africa & the five themes of geography

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AFRICA

2nd Largest Continent54 independent nationsMore than 1000 languages spoken

Africa: Geographic Diversity

Location: Position on Earth’s Surface

• Relative: Centrally Located – Interconnected• Exact: 80+% between tropics Cancer and Capricorn

Place: Physical/Human Characteristics: Lakes and Rivers

• Major source of transportation and communication

• Transportation routes often developed along river valleys.

• Escarpments and rapids make some rivers unnavigable

• Provide food and irrigation for crops

• Population density is higher near water sources

• Majority of continent: plateau- high flat raised land

• Escarpments- steep cliffs (off sides of plateaus)

• Cataracts- Waterfalls over escarpments

• 80% of Africa has tropical climate – Between Capricorn and Cancer

• Rainy season in north and dry season in the south

Place: Topography, Vegetation, & Climate

LOCATION

Human-Environment Interactions

• Aswan Dam: Across the Nile River in Egypt

• Suez Canal- man made waterway in Egypt connecting the Mediterranean and Red Seas

• Desertification: turning semidesert to desert (Sahel south of Sahara)

• Leaching- process of heavy rains washing nutrients from soil

Movement: Migration, trade, interdependence, ideas spread

Region: Unifying Characteristics

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