1. Africa: South Of the Sahara

2. Physical Geography

3. Africa as a rEGION 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

4. Physical Geography 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 faults- Tanganyika, Malawi- are found on the western side of the Great Rift Valley

5. Physical Geography 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

7. Physical Geography
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

9. Physical Geography
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

10. Climate and Vegetation
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)

11. Climates and Vegetation
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

13. Cultural Geography

14. Cultural Geography 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

16. Cultural Geography 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

17. Cultural Geography 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

18. Cultural Geography 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

19. Cultural Geography 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

20. Cultural Geography Earliest human bones found in East Africa
Early civilizations found along the Nile (Kush, Axum)
Trading empires based on trans- Sahara trade established around A.D 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

21. Cultural Geography 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

22. Cultural Geography
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

23. Cultural Geography 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

24. Nigeria 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

25. South Africa 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

26. Sudan 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

27. Rwanda
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
,000 Tutsi were killed by Hutus in ethnic clashes sparked by the assassination of the Hutu Rwandan president

28. Zimbabwe
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

29. Cultural Geography 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

31. The Region Today

32. Africa Today 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

33. Africa Today 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)

34. Africa Today 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

35. Africa Today 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)

36. Africa Today 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

37. Africa Today
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