Africa's Physical Features and Resources

Chapter 18

• A basin is described as a large, low-lying area, often with a river flowing through it.
• The Nile River, located in northeastern Africa, is the world's longest river.
• A plateau is a flat, elevated landform that rises sharply above surrounding areas.
• A rift valley is a deep valley formed by tectonic plates moving apart.
• Mt. Kilimanjaro is the highest mountain in Africa and is located in Tanzania.
• An escarpment is a steep slope or cliff separating different levels of elevation.
• The Sahara is the world’s largest hot desert covers most of North Africa.
• Resources are natural materials, such as minerals, water, and fertile land, used for economic gain.
• Blood diamonds are mined in war zones and sold to finance armed conflict.
• Civil war is a war between groups within the same country.
• Jonas Savimbi was a leader of the Angolan rebel group UNITA during the country’s civil war.
• The Revolutionary United Front (RUF) was a rebel group in Sierra Leone known for using blood diamonds to fund its activities.
• The Kimberley Processis an international effort to prevent the trade of blood diamonds.
• Desertification is the process of fertile land turning into desert due to climate change or human activity.
• Silt is fine soil carried by rivers that makes land fertile.
• An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing rock that supplies water.
• An oasis is a fertile spot in the desert where water is found.
• The Serengeti Plain is a vast grassland in East Africa known for its wildlife.
• The Niger Delta, a region in Nigeria, is rich in oil but affected by pollution and conflict.
• The Sahel is a semi-arid region south of the Sahara that serves as a transition zone to the savanna.
• The Aswan High Dam is a dam on the Nile River in Egypt to control flooding and provide hydroelectric power.
• Lake Nasser is a large artificial lake created by the Aswan High Dam.
• The Grand Renaissance Dam, located in Ethiopia on the Blue Nile River, has led to disputes with Egypt and Sudan.

Chapter 19

• Olduvai Gorge, located in Tanzania is an important archaeological site where early human fossils were discovered.
• Africa is known as the "Cradle of Humanity" because it's the birthplace of the first humans.
• Aksum was an ancient kingdom in Ethiopia known for trade and early Christianity.
• The Berlin Conference during 1884–85 involved European nations dividing Africa among themselves without African input.
• Emperor Menelik II was the Ethiopian ruler who successfully resisted European colonization.
• Colonization is defined as the control and settlement of foreign lands by powerful nations.
• A cash crop is grown primarily for sale rather than for local consumption, examples are coffee, cotton etc.
• The Masai are a semi-nomadic ethnic group in East Africa known for their distinct culture and cattle herding.
• A pandemic is a disease outbreak that spreads across multiple countries or continents.
• Islam is a monotheistic religion founded in the 7th century, widely practiced in North Africa and the Middle East.

Additional Terms

• "Black Gold" is a term referring to oil and its high economic value.
• Souks are traditional markets found in North African and Middle Eastern cities.
• Rai is a form of Algerian folk music that blends traditional and modern influences.
• Goree Island, off the coast of Senegal, was a major center for the transatlantic slave trade.
• Ghana, Mali, and Songhai were three powerful West African empires that thrived due to trade, in gold and salt.
• A stateless society lacks a centralized government, governing instead through family and tribal structures.
• Kente Cloth is a traditional handwoven fabric from Ghana, often worn for special occasions.
• King Sunny Ade is a famous Nigerian musician known for popularizing juju music.

Southern & Central Africa

• The Ashanti are a West African ethnic group known for their rich culture and history of resistance against colonization.
• The Bantu Migrations involved the movement of Bantu-speaking peoples across Africa, spreading language and culture.
• King Leopold II was the Belgian king who brutally exploited the Congo for its rubber and other resources.
• Mobutu Sese Seko was a dictator who ruled the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire) for decades.
• Fang Sculpture is a type of African art made by the Fang people, known for its intricate wooden carvings.
• Great Zimbabwe are the ruins of an ancient city in southern Africa and it was a center of trade and culture.
• Apartheid was a system of racial segregation and discrimination in South Africa that lasted until the early 1990s.
• Nelson Mandela was a South African leader who fought against apartheid and later became the country’s first Black president.