SUBSAHARAN AFRICA PBS Africa Website and Slideshows PBS Africa Website and Slideshows.

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SUBSAHARAN AFRICA PBS Africa Website and Slideshows

Transcript of SUBSAHARAN AFRICA PBS Africa Website and Slideshows PBS Africa Website and Slideshows.

Sub-Saharan Africa• Plateau, Waterfall, Savanna, Rainforest, and Desert• Poorest continent

– Only region to get poorer over last 25 years

– World’s largest number of displaced people and refugees

– Debt crisis

• Most rural continent, though cities growing very fast– Village life and subsistence agriculture important

– Glorious wildlife still exists

• Legacies of Colonialism– Cash crop economies, ethnic conflict, flawed transport systems

• Medical Crises, including most HIV/AIDs in world• Most of world’s remaining Animists

– But missionaries spreading Christianity and Islam

• War and Failed Political Leadership Common– Few successful democracies

African LandscapePlateau, Waterfall, Savanna, Rainforest, and Desert

• Plateau – high tableland– Highest in:

• Ethiopian Highlands• Drakensberg Mtns.

– Lesotho & RSA

Major Rivers1. Niger

2. Congo

3. Blue Nile

4. Victoria/White Nile

5. Zambezi

Rivers • Rapids and Waterfalls…– Limits transportation

• Congo…– Good for Tourism

• Whitewater Rafting– Hydroelectric Production

Beautiful Waterfalls

Blue Nile Falls

Victoria Falls

Victoria Falls• On Zambezi River

– Zim/Zam border

Rift Valleys

• Crust pulls apart

• Block of crust sinks

Rift Valleys

Often have long, narrow lakes

Rift Valley Lakes

• Lake Tanganyika

• Lake Malawi

Volcanoes• Near rift valleys

• Eastern Congo

• Mt. Kenya

• Mt. Kilimanjaro…

Mt. Kenya

Climate and Vegetation• Tropical Rainforest

– Congo Basin &

coast of W. Africa – Diseases

• Malaria– Anopheles Mosquito

Tropical Savanna• Grasses and scattered trees

• Dry winter, Rainy summer

Savanna

• Wildlife• Tourism

Best Wildlife Countries• Kenya & Tanzania

• Zimbabwe, Botswana & Republic of S.A.

Poaching

• Elephant– Ivory Tusks– 2.5 million (1970)– 1.8 million (1978) – 350,000 (1997)– 600,000 (2005)

Rhino • Horn used as aphrodisiac in Asia– 65,000 Black Rhinos in 1982

• 2300 (1992)• 3600 (2004)

Savanna • Masai– Nomadic Herding of Cattle

Cattle Herding• Destroys wilderness

– Nat. Veg. Lost

– Soil compacted, eroded

– Loss of Wildlife Habitat

• Tsetse Fly – sleeping sickness

– Disease to Animals & Humans

– Wildlife Unaffected

– Benefits Wildlife by preventing

spread of domesticated cattle

Deserts• Somalia

• Kalahari

– Botswana

• Namib

– Namibia

Kalahari

• Semi-Desert

• Bushmen…

Bushmen Languages (Khoisan)• “Clicking”

Kalahari• Okavango Delta…

Sub-Saharan Africa• Poorest continent

– Only region to get poorer over last 25 years– World’s largest number of displaced people and refugees– Debt crisis– 44% of population younger than 15– In 1990s number of those living in “extreme poverty (<$1/day) rose

from 242 million to 300 million+

Angola, 2000

Rates of Natural Increase

Sub-Saharan Africa• Most rural continent,

though cities growing very fast– Village life and subsistence

agriculture important

– 69% of population is rural– Glorious wildlife still exists

Masai Village, Kenya

Village, ZimbabweRwandan Farm

Sub-Saharan Africa• Most rural continent, though cities growing very fast

– Village life and subsistence agriculture important

– Glorious wildlife still exists Rank City Population

1 Tokyo, Japan 28 million

2 New York City, United States

20.1 million

3 Mexico City, Mexico

18.1 million

4 Mumbai, India (Bombay)

18 million

5 Sao Paulo, Brazil

17.7 million

6 Los Angeles, United States

15.8 million

7 Shanghai, China

14.2 million

8Lagos, Nigeria 13.5 million

9

Kolkata, India (Calcutta)

12.9 million

10 Buenos Aires, Argentina

12.5 million

Lagos, Nigeria

Sub-Saharan Africa• Most rural continent, though cities growing very fast

– Village life and subsistence agriculture important

– Glorious wildlife still exists

Cape Town, Black Township, S. Africa

Lagos, Nigeria

Legacy of Colonialism– Cash crop economies, ethnic conflict, flawed transport

systems

Rail Systems Connect Cities to Ports, Not Other Cities

Oil Palm Production

Coffee in Kenya

Slavery

• Impacted West Africa– Angola– Senegal– Ghana

European Colonialism• Britain

– East

• France– Northwest

• Belgium– Congo

• Portugal– Mozambique– Angola

• Spain– Equatorial

Guinea

BERLIN CONFERENCE1884

• 14 countries divided up Africa without consideration of cultures; political and tribal fragmentation were the result.

• Austria-Hungary, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden-Norway (unified from 1814-1905), Turkey, and the United States of America.

• Of these, France, Germany, Great Britain, and Portugal were the major colonizers of Africa

INDEPENDENT STATES IN AFRICA

1950 1960

1970

INDEPENDENT

SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA’SECONOMIC CHALLENGE

• Economic growth rate- 1.5% - world’s lowest

• The region’s 646 million people have a combined GNP of less than $150 billion, roughly the same as Belgium and its 10 million people.

• Population - growing at a rate of 2.6% annually, vs 1.7% for South America and 1.9% for South Asia

Medical Crises, including most HIV/AIDs in world

MEDICAL GEOGRAPHY• Studies spatial aspects of disease and

health

• Africa is an extraordinary laboratory.-- Disease incidence and diffusion

-- Widespread nutritional deficiencies

• Millions suffer from:

– malaria - river blindness

– yellow fever - sleeping sickness– AIDS -

bilharzia/schistosomiasis

Figure 17-A (b), p. 450

• Endemic-- Exists in equilibrium with the population

-- Many develop an immunity of sorts

-- Saps energy, lowers resistance, shortens lives

• Epidemic-- Sudden outbreak at local, regional scale

• Pandemic-- Worldwide spread

MEDICAL GEOGRAPHY

MALARIA

WIDESPREADINCIDENCE

SLEEPING SICKNESS

Tsetse FlyTsetse Fly

WIDESPREADINCIDENCE

Most of world’s remaining Animists– But missionaries spreading Christianity and Islam

The Roots of Religion

Animism (Shamanism) - the belief that all objects, animals, and beings are “animated” or possess a spirit and a conscious life. Also called shamanism because of the prominence of a shaman.

• Such beliefs are common among hunter-gatherers.

• 10% of Africans follow such traditional ethnic religions.

• These beliefs are losing ground to Christianity and Islam throughout Africa.

Nigerian Shaman

War and Failed Political Leadership Common– Few successful democracies; political violence common– Free press is rare– Conflicts limit foreign investment

Some of Africa’s Current Dictators

Robert Mugabe, ZimbabweAge 80. In power since 1980. Breaking up white-owned farms. Nepotism.

King Mswati III, SwazilandAge 35. In power since 1986. Lavish lifestyle. Poor subjects. 11 wives. 3 Fiances. 25 children.

Teodoro Obiang Nguema, Equatorial GuineaAge 61. In power since 1979 coup. Corrupt.

Fig. 17-22, p. 476

Idi Amin. Uganda. Reign: 1971 -1979. Famous for his brutality

Mobuto Sese Seko. Zaire (now Democratic Republic of Congo). Reign: 1965 -1997. Famous for kleptocracy (billions stolen)

The Sahel – 7 countries

Sahel - “Shore” (7 Countries)

“Sahel” = “Shore”– Southern edge

of the Sahara• Semi-Desert

– Between Savanna & Desert

• Grasses and small trees

Sahel Environment• Semi-Desert

– Grass and small trees

Desertification of the Sahel• Expansion of Sahara, due to:

– Drought– Overgrazing

Cultural Transition of the Sahel

Cultural Transition of the Sahel• North of Sahel – Light-skinned Muslims

South of Sahel• Black Africans • Christian or animist

People in the Sahel

• Mostly Muslim, Black Africans

West Africa – 9 Countries

 Environment • Savanna in north• Tropical Rainforests on Coast

– 90% Deforested

Southern Benin

W. African Agricultural Exports• Peanuts in savanna north• Cocoa & Palm Oil in rainier south

W. African Agricultural Exports

• Palm Oil – Ingredient of Food & Soap

Cash crop economies are a major problem throughout sub-Saharan Africa.

• Cocoa– Ivory Coast: 50% World’s Supply

West African Empires, 800-1800 AD• Mali Kingdom

– Capital: Timbuktu, on southern edge of Sahara • Ancient Trade & Educational Center• Niger River• Pop = 100,000 in 1500 AD• Pop = 15,000 now

Niger River

Liberia• Founded 1847 by freed American Slaves

• Capital: Monrovia named for…

• Civil War: since 1980 war – child soldiers

Nigeria

Largest pop. In Africa

3 Main Concentrations SW

SE

North

Nigeria 250+ Ethnic Groups 

– Yoruba in SW• Lagos – Nigeria’s largest city

– Ibo in SE• Niger River Delta

–  Hausa & Fulani in N• Muslims

• Kano – Nigeria’s main Muslim city

• Shari’a (Islamic Law)

Nigeria• Oil

– 90% of export income

– Niger Delta – Coastal oil to

Angola  

Nigeria Ethnic Tensions & Violence

Civil War in late 1960s

Ibo unsuccessfully tried to secede

• 1 million deaths

• Capital moved – From Lagos to Abuja

• Abuja – in “neutral” region  

Central Africa

• 7 Countries

Central Africa Environment• Tropical Rainforests

– 20% of World’s Remaining TRFs• Rapid Deforestation

Central Africa Resources

• Coastal Oil

• D. R. Congo– Rich in Metals &

Diamonds– Old name = “Zaire”– Terrible Corruption &

Warfare

EAST AFRICA • 5 Countries• Landscape

– Plateau• Serengeti Plain (Tan.)

– Rift Valleys– Lake Victoria

Nairobi, Kenya

• 5000’ Elevation• “Year-round spring”• Industrial Center of East Africa

Agriculture • Tea in Kenya

Rwanda & Burundi • Ex-Belgian Colonies

RWANDA• 2 Tribes

– Hutu (Majority)– Tutsi (Minority)

• 1994 Genocide against Tutsi– Million killed in 100 days

RWANDA • Mountain Gorillas– 650 in world

Horn of Africa • 4 Countries– Ethiopia

– Eritrea

– Djibouti

– Somalia

Landscape• Hot, Dry Coastal Lowlands

– Muslim

• Ethiopian Highlands– Christian

C

M

Ethiopian Highlands• Canyons carved by water

Historical Background• Ethiopian Kingdom

– Adopted Christianity, 300 AD

Ethiopia• Difficult Environment:

– Deep Canyons Isolated Villages– Crops Depend on Erratic Rainfall– Prolonged Drought Famine

Southern Africa

Minerals in Southern Africa• Zambia• Zimbabwe• Rep. So. Africa

– Gold

– Diamonds

– Platinum

– Coal

Rep. of South Africa • Environment

– Middle Latitudes

– 5000’ Plateau

– Mild Temps (60-70F)

Drakensberg Mtns. RSA

Republic ofSouth Africa

• Blacks = 75%• Whites = 14%• Coloreds = 8%

(mixed race)• Asians = 3%

(mostly Indians)

History of RSA• Dutch Settlers• Cape Town, est. 1652

– “Boers”

– Descendents: “Afrikaners”

• Afrikaans Language

• British control, 1800s

History of RSA

• Independence, 1910– White Rule

– Apartheid

• 1994 Elections– Nelson Mandela

Cities of South Africa • Johannesburg & Pretoria– “High Veld” Region– Grassy Plateau

• Durban– Warm & Rainy

• Like Florida

• Cape Town– Mediterranean Climate

• Like So. Cal.

Johannesburg

• Largest City…

• Built amid…

Durban• Zulus • Sugarcane Plantations• Asians (Indians)

Durban• Beach Resorts

• Surfing

Cape Town • Legislative Capital

• Beautiful Location

Cape Town Area - Mediterranean Climate• Winter rain

(June – Sept)• Spring wildflowers

Vineyards & Wineries

Madagascar• Settled 2000

years ago by…

Madagascar • Mtns

• Trade Winds…– Rainforests

• 90% Cut Down

Madagascar • Unique Plants & Animals– 90% are Endemic…– Lemurs

Madagascar• Endangered Species

– Lemurs

– Habitat Destruction…