Grade 8 MSCS: Africa's Land and Resources

Study Notes

The Sahel is a grassland savannah that borders the desert area of the Sahara in Northern Africa.
The Rift Valley is known for diamonds and gold that are mined and is the earliest sign of human habitation.
The Blue Nile and White Nile are two tributaries of the Nile River that join at Khartoum, the capital city of Sudan.
Dakar is the capital city of Senegal.
Lagos is the biggest city of Nigeria.

The Rift Valley is a geographical region in East Africa that runs north to south along the eastern side of the African continent.
The Rift Valley includes parts of Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Sudan.
It runs from the Red Sea in the north to Zambia in the south.

Africa has the largest reserves of cobalt, diamonds, platinum, and uranium in the world.
The continent holds 65% of the world's arable land and 10% of the planet's internal renewable fresh water source.
In most African countries, natural capital accounts for between 30% and 50% of total wealth.

African civilizations refer to the various pre-colonial African kingdoms.
Examples include Egypt, Carthage, Axum, Numidia, Nubia, and others: the Empire of Ashanti, Kingdom of Kongo, Empire of Mali, Kingdom of Zimbabwe, Songhai Empire, the Empire of Ghana, Bono state, and Kingdom of Benin.

Traditional African art is a rich and diverse cultural heritage that encompasses a wide range of artistic expressions.
It includes textiles, jewelry, pottery, and metalwork.
Performance and assemblage are primary components of traditional African art.
Music, dance, dress, and bodily ornamentation, as well as sculpture and masks, are frequently what imparts both significance and dynamism to individual art objects.

In ancient times, people from Southern Europe and Western Asia colonized North Africa, while people from Southeast Asia colonized Madagascar.
In the Middle Ages, North and East Africa were further colonized by people from Western Asia.
In the Modern Era, Western Europeans colonized all parts of the continent, culminating in the Scramble for Africa in the late 19th century.

The Orange River is a significant river in Africa.
The Nile River is another important river that flows through the continent.
The Zambezi River, Congo River, and Niger River are also notable rivers in Africa.
The Sahara Desert is the largest hot desert in Africa.
The Great Rift Valley is a geographical region in East Africa.
The Kalahari Desert is another significant desert in Africa.
Mount Kilimanjaro is the highest peak in Africa.
The Cape of Good Hope is a prominent geographical feature in Africa.

Ancient African civilizations made significant contributions to human history.
These contributions include the development of agriculture, ironworking, mathematics, astronomy, architecture, and writing systems.
The Kingdom of Aksum was a major empire of the ancient world that rose in Ethiopia during the first century C.E.
Ancient Harar Jugol was a powerful kingdom from Ancient Abyssinia that connected merchants from the Ethiopian coast to other parts.
Ancient Zimbabwe was referred to as "Great Zimbabwe" due to its significant contributions to human history.