THE SONGHAI EMPIRE CONQUERED MALI AFTER MANSA MUSA’S DEATH IN 1337 FELL TO THE MOROCCANS IN 1597