AFRICA 5 THEMES OF GEOGRAPHY PLACE A theme

AFRICA 5 THEMES OF GEOGRAPHY

PLACE • A theme of geography that conjures up a mental picture of a place with people going about their everyday lives in their familiar environment. • PLACE is the personality of geography.

2 things to consider about a place: • Physical characteristics – things determined by nature, such as climate, land forms, indigenous plants and animals, and types of soil. • Human characteristics – can be defined by the culture of a place, for example, the language, clothing, architectural styles, and government ideologies.

What features make Africa unique? • Wildlife • Physical characteristics • People – Where they live – Language they speak

Huge contrasts • Large cities – small villages • Modern – old tribal customs • Living locations: – Coastal regions – Savanna regions – Grasslands and certain types of agriculture

Coastal Cities/Ports • • Northern – Europe Eastern – Asia Western – North America and Western Europe Suez Canal – shortcut from Mediterranean Sea to the Indian Ocean

Physical Characteristics • • • Huge rainforests – equator Plains in the East Tell mountains Deep valleys Huge deserts – Sahara covering the north

REGION • A region is an area that is defined by certain similar characteristics. Those unifying or similar characteristics can be physical, natural, human, or cultural. • A region is described by the features that make it unique, either small or large.

• Regions can change over time due to changes in climate, economic conditions, accessibility of trade routes, and many other factors.

Well known regions: • Nile Valley Region – long history – Longest river in the world – Has affected the lives of people, wildlife, and vegetation for thousands of years – Banks of river are rich, green, fertile strips of land. – People raise crops, relying on water from river – many town and cities are found along the river

Well known regions: • Serengeti Plains – Flat, grassy area filled with a variety of wildlife • Masai Mara National Reserve – Game reserve for endangered animals

HUMAN-ENVIRONMENT INTERACTION • Human-environment interaction looks at the relationships between people and their environment; how people adapt to the environment and how they change it.

• How do people depend on the environment? (Example: In ancient times, the annual flooding of the Nile River produced good soil for growing crops. ) • How to people adapt to the environment? (Example: The ancient Egyptians rebuilt their homes each year, after the annual flooding. As time went on, they built their homes above the flood plain. ) • How do people modify the environment? (Example: The ancient Egyptians built irrigation ditches to help water the crops. In modern times, Egypt built a dam to control the flood waters of the Nile River. )

• Nile river has flooded for thousands of years • Aswan High Dam – blocked the flow of the river and created lake Nassar – Abu Simbel – ancient Egyptian Temple • Taken apart and reassembled in a location away from the lake.

LOCATION • Where is it? • Absolute: A location can be absolute (specific) as in coordinates of a map using longitude and latitude • Relative: A location can be relative - examples: next door, nearby, a short drive, down the road a ways. Or, it can be in the same general location as another location - example: next to the post office.

• Both the equator and Prime Meridian pass through Africa • Large size of Africa makes giving is absolute location very difficult • Huge size and location gives Africa many different climates. • Surrounded by bodies of water– Atlantic Ocean to the west, Mediterranean Sea to the north, Indian Ocean to the East – Sinai Peninsula links Africa with Asia

MOVEMENT • Movement refers to the way people, products, information and ideas move from one place to another.

African Movement • Travel for work, school, or recreational. • Many forms of travel– Rural or remote locations may still use traditional forms of transportation (oxen pulling a cart) • Camels now used mainly to attract tourists. – Small airplanes and helicopters are used to fly tourists. – Urban – trains, bikes, cars, scooters, buses, trucks – Coastal – to travel to other locations