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77 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
Africa is a continent with very ___________. |
- very high population growth rates |
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The continent is usually divided into 2 parts: Africa below the sahara desert (__________) and africa above the sahara (_________) |
- subsahara africa - north africa |
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For much of world history Africa was an unexplored area, known as the ________. |
- dark continent |
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What were some barriers to exploration in Africa? |
- Sahara desert - hostile natives - rivers that did not allow navigation - severe disease hazards - lack of clear economic incentive to explore the continent |
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Africa's isolation begin to end in the 1500s as ______ and ______ began to find a passage to the orient. Also slave traders began to move into Africa to seize the unsuspecting natives. |
- Spain and Portugal |
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In the late 1800s to early 1900s virtually all of the nations of africa came under the control of European colonies. The major European colonial powers were ________,_________, _______, and _______. |
- Great Britain - France - Belgium - Portugal |
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By the 1960s and 1970s most African nations had thrown off the yoke of ______ and became independent nations again. |
- colonialism |
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Today Africa is one the of the ______ regions on the globe with _____ African nations being listed among the 31 least developed nations in the world. |
- poorest - 21 |
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A high incidence of _______, _______, ________, _________, __________, and _________ are all common in Africa. |
- illiteracy - poverty - hunger - disease - warfare - drought |
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Most of Africa is comprised of a series of high _______ of varying elevations and _______. The only true mountain range in Africa is the _____ in North West Africa. |
- plateaus - grassy basins - Atlas Mountains |
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Most of the major ___________ climates are found in Africa. |
- warm weather climates |
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________ is a persistent problem in all but a few countries in Africa. |
- drought |
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Life expectancy in much of tropical Africa is very __________. |
- low |
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There is a heavy preponderance of _________ in Africa. Most countries range from 65% to 85% rural. Small huts of sticks and mud and with dirt floors, a thatched roof and no plumbing or electricity are the rule. |
- rural dwellers |
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A relatively __________ is the main occupation in most all countries in Africa. The agricultural process is called ________. |
- unproductive agriculture - bush fallowing |
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Per capita food output in Africa has ______ in most nations since they achieved independence. _______ and _____ have been major inhibiting factors. The _________ has not helped much either. |
- declined - warfare and drought - "Green Revolution" |
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Almost all countries is Africa are heavily ______ to foreign lenders. |
- in debt |
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_______ or __________ styles of government have been the rule since independence. |
- authoritarian communist - military instability |
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The richest, most modern, and most developed nation in Africa is the country of __________. |
- South Africa |
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What are the major geographic features of Africa? |
- the rift valley - lake victoria - mt. Kilimanjaro - the high veld - the nile river - the sahara - namib and Kalahari deserts - the atlas mountains - the sahel |
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The continent of Africa is nearly divided evenly by the _______ with roughly 2500 miles of the continent extending north of the equator and 2500 miles extending south of it. |
- equator |
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North of the Sahara desert most of the countries are more ______ and more _____ with cultures that fit better with the middle east. |
- arabic - middle eastern |
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Where is the horn of Africa? |
- the northeastern side |
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In East Africa in the nations of Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda there are ______ areas with large open plains, tall savanna grasses and a few scattered acacia trees. |
- Park Savanna |
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The Sahara desert is slowly growing or expanding each year, a process called __________. The Sahara is spreading into a large grassy steppe area to the south of the Sahara called the _______. |
- Desertification - shahel |
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Large areas of _______ are found in west central africa along the equator and on the island of Madagascar. |
- tropical rainforests |
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What are some fun facts about Mount Kilimanjaro? |
- volcanic peak - highest peak on continent - snow caped |
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What is the 3rd largest fresh water lake in the world? |
- Lake Victoria |
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What is a steppe(semi desert) region in Africa that is an important geographic feature |
- Sahel |
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What are some fun facts about the Great Rift Valley? |
- Continental plates have separated and produced gorge - red sea apart - large canyon/gorge area |
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What are some problems of Africa? |
- drought - poverty - poor education - authoritarian government (dictatorship) |
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What are the four different regions of Africa. |
- West Africa - Equatorial Africa - East Africa - Southern Africa |
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What are some fun facts about West Africa? |
- 16 counties comprise - ebola virus - over 100 spoken langauges - arabic and tribal people |
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What is the stand out country of West Africa? |
- Nigeria |
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What are some fun facts about Nigeria? |
- biggest country by population on continent - stands out because of population and petroleum - $2,100 per captia |
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What are some fun facts about Ivory Coast? |
- some stability - coffee, coca, pineapple, and petroleum
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What are some fun facts about Liberia? |
- historical connection with US - important to the US |
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What are some fun facts about Nigeria? |
- former french colony - uranium sold to french - $700 per capita
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What are some fun facts about Guinea? |
- another Ebola country |
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What are some fun facts about Equatorial Africa? |
- named after the equator - Zaire is the most important colony - 6 countires |
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What is the most important colony of Equatorial Africa? |
- Zaire |
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What are some fun facts of Zaire? |
- used to be under Belgium country - 68 million people - $300 per capita - Congo/Zaire river - biggest country geographically - has lots of potential - copper belt - cobalt producer - diamonds being mined - coffee producing country - wood, tin, and some uranium - lowland area because of the Zaire basin - civil war- destroying hippo population |
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What is the biggest country in Africa geographically? |
- Zaire - Democratic Republic of Congo |
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Who is the 2nd largest copper producer in the world? |
- Zarie |
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What are some fun facts about East Africa? |
- Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda - physical features: Mt. Kilimanjara. Lake Victoria, great rift valley - former British colonies |
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What is Tanzania's key agricultural product? |
- cotton and tanzanite |
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What is Pemba and Zani's key agricultural products?- |
- produce cloves, harvest commercial seaweed |
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What is Uganda's key agricultural product? |
- coffee |
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What is Kenya's key agricultural product? |
- industrialized |
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What are some fun facts about Angola and Mozambique? |
- similar history, Portugeese colonies, 1975 wars for independence, then civil wars for government control for 20 years - Communist won - economically - Angola better off $5,500/year |
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What are some fun facts about Angola? |
- a lot of oil and diamonds - coffee producing |
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What are some fun facts about Mozambique? |
- problem: dry spells then flooding - agriculture - coffee, tea, sugar, cotton |
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What country in Africa has the largest population? |
- Nigeria |
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What are some fun facts about Madagascar? |
- former French colony - means the grand isle - 2nd largest island in the world - independent in 1960 - Hitler wanted to move Jewish people here - unique animals such as leemers - poor, dictoral |
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What are some fun facts about South Africa? |
- originally Dutch settled and later British controlled - tribal people dominant, 10% population white, 80% black, and 10% mixed "colored" - capital = Pretoria
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What is the economic importance of South Africa? |
- 20% trade, 40% manufacturing, 50% electrical ouput, 40% motor vehicles, 40% telephones, 2/3 train tracks |
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What are the 3 major activities(gave wealth base) in South Africa? |
- gold - platinum (more valuable than gold) - diamonds |
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What is the Apartheid Era? |
- white government was set up that was against blacks (discriminate against blacks) - there could be no marriage or sexual relations - education system segregated - geographic segregation (bantustans) |
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Who were the bantustans? |
- a large tribal group in Africa |
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What are some fun facts about Nambia? |
- former colony of South Africa - European racial stock and farmers/ranchers - desert here
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What are some characteristics of the middle east? |
-desert and stepe climate zones - mineral shortage but lots of petroleum - people live in small towns rather than big cities - birthplace of monotheistic religion - geographically where 3 continents combine |
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What are some details about the Islamic faith? |
- Islam is submission to Allah - the Koran is their holy book - Mohammad is the founder who was born in Mecca and said to have seen visions from the angel Gabriel - Ali was the 4th leader after Mohammad |
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What is the difference between the Sunnis and the Shiites? |
- Sunnis - stick strickly to what Mohammad said - Shiites - followed Ali and the things he added |
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What are the pillars of Islamic faith? |
- profession of faith (1 god and Mohammad is his prophet) - frequent daily prayer (min of 5 times a day) - giving alms (helping the poor) - Ramadon (rituals during the holy month: fasting during the day; can eat after dusk) - Hajj - the pilgrimage to Mecca |
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What is theocracy? And what country is one? |
- Where religious leaders are also government leaders - Iran |
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What are some fun facts about Israel? |
- only real Jewish country - promise land - 1948 was recreated - best friend in the Middle East - best military equipment produced - fairly modern construction with help of USA - Our "player" in the Middle East - home of religious tourism - Tel Aviv is biggest city |
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What are some fun facts about Jordan? |
- sunni muslim country - low tech manufacturing - geographically mainly desert - DEAD SEA (1300 ft below sea level) - Amman is the capital city - raise sheep and goats and grow grasses - neutral to US - Abdullah II (hereditary king, solid leader) - peace treaty with Israel |
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What are some fun facts about Syria? |
- Damascus is the capital city(one of the oldest cities in the world) - currently in a civil war - Bashar-Assad (military leader that isn't liked) - thorn in the flesh to USA - 3 way war in country - potential: petroleum, Euphrates River, cotton, wheat, barley, textiles |
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What are some fun facts about Lebanon? |
- shares a border with Israel and Syria - fairly unstable country - Pearl of Mediterranean before Civil War - Berrut is the capital city which is a coastal city |
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What are some fun facts about Saudi Arabia? |
- Mecca and Medina (holy cities) - Riyadh is the capital city - mostly all desert country - Sunni muslim country - still under a monarchy (King Abdulla) - can grow virtually no crops - women seen as 2nd class citizens/ slaves of their husbands |
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What are some fun facts about Iraq? |
- capital and largest city is Baghdad - lots of potential (petroleum and agriculture) - 3 geographic features - conflict |
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What are the 3 major geographic features in Iraq? |
- Mesopotamia ("the land between the rivers") - Tigris River - Euphrates River |
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What is the conflict in Iraq? |
- our involvement in Iraq (president bush and Houssain) |
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What are some fun facts about Iran? |
- only theocracy in the world today - capital city is Tehrah - Shiite Muslim country - anti-Israel - US had been at odds with |
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What are some fun facts about Egypt? |
- 98% desert - 2% area by the Nile - largest city and capital city is Cairo - one of the early birthplaces of civilization - Suez Canal - dictator until 3 years ago - Aswan High Dam - created Lake Nasser (keeps the Nile from flooding, then drying up a year later) |
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What are some fun facts about Libya? |
- Sunni Muslim - dictatorship - hasn't been friendly to US |
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What is Maghreb? |
- "West" states of Africa - Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco |