Subsaharan africa pbs africa Website and Slideshows Sub-Saharan Africa

SUBSAHARAN AFRICA 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 Landscape Plateau, Waterfall, Savanna, Rainforest, and Desert

• Plateau – high tableland

• Highest in:
• Ethiopian Highlands
• Drakensberg Mtns.
• Lesotho & RSA

Niger

• Niger

• Congo

• Blue Nile

• Victoria/White Nile

• Zambezi

Rivers

• Rapids and Waterfalls…

• Limits transportation
• Congo…
• Good for Tourism
• Whitewater Rafting
• Hydroelectric Production

Beautiful Waterfalls

• Blue Nile Falls

On Zambezi River

• On Zambezi River

• Zim/Zam border

Rift Valleys

• Crust pulls apart

• Block of crust sinks

Rift Valleys

• Often have long, narrow lakes

• Lake Tanganyika

• Lake Malawi

Near rift valleys

• Near rift valleys

• Eastern Congo

• Mt. Kenya

• Mt. Kilimanjaro…

Mt. Kenya

Tropical Rainforest

• Tropical Rainforest

• Congo Basin &
• coast of W. Africa
• Diseases
• Malaria
• Anopheles Mosquito

Grasses and scattered trees

• 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

Somalia

• Somalia

• Kalahari

• Botswana

• Namib

• Namibia

Semi-Desert

• Semi-Desert

• Bushmen…

Bushmen Languages (Khoisan)

• “Clicking”

Okavango Delta…

• 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+

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

Sub-Saharan Africa

• Most rural continent, though cities growing very fast

• Village life and subsistence agriculture important
• Glorious wildlife still exists

Sub-Saharan Africa

• Most rural continent, though cities growing very fast

• Village life and subsistence agriculture important
• Glorious wildlife still exists

Legacy of Colonialism

• Cash crop economies, ethnic conflict, flawed transport systems

Slavery

• Impacted West Africa

• Angola
• Senegal
• Ghana

Britain

• Britain

• East

• France

• Northwest

• Belgium

• Congo

• Portugal

• Mozambique
• Angola

• Spain

• Equatorial Guinea

BERLIN CONFERENCE 1884

• 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

SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA’S ECONOMIC 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

MEDICAL GEOGRAPHY

• 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

SLEEPING SICKNESS

Most of world’s remaining Animists

• Most of world’s remaining Animists

• But missionaries spreading Christianity and Islam

The Roots of Religion

War and Failed Political Leadership Common

• War and Failed Political Leadership Common

• Few successful democracies; political violence common
• Free press is rare
• Conflicts limit foreign investment

The Sahel – 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

Mostly Muslim, Black Africans

• Mostly Muslim, Black Africans

Savanna in north

• Savanna in north

• Tropical Rainforests on Coast

• 90% Deforested

Southern Benin

Peanuts in savanna north

• Peanuts in savanna north

• Cocoa & Palm Oil in rainier south

Palm Oil

• Palm Oil

• Ingredient of Food & Soap

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

Mali Kingdom

• 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

Largest pop. In Africa

• Largest pop. In Africa

• 3 Main Concentrations

• SW
• SE
• North

250+ Ethnic Groups 

• 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  

Ethnic Tensions & Violence

• 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

Tropical Rainforests

• 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

Ex-Belgian Colonies

• 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

Hot, Dry Coastal Lowlands

• Hot, Dry Coastal Lowlands

• Muslim

• Ethiopian Highlands

• Christian

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

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 of South 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

Johannesburg & Pretoria

• 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

Settled 2000 years ago by…

• Settled 2000 years ago by…

Mtns

• Mtns

• Trade Winds…

• Rainforests
• 90% Cut Down

Madagascar

• Unique Plants & Animals

• 90% are Endemic…
• Lemurs

Madagascar

• Endangered Species

• Lemurs
• Habitat Destruction…