AFRICA: SOUTH OF THE SAHARA

PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY

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

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

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

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

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

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)

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

CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY

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

CULTURAL GEOGRAPHYPopulation 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

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

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

CULTURAL GEOGRAPHYGrowing 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

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. 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

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

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

A. Divided up the continent by placing boundaries across ethnic homelands, set African groups against one another

B. Missionaries who opposed slave trade still forced European religious ways, weakened traditional life

C. African agriculture replaced by large scale plantation agriculture for profit to non-African businessmen

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

A. Had to industrialize, set up economies to meet local needs

B. Had no experience in government, had to establish new democratic systems

C. Because of European boundaries, rivals struggled for power and many civil wars broke out

NIGERIAColonial 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

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

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

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 1994 800,000 Tutsi were killed by Hutus in ethnic

clashes sparked by the assassination of the Hutu Rwandan president

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

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

http://mapsof.net/uploads/static-maps/africa_ethnic_groups_1996.jpg

THE REGION TODAY

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

AFRICA TODAYLogging, 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)

AFRICA TODAYIndustrializationObstacles 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

AFRICA TODAYTransportation 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)

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

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