SubSaharan Africa Physical Geography The SubSaharan Region covers

Sub-Saharan Africa

Physical Geography • The Sub-Saharan Region covers Africa from below the Sahara Desert to the southern tip of the continent. • The region is dominated by: 1. Lowland Basins: land that is lower than land that surrounds it. 2. Highland Plateaus: areas of raised, level, land. 3. Tropical Savanna Zones: characterized by wet summer seasons and a dry winter season

Major Areas/ Landmarks • The Sahara Desert: • The Sahara Desert is one of the largest deserts in the world, stretching from Senegal to Somalia in North Africa. • If you took the continental US and placed it in the Sahara, it would fit completely. • Although it is very large, very few live in the region

The Sahel (Sa-heel) • The Sahel is a Tropical Savanna Zone found north of the Sahara. • The region runs parallel to the Sahara Desert. • The area was once home to some of Africa’s most influential civilizations. • Once attracted both Arabians looking for gold and Europeans in search of slaves, which led to a mixing of cultures and a large population. • Now, the Sahel is one of the poorest and most environmentally damaged areas in the world.

East African Rift System • The East African Rift System is an example of a fissure in the Earth’s crust. • The fissure causes the continent to split apart. • Because of this splitting, extensive series of valleys, fingerlike freshwater lakes, and volcanoes have been formed

Population and Culture • The population of the Sub-Saharan Africa region s roughly 750 million people. • As in most areas of the world, the highest populated areas are places with good soil, close proximity to oceans, and within close proximity to a major river delta.

Three Most Populated Areas 1. The East African Rift Valley System 2. West Coast: especially Nigeria 3. Niger Delta that empties out in Nigeria

Culture • The Sahel is also a cultural transition zone separating the Arab and Muslim dominated countries of North Africa from the African and Christian peoples of the Sub-Saharan Africa

• The physical and cultural borders of the region was also shaped by Colonial History. • Prior to European contact, Inland Empires dominated Africa. However, due to the slave trade Europeans shaped the population and cultural changes in Africa.

More Culture • In the 19 th Century the boundaries drawn in the Berlin Conference of 1886 drew new borders, mixing historically tribal enemies together in the same nation-state. These borders remained until after World War 2

Last bit of Culture • The end of the Colonial Era saw a rise in African dictatorships that were funded by either American or Soviet Union interests. • As dictators came to power, states collapsed and many dictators used Political Famine to force people into submitting to their power. • Wars, famine, and genocide has had a tremendous impact on the population density of the Sub-Saharan Region