Transcript AFRICA 5 THEMES OF GEOGRAPHY

AFRICA
5 THEMES OF GEOGRAPHY
PLACE
• A theme of geography that conjures up a
mental picture of a place with people going
about their everyday lives in their familiar
environment.
• PLACE is the personality of geography.
2 things to consider about a place:
• Physical characteristics – things determined by
nature, such as climate, land forms,
indigenous plants and animals, and types of
soil.
• Human characteristics – can be defined by the
culture of a place, for example, the language,
clothing, architectural styles, and government
ideologies.
What features make Africa unique?
• Wildlife
• Physical characteristics
• People
– Where they live
– Language they speak
Huge contrasts
• Large cities – small villages
• Modern – old tribal customs
• Living locations:
– Coastal regions
– Savanna regions
– Grasslands and certain types of agriculture
Coastal Cities/Ports
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Northern – Europe
Eastern – Asia
Western – North America and Western Europe
Suez Canal – shortcut from Mediterranean Sea
to the Indian Ocean
Physical Characteristics
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Huge rainforests – equator
Plains in the East
Tell mountains
Deep valleys
Huge deserts – Sahara covering the north
REGION
• A region is an area that is defined by certain
similar characteristics. Those unifying or
similar characteristics can be physical, natural,
human, or cultural.
• A region is described by the features that
make it unique, either small or large.
• Regions can change over time due to changes
in climate, economic conditions, accessibility
of trade routes, and many other factors.
Well known regions:
• Nile Valley Region – long history
– Longest river in the world
– Has affected the lives of people, wildlife, and
vegetation for thousands of years
– Banks of river are rich, green, fertile strips of land.
– People raise crops, relying on water from river
– many town and cities are found along the river
Well known regions:
• Serengeti Plains
– Flat, grassy area filled with a variety of wildlife
• Masai Mara National Reserve
– Game reserve for endangered animals
HUMAN-ENVIRONMENT INTERACTION
• Human-environment interaction looks at the
relationships between people and their
environment; how people adapt to the
environment and how they change it.
• How do people depend on the environment?
(Example: In ancient times, the annual flooding of the
Nile River produced good soil for growing crops.)
• How to people adapt to the environment? (Example:
The ancient Egyptians rebuilt their homes each year,
after the annual flooding. As time went on, they built
their homes above the flood plain.)
• How do people modify the environment? (Example:
The ancient Egyptians built irrigation ditches to help
water the crops. In modern times, Egypt built a dam to
control the flood waters of the Nile River.)
• Nile river has flooded for thousands of years
• Aswan High Dam – blocked the flow of the
river and created lake Nassar
– Abu Simbel – ancient Egyptian Temple
• Taken apart and reassembled in a location away from
the lake.
LOCATION
• Where is it?
• Absolute: A location can be absolute (specific)
as in coordinates of a map using longitude and
latitude
• Relative: A location can be relative - examples:
next door, nearby, a short drive, down the
road a ways. Or, it can be in the same general
location as another location - example: next to
the post office.
• Both the equator and Prime Meridian pass
through Africa
• Large size of Africa makes giving is absolute
location very difficult
• Huge size and location gives Africa many different
climates.
• Surrounded by bodies of water– Atlantic Ocean to the west, Mediterranean Sea to the
north, Indian Ocean to the East
– Sinai Peninsula links Africa with Asia
MOVEMENT
• Movement refers to the way people, products,
information and ideas move from one place to
another.
African Movement
• Travel for work, school, or recreational.
• Many forms of travel– Rural or remote locations may still use traditional
forms of transportation (oxen pulling a cart)
• Camels now used mainly to attract tourists.
– Small airplanes and helicopters are used to fly
tourists.
– Urban – trains, bikes, cars, scooters, buses, trucks
– Coastal – to travel to other locations