Which four tectonic plates have shaped the landscape of North Africa?

The African, Arabian, Anatolian, and Eurasian

What is Africas longest mountain range?

The Atlas Mountains

What are ergs?

Picturesque, sandy, dune-covered areas in the desert

What are regs and hamadas?

Regs: stony plains covered with rocky gravel/desert pavement... Hamadas: flat, sandstone
plateaus

What is the Ahaggar?

A large, mountainous plateau region in the northcentral Sahara

What is the tallest mountain in the Ahaggar?

Mount Tahat

What is the worlds longest river?

The Nile

What did the Nile Delta give birth to?

Some of the worlds earliest civilizations

What is alluvial soil?

Rich soil made up of sand and mud deposited by running water

What was the function of the Aswan High Dam and others in the area?
Built to control the rivers flow and reduce flooding as well as provide year-round irrigation and
hydroelectric power in Egypt

What are wadis?

Streambeds that remain dry until a heavy rain

What is the dominant feature of the North African environment?

Desert

The Sahara mostly consists of which two climates?

Arid desert and semi-arid steppe climate

Why are oases significant?

They are very fertile due to ready availability of water, can support the growth of trees, and are
also the sites of villages, towns, and cities

What is the Sahel?

Flat plain south of the Sahara, transition zone

What are some exports from the Mediterranean climate of Africa?

Citrus fruits, olives, and grapes

Which two areas usually receive the most rainfall?

Coastal and highland areas

What are North Africas three most significant resources?

Phosphates, natural gas, and petroleum

Which North African country is one of the leading exporters of phosphates?

Morocco

Why is it risky for these countries to be reliant on petroleum exports?

Vulnerable to the rising and falling of oil prices on world markets, economies suffer

Which civilization developed in the fertile Nile River valley?

The Egyptian

What is the system of writing the Egyptians developed called?

Hieroglyphics

Which group retained control over most of North Africa until the early 1500s and what did
they spread?
The Arabs, Islam

Which group followed the Arabs?

The Ottomans

Who invaded Algeria?

The French

Who colonized Libya?

Italy

What was the problem with geometric boundaries?

Did not account for natural and cultural features, often created conflict between groups of
people
What is nationalism?
A belief in the right of a nation to be an independent state

Who were the Berbers?

Indigenous people of North Africa before the Arab invasions, previously were pastoral nomads
but are now farmers

Where have most people settled?

Around water systems

What is a muezzin?
Crier, delivers the call to prayer for each local mosque

Describe the status of women in North Africa.

Not great, womens issues are not of national importance in many countries

What is an aquifer?
Underground source of water

What is desalination?
Process that removes salt from salt water, very expensive

What is the purpose of Libyas Great Man-Made River?

To supply freshwater to Libya for drinking and irrigation

What are problems with the Great Man-Made River?

People worry the pipelines could drain aquifers in Libya and neighboring countries, also that
they could draw in water from the sea, also unsustainable water levels

What is a transition zone?

Physical area in which the land undergoes a radical change

What is the landscape of the Sahel like?

Mainly flat with a series of plateaus

What is happening to Lake Chad?

Shrinking

Describe what is happening with Lake Volta?

Flooded, relocating 70k people... generates hydroelectric power and supplies irrigation for
farming, transportation route

What are negative consequences of the reservoir?

Reduced soil fertility, ecology of the river has changed, resulting in disease

What is the importance of the Niger River?

Important to agriculture, major means of transportation

What is a delta?
Area where a river slows down and spreads out into many smaller channels

Which two major tributaries of the Nile River pass through the Transition Zone?
The Blue and White Nile

When does most rain fall in the African Transition zone?

During the summer months

What is a harmattan?
Hot, dry wind

What are the two important traditional economies of the subregion?

Farming and nomadic herding

What did Sundiata Keita do for Mali?

Helped it flourish by expanding trade routes, conquered surrounding territories

What did Mansa Musa do for Mali?

Enhanced the prestige and power of Mali through a famous pilgrimage

Through what trade the the Songhai become rich?

Gold-for-salt

What was the significance of Timbuktu?

Important center of trade in gold and salt

What was the Berlin Conference?

Conference to regulate European colonization, no Africans participated

What were animist cultures?

Believe all elements of nature have spirits

How did religion help Europeans conquer Africa?

Set African people against each other and strengthened European rule
What kind of government do people in southern Sudan favor? Northern?
Southern: secular... Northern: Islamic-oriented

Is the population density high or low and is it evenly distributed?

Low, uneven distribution... high mortality rates

Describe education in this region.

Poor enrollment and literacy rate

What is desertification?
Destruction of land in arid and semi-arid areas, caused by variations in climate and human
activity

What does desertification cause for humans?

Poverty, food insecurity, and water shortages

What causes overgrazing and what does it lead to?

Caused by excessive number of livestock feeding too long in one area, kills plant roots,
compacts the soil

What are examples of water management improvements?

Better crop varieties, new water conservation technologies

What does UNCCD stand for?

United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification

What did farmers in Burkina Faso do to reclaim severely dry land?

Experiment with traditional planting pits by increasing depth and width, added manure at the
bottom before planting

What kind of landforms does East Africa have?

Plains, volcanic mountains, plateaus

What is a rift valley?

Crack in the Earths surface formed by shifting and separating tectonic plates

What are faults?

Breaks in the Earths crust

What are escarpments?

Steep cliffs
What are cataracts?
Large waterfalls

Which ocean is important to East Africa?

Indian Ocean

What kind of climates does East Africa have?

Tropical heat, semi-arid, arid, humid subtropical

What three major problems does the Sahel face?

Soil erosion, deforestation, and desertification

Which three groups have East Africans historically traded with and what has this
caused?
Arabian, Asian, Mediterranean.... resulted in a culturally and genetically diverse population

David Livingstone: Goal was to end slave trade but also for Europeans to spread commerce,
Christianity, and their civilization throughout Africa

Which main European powers were fighting over East Africa?

Britain, France, Portugal, and Germany

Which East African country never fully fell to a European power?

Ethiopia

Which group of people did colonial powers favor, and what was the result of this
backing?
Tutsi, led to the genocide in Rwanda where many Tutsi were killed

What are the two major languages in East Africa?

French and English

What two religions are most prominent in this region?

Islam and Christianity

Describe education and status of women in this area.

Which industry makes up the biggest percentage of employment?

Agriculture

What is subsistence farming?

Farmers grow only enough to provide for themselves and their families

What is carrying capacity?

Number of people an area of land can support on a sustained basis.... rapid population in East
Africa has led many areas to greatly exceed carrying capacity

Poaching is bad. Theyre creating wildlife reserves.

What is the largest desert in Africa?

The Sahara

Which ocean is an important resource for West Africa?

The Atlantic

What is a river/alluvial plain?

A plain formed by the deposit of sediment over a long period of time by rivers

What are conflict diamonds (blood diamonds)?

Diamonds mined in a war zone, often the money from the sale of these diamonds are used to
fund wars.... people are trying to avoid buying these to prevent their mining

What was the first empire to emerge in West Africa and why was it significant?
Ghana Empire, was one of the richest trading civilizations

Which West African country was never colonized?

Liberia

What were the biggest problems countries faced after gaining independence?
Boundary conflicts, corruption, and destabilization of governments

What problems have been created due to West Africas quick rate of urbanization?
Strain on existing infrastructure, bad living conditions, people forced to relocate

What is the big health crisis West Africa is facing?

Poor sanitation, which is leading to illness, premature death, loss of productivity

What is GWI?
Global Water Initiative

What is a basin, what is the name of the main one in Eq. Africa?
Area of land drained by a river and its tributaries, main one is Congo Basin

What is the second largest and second deepest lake in the world?
Lake Tanganyika

What are the four basic layers of the rainforest?

Emergent layers (where trees stick out), the canopy (layer of trees and leaves), understory
(where shrubs and ferns grow), and undergrowth (where little sunlight penetrates)

What kind of resources are abundant in Eq. Africa?

Mineral resources

Who were the first inhabitants of the Congo Basin?

The Mbuti