SUBSAHARAN AFRICA PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY THE AFRICAN TRANSITION ZONE

SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA

PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY • THE AFRICAN TRANSITION ZONE, WHERE THE LAND CHANGES FRO DESERT TO A TROPICAL SAVANNA CUTS THROUGH THE NORTHER PART OF WEST AFRICA • THE GREAT GREEN WALL IS A PLAN TO CREATE A BARRIER OF TREES TO STOP THE SPREAD OF THE SAHARA • THE AFRICAN SAVANNA IS CHARACTERIZED BY ITS TROPICAL GRASSLAND WITH SCATTERED TREES AND ALTERNATES BETWEEN RAINY AND DRY SEASONS • THE VEGETATION OF THE SAHEL IS LOWGROWING GRASSES, SHRUBS, AND ACACIA AND BAOBAB TREES • THE CONGO BASIN IS MOSTLY A HIGH, FLAT AREAS COVERED BY RAINFOREST AND SURROUNDED BY MOUNTAINS • MOST OF SOUTHERN AFRICA’S LANDFORMS CONSIST OF PLATEAUS AND HIGHLANDS • LIKE EVERY OTHER REGION, ACCESS TO FRESH WATER IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTORS IN DETERMINING POPULATION PATTERN • THE PERMANENT INTERSTATE COMMITTEE FOR DROUGHT CONTROL IN THE SAHEL IS A GROUP OF AFRICAN COUNTRIES WORKING TO IMPROVE FOOD SECURITY AND MANAGE THE REGION’S WATER, LAND, AND NATURAL RESOURCES • IN THE SOUTHERN PART OF THE KALAHARI DESERT, RAIN IS SCARCE

CULTURE • B/C OF THE SIGNIFICANT ETHNIC DIVERSITY OF EAST AFRICA, NUMEROUS BLOODY CONFLICTS, COUPS, AND STRUGGLES HAVE PLAGUED THE REGION • AS A RESULT OF EUROPEAN COLONIALISM LANGUAGES SUCH AS ENGLISH AND FRENCH ARE THE LINGUA FRANCA OF MANY PARTS NOT INDIGENOUS LANGUAGES • EVEN THOUGH THERE ARE LAWS THAT REQUIRE GENDER EQUALITY IN MOST SOUTHERN AFRICAN COUNTRIES, TRADITIONAL LAWS OFTEN PROHIBIT WOMEN FROM INHERITING PROPERTY • EAST AFRICA’S CULTURAL DIVERSITY IS DUE TO ITS ACCESS TO THE RED SEA AND THE INDIAN OCEAN WHICH FACILITAED TRADE AND INTERACTION WITH ASIAN, MEDITERRANEAN, ISLAMIC ARABIC, AND CHRISTIAN EUROPEAN CULTURES • DUE TO THE WORLD’S LARGEST DRUG TREATMENT EFFORT FOR PEOPLE WITH HV/AIDS, LIFE EXPECTANCY IN SOUTH AFRICA HAS INCREASED BY 5 YEARS SINCE 2003 • MORE DEVELOPED NATIONS HAVE LOWER BIRTHRATES AND INFANT MORTALITY RATES THAN LESS DEVELOPED COURTIERS

POLITICAL • THE SLAVES’ TRIP FROM AFRICA TO WHERE THEY WERE SOLD IN THE AMERICAS WAS CALLED THE MIDDLE PASSAGE • AT THE BERLIN CONFERENCE IN 1884 AND 1885, EUROPEAN COUNTRIES ESTABLISHED THE COLONIAL BOUNDARIES IN AFRICA • IN EXCHANGE FOR SLAVES, EUROPEAN TRADERS GAVE AFRICANS MANUFACTURED GOODS • THE BOUNDARIES CUT ACROSS ETHNIC BOUNDARIES, WHICH HAS RESULTED IN A MULTITUDE OF ETHNIC CONFLICTS IN POSTCOLONIAL AFRICA • THE FREQUENT CHANGES IN THE POLITICAL ORGANIZATION OF AFRICA FROM THE EARLY 16 TH CENTURY TO THE LATE 19 TH CENTURY REFLECTED ATTEMPTS BY EUROPEAN COURTIERS TO ESTABLISH COLONIES TO GAIN CONTROL OF CERTAIN REGIONS • IN EAST AFRICA, EUROPEAN COLONIAL POWERS EXPLOITED THE PEOPLES AND NATURAL RESOURCES • THE YEAR 1960 IS KNOWN AS “THE YEAR OF INDEPENDENCE” B/C EVERY COUNTRY IN THE REGION ENDED

POLITICAL • DESPITE THE END OF APARTHEID, MANY BLACK SOUTH AFRICANS STILL LIVE IN CROWDED, IMPOVERISHED TOWNSHIPS WITH POOR SANITATION • GOV CORRUPTION IS AN OBSTACLE TO CHANGE AND ECONOMIC EFFICIENCY IN WEST AFRICA AND HAS A NEGATIVE IMPACT ON SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, AS WELL AS ON THE ENVIRONMENT AND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT • THE ONGOING BORDER DISPUTES BETWEEN SUDAN AND SOUTH SUDAN ARE OVER WHO OWNS OIL-PRODUCING AREAS • IN THE 90 S, MANY PEOPLE IN SOMALIA AND ETHIOPIA MOVED TO AVOID CIVIL WAR, DROUGHT, AND FAMINE • IN THE MID 90 S, MILLIONS OF HUTUS FLED TO AVOID RETALIATION AFTER EARLIER MASSACRES OF TUTSIS IN RWANDA • IN 1998 US EMBASSIES IN KENYA AND TANZANIA WERE BOMBED BY A GROUP OF RADIAL TERRORISTS

ECONOMIC • IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA, PROPERLY MANAGING RESOURCES FOR LONG TERM SUSTAINABILITY HAS BEEN A LOWER PRIORITY THAN SURVIVING, AS POVERTY AND HUNGER ARE MORE IMMEDIATE CONCERNS THE DRC IS RECOGNIZED AS BEING POSSIBLY THE POOREST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD • THE INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENT TO BAN IVORY TRADE WORLDWIDE HAS CAUSED THE DEMAND FOR IVORY TO RISE AND POACHING CONTINUES DUE TO THE CREATION OF A BLACK MARKET AND ELEPHANTS STILL FACE EXTINCTION • THE AKOSOMBO DAM ON THE VOLTA RIVER RESULTED IN THE FLOODING OF MORE THAN 700 VILLAGES FORCING 1000 S OF PEOPLE TO MOVE TO NEW HOMES

ECONOMIC • DEFORESTATION IS A PROBLEM IN WEST AFRICA THAT IS CAUSED [PRIMARILY BY LOGGING AND CLEARING LAND FOR AGRICULTURE • HIGH RATES OF ILLITERACY AND A LACK OF INFRASTRUCTURE SLOW THE PACE OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN MANY LESS DEVELOPED NATIONS TODAY • DIAMONDS WERE DISCOVERED IN THE KALAHARI GAME RESERVE IN 1980 S. SINCE THE 1997, THE BOTSWANA GOV HAS BEEN REMOVING NATIVE BUSHMAN FOR THE AREA • ACCESS TO NATURAL RESOURCES AE VALUED OVER INDIGENOUS RIGHTS • THE LARGEST CITY IN AFRICA IS LAGOS, NIGERIA • THERE IS MASSIVE MIGRATION OF AFRICANS FROM RURAL TO URBAN AREAS • E-COMMERCE HAS IMPROVED HE LIVES OF CRAFTSPEOPLE THAT MAKE ITEMS SUCH AS BASKETS AND JEWELRY BECAUSE THEY CAN SELL THEIR PRODUCTS TO CUSTOMERS ALL OVER THE WORLD • CHINA HAS OVERTAKEN THE US IN ITS TRADE WITH AFRICA