NAME

DATE

21st Century Skills

CLASS

netw rks

African Civilizations
Lesson 1 The Rise of African Civilizations

Information Literacy: Find Cardinal and

Intermediate Directions
Learning the Skill
As you read about the geography and early history of Africa in
Lesson 1, you will be asked to interpret a number of maps.
You will see that each one includes a compass rose.
Mapmakers use this map element to show direction.
The four main directions indicated on a compass rose are
called cardinal directions. The cardinal directions are north,
south, east, and west. These are usually represented on the
compass rose by the letters N, S, E, and W. Now, look more
closely at the compass rose on the maps included with this
activity. Notice that between the letters representing the
cardinal directions are small lines, or crosshairs, that form a
small X in the center of the compass rose.

Copyright by The McGraw-Hill Companies.

These small lines point in what are known as intermediate

directions. These are the directions found between two
cardinal directions. For example, can you find the small line
between N and W on the compass rose? Can you find the
small line between S and E? These small lines show the
directions northwest and southeast. Northwest, southwest,
northeast, and southeast are intermediate directions. The
ability to find and describe both cardinal and intermediate
directions will allow you to interpret and use maps more
accurately.

NAME

DATE

CLASS

21st Century Skills Cont.

netw rks

African Civilizations

Practicing the Skill Study the map below and use the

compass rose to answer the questions that follow.

TA INS

Mediterranean Sea
P

dS

nG

ulf

ea

f of

Ade

VA
L

LE

gi R .

Gul

Lake
Turkana

IF T

AT
R

Lake
Tanganyika

Mt. Kenya
Kilimanjaro

GR E

Co

ng

oR

CONGO Lake
BASIN Victoria

Cape of Good Hope

ge R

DR

AK

A SC
DAG
MA

ERT

Oran

DE S

po p o R

KALAHARI
DESERT

RA

MIB
L im

b e zi R

NG E

Za m

AR

Lake
Malawi

NA

KEY

Re

rR

Ub a n

S
Desert
Mediterranean
Rain forest
Savanna

ge

l R.

Ni

ga

AMHARA
PLATEAU

Gulf of
Guinea

sia

ARABIAN
PENINSULA

Lake
Chad

Lake
Volta

ATL ANTIC
O CE AN W

le R

TIBESTI
MOUNTAINS

ERT

ne

DE S

AHAGGAR
MOUNTAINS
Se

er

Ni

S A H A R A

RG

OU N

BE

SM

AN
L I BY

A
ATL

NS

Strait of
Gibraltar

1,000 miles

1,000 km
0
Lambert Azimuthal
Equal-Area projection

1. In which direction would a person travel from the Tibesti

Mountains to the Mediterranean Sea? Is this a cardinal or
intermediate direction?

SG
apter 15
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e Name: C13-12A-NGS-824133_A-RESG.ai
ap Size: 25p6 x 25p6

ate/Proof: Feb 10, 2010 - First Proof

2. Suppose a person traveled along the Congo River from the

Congo Basin to the Atlantic Ocean? In what general
direction would that person be traveling?

3. Using directional terms, how would you describe the location

of the Amhara Plateau in relation to the Kalahari Desert?

Copyright by The McGraw-Hill Companies.

OPW (Discovering our Past - World)

NAME

DATE

CLASS

21st Century Skills Cont.

netw rks

African Civilizations

Applying the Skill

Look at the map below and locate the compass rose. Then, on
the lines below, write three sentences that use cardinal and
intermediate directions to describe the locations of three
different places on this map.

Me

Tunis

Tripoli

dite

rranean

ASIA

Sea
N

Niger R

3.

ARABIAN
PENINSULA

f
Gul

of A

den

Ub ang

Gulf of
Guinea

Trade route
Salt mines
Gold mines

Co
n

go

R.

1,000 miles

KEY
Ghana, c. 1050
Mali, 1300s
Benin, c. 1500
Songhai, 1500s

Copyright by The McGraw-Hill Companies.

Feb 10, 2011 - First Proof

AFRICA

i R.

.
lta R
Vo

rade Routes of North Africa

C13-18A-NGS-824133_A-RESG.ai
9p6 x 23p6

2.

Lake
Chad

Benin

1,000 km
0
Lambert Azimuthal Equal-Area projection

covering our Past - World)

Makkah
(Mecca)

Saleh

ATL ANTIC
O CE AN

1.

Gul

Timbuktu
Gao

AKAN

ne

lR

Se

Se

ga

an

S A H A R A

Nile R .

Taghaza

si

Re

EGYPT

Pe

Cairo