C.J. Cox Instructor

C.J. CoxInstructor

Africa South of the Sahara

Ten Geographic Qualities of Africa Physical Geography of Africa Cultural Geography of Africa Historical Geography of Africa African Sub-regions

Ten Geographic Qualities of Africa

1. Continent dominated by it’s plateau character

2. Majority of people depend on farming for their livelihood


3. High amount of disease (malaria, sleeping sickness, aids)

4. African boundaries drawn by Europeans at the beginning of the colonial period

5. Economic development in scattered areas


6. Rich in raw materials vital to industrialized economies

7. Inter-regional connections are poor

8. Africa has been a place of competition and conflict between major powers


9. Highest population growth despite

diseases & food shortages

10. Contrasting areas from civil

wars to stability

Relative Location of Africa Lying astride the equator Between the

Atlantic/Indian and Mediterranean

On the periphery of the land hemisphere

Second largest continent– 4500 miles from east to

west– 4800 miles from north

to south

core

PeripheralPeripheral

PeripheralPeripheral

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Per

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Perip

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Perip

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Physical Geography of Africa

Plate Tectonics Plateaus Deserts Mountains Rivers Lakes Climates

Physical Geography of Africa Plate Tectonics

– core for the super continent Gondwana

– deep gorges & trenches resultant from continental movement

– rift valleys or hugh parallel cracks or faults


Plateaus - plateau land mass where altitude moderates the tropical heat– average of at least 1000

ft.– half of continent is over

2500ft.

Basins - Congo, Djouf, Kalahari & Sudan


Deserts– The Sahara

Desert - the world’s greatest desert

– The Kalahari Desert

– The Namib Desert

Physical Geography of Africa Mountains

– no mts. of continental size

– Atlas Mountains– Drakenberg Mts.– Abyssian Highlands– Volcanic Peaks of East

Africa such as Mt. Kenya & Mt. Kilimanjaro

– Great Escarpment (Zaire to Swaziland)

Physical Geography of Africa Rivers

– The Nile (Abyssian Highlands to Mediterranean)

– The Niger (highlands of Guinea to delta of Nigeria

– The Congo River (Dem. Rep. Of The Congo)

– The Zambezi - (Zaire/Zambia boundary (Lualaba River) to Lake Malawi delta


Lakes– Lake Victoria– Lake Tanganyika– Lake Malawi (Nyasa)

Many of the rivers in Africa occupy the trenches cutting through the East African Plateau

Physical Geography of Africa Climates

– Symmetrical about the equator– rainy tropical climates of equator– savanna lands of trees with grass– steppe lands of only grass– arid conditions of Sahara &

Kalahari Deserts– med. zones at extremities

Cultural Geography of Africa

– Population– Languages– Agriculture– Economics– Religion


Population– 763 million– concentrations in Nigeria,

Lake Victoria & South Africa

– high mortality rates of Sahel, Ethiopia, West Africa

poor soils, inadequate precipitation


Population Characteristics– Birth rates 40/1000

– Death rates 15/1000

– Natural Increase 25/1000

– Infant Mortality 91/1000

– Doubling Time 27 years

– Pop <15 44%

– Pop > 65 3%

Cultural Geography of Africa Languages

– Diversity of African Languages indicating isolation over long periods of time

– Dozens of languages in a single country

– 1/7 of the inhabited world with 1/3 of the the languages

Cultural Geography of Africa Languages

– divides North Africa & Africa South of the Sahara

– Afro-Asiatic north of Sahara

– Niger Congo languages in the south

– Malayo Polynesian in Madagascar

– Germanic in South Africa


Agriculture– subsistence farming


Agriculture

Cultural Geography of Africa Agriculture

– nomadic herding

– per capita food production decreasing

Historical Geography of Africa Pre European Prelude

– the absence of written history– Trade with places like Timbuktu– East Africa trade with China, India Indonesia

& Arabs Colonial Transformation

– 1600s series of coastal stations & forts– trade with African middlemen for slaves, gold,

ivory & spices – Arabs had slave trade long before Europeans

Historical Geography of Africa Colonial Transformation (continued)

– 30 million slaves deported from Africa all over world– European presence brought a reorientation of

external trade interior states decline -

– Penetration into the interior not until mid of 1800's

– 400 years later European carved up Africa Belgium Congo Portuguese Angola & Mozambique French western Africa (France still maintains influence)

NigeriaBurkina FasoMauritaniaMaliNigerSenegalGuineaGuinea BissauGambiaIvory CoastSierra TogoBeninGhanaLiberia

WEST AFRICA

bulge Lake Chad to Senegal to coast to Sahara)

large desert states to the north smaller coastal states most populated region cultured area coastal location favorable for trade

WEST AFRICA

Nigeria– Moslem north– mid area poor unproductive & disease– oil reserves in the Niger delta– urbanization 29%– capital Abuja in center

•

KenyaUgandaTanzaniaRwandaBurundi

The HornEthiopiaSomaliaEritreaDjibouti

East Africa highland plateau Africa - savanna Lake Victoria 3 major countries come

together Tanzania

– largest country with 24 million– country with out a prime core area– African socialism– cooperatives & new villages– cotton north/ tea south

East Africa Kenya 22.8 million

– good agricultural areas– strong core area– capitalist state– Nairobi/Mombassa– tourism– pop. increase 4.2 % annually– doubling time is 17 years– by 2025 4 times as many as today (83 million)– over 1/2 pop under 15 – average 8 kids per woman

East Africa

Uganda – 16.2 million– military regime of Amin 1971-1979– 75,000 Asians evacuated & commercial

system fell apart– death by violence 300,000– economy still in shambles & fragmented

Burundi & Rwanda 12 million

ChadCameroonCentral African Rep.GabonSao Tome and

PrincipeEquatorial GuineaCongoDemocratic

Republic of the Congo (Zaire)

CENTRAL AFRICA Zaire, Congo, Cameroon, Central African Republic Gabon Equatorial Guinea

Zaire 33 million & 900,000 sq. miles– wealth within the basin rim– river system nuetralized by rapids– independence in 1960

CENTRAL AFRICA Gabon

– modest oil reserves, forests & lots of minerals

Cameroon – self sufficient in food, oil

reserves

South AfricaAngolaNamibiaBotswanaZimbabweMozambiqueZambiaMalawiMadagascarLesotho

Southern Africa

South Africa – the dominant political & economic force& military– the continent's richest in minerals

gold, chromium, diamonds, platinum, coal and iron ore. political influence in Southern Africa operates ports in Mozambique assistance programs in Malawi mediterranean agriculture wool plateau country

Southern Africa

South Africa southern tip 471,000 square miles 34.7 million great ethnic diversity English, Boers, (5 mill) colored (3 mill) Asians, 1 mill Indians & blacks (25 million) Dutch founded Cape Town in 1652 1800 the British Boer War 1899-1902 Afrikaners labor for sugar plantations & mines

Southern Africa

South Africa Johannesburg 2.2 mill (gold field) Pretoria 1 mill apartheid ( apart - hate) separateness Afrikaners policy in 1948 minimize contact of ethnic groups homelands immigrant workers government- today must concentrate on keeping

control

Southern Africa

Zambia – landlocked– copper in south– Zimbabwe chrome/asbesto– steppe– 9.6 million– considerable economic potential– Independence in 1980– Malawi's core in south

Southern Africa

Mozambique – exit for Malawi, Zimbabwe and South Africa– cashews & coconut– 14.7% Urbanized– Independence in 1975

Southern Africa Angola conflict with South Africa in

Namibia while– fighting an insurgent state in the south– central part of it's own territory.– Oil– coffee– independence in 1975

Southern Africa Namibia

– copper, lead & zinc steppe

Lesotho– mountainous

enclave surrounded by South Africa

– poor & landlocked

C.J. CoxInstructor

Africa South of the SaharaText Outline

Africa in the New World Order African Cultures African Natural Environments Four subregions of Africa South of the

Sahara Traditional, colonial & modern

landscapes Future Prospects


Africa in the New World Order– At the extreme periphery

African Cultures– tribes & kingdoms– religious influences– colonial impacts– independence outcomes & prospects


African Natural Environments– tropical climates– changing climates– ancient rocks, plateaus & rifts– ancient landscapes– forests savannas & deserts– resources– enviromental problems

soil, diseases, drought


Four subregions of Africa South of the Sahara– Central Africa

countries, people,economics, politics

– Western Africa countries, people,economics, politics

– Eastern Africa countries, people,economics, politics

– Southern Africa countries, people,economics, politics

Traditional, colonial & modern landscapes Future Prospects


Traditional, colonial & modern landscapes– Urban landscapes– Colonial Cities– New Cities– Rural Landscapes

– Future Prospects


Future Prospects– legacy

tribal kingdoms & slavery European colonization Independence & Economic Colonialism Poor Governent & Internal Strife Population Growth Global Warming


Future Prospects– Disappointments Failure of Inappropriate

Policies– False Economies of Large-Scale Projects– Currency Exchange Rates– Slow Results from Structural Adjustment


Future Prospects– Disappointments

Failure of Inappropriate Policies False Economies of Large-Scale Projects Currency Exchange Rates Slow Results from Structural Adjustment


Future Prospects– Basic Needs

education infrastructure Internal or external impetus


African Subregions African Cultures African Natural Environments Traditional, colonial & modern

landscapes Future Prospects

C.J. Cox Instructor

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