Africa History

Today we are going to talk about Nelson Mandela, apartheid, and FW De Klerk. We are also going to be talking about apartheid. Nelson Mandela was a non-violent protester that was arrested for 27 years because of what he believed in. FW De Klerk was a president that saw a problem and wanted to fix it. He got himself elected as president and officially ended apartheid in 1994. apartheid was the legal separation of blacks and whites. Europe was racing to colonize Africa. FW De Klerk and Nelson Mandela both won the Nobel peace prize for ending apartheid.

Africa Ethnic Groups

Here are some pictures of the different ethnic groups

Swahili Ethnic Group

Bantu Ethnic Group

Ashanti Ethnic Group

Arab Ethnic Group

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Today we are going to talk about how where you live in Africa impacts how you live. There are no jobs in the Sahara, because there are no cities so not many people live here. Most of the people from the Sahel migrated to the cities due to desertification and droughts. the only jobs (farming and raising livestock) have pretty much ended due to desertification. In the Savanna most people live in villages along rivers so that they have access to water. Mining and raising livestock are important to this region. Roads are being built to connect the major urban areas in this region. The Tropical Rain Forest provides food for 75 million people. Work is found in agriculture, mining and the timber industry. The roads are poorly maintained so traveling is difficult.

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Today we are going to talk about the environmental issues in Africa. Africa has four main environmental issues, including poor soil quality, deforestation, desertification, and poor water quality. First lets talk about Africa's poor soil quality. Africa's poor soil is caused by people hunting, gathering, grazing animals, and small-scale farming. The effect of this is slashed burn agriculture. The next environmental issue that we are going to talk about is deforestation. In Africa people are cutting down trees for firewood and building materials which means that the forests are getting smaller. The effects for this is that there is less oxygen for the people, and there are less places for animals to live. In Africa another environmental issues is desertification. Desertification is where people are overgrazing animals, over cultivating, and over irrigating the land. The effect of this is that it is hard to live in the parts where this is happening. The last environmental issue we are going to talk about is poor water quality. This causes people to get water-borne illnesses from snails, worms, insect larva, and other parasites.

 Poor Water Quality In Africa

 Poor Soil In Africa

 Desertification In Africa

Deforestation In Africa

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The Sahara is the world largest desert. It also divides the continent into North and Sub-Sahara. It is sandy, and dry. It has many sand dunes, rocky hills. It also has long stretches of gravel.

The Sahel is a strip of dry grassland. Its is south of the Sahara. It is flat and has few mountains. 

The Savanna is a hot, dry, grassland that covers almost half of Africa. It lies along the equator. The grasses are tall and thick, while trees are short and scattered.

The Tropical Rainforest covers 1/5th of the land surface of Africa and touches 37 countries. It has a hot, humid climate. A large variety of animals are found in this region. The trees are so thick and tall that sunlight never reaches the forest floor.

The Congo River is the second largest river in Africa. It is located in western central Africa. It is over 3,000 miles long.

The Niger River is the third largest river Africa. It is located in western Africa.

The Nile River is the longest river at 4,150 miles. It is located in Eastern Africa.

Lake Tanganyika is the deepest lake in Africa. It is located in central Africa.

Lake Victoria is the largest lake in Africa. It is located in central Africa.

The Atlas Mountains is a mountain range in North Africa. It Extends from Moracco to Tunsia, between the Mediterranean Sea. It has tall dry mountains.

Kalahari Desert is not a "true" desert becasue it recieves 3-10 inches of rain per year. It covers Namibia, Botswana, and South Africa in southwestern Africa

Africa Physical Map

Africa Political Map