Africa, Land of Contrasts r

8/8/2019 Africa, Land of Contrasts r

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Africa

Land of Contrasts


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The continent ofAfrica means manydifferent things topeople in Africa andaround the world.

To some people it

is thehome theylove. To others it isa mysterious, far offland that they knowlittle about.

To geographystudents, Africa is alarge, diverse landmeant to explore.


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Things to know about Africa

53 independent countries 732 million people 800 ethnic groups Hottest temperatureever recorded on Earth, was

136.4 degrees F., in Libya in 1922 The Nile is the worlds longest river at a distance

of 4,145 miles long Second largest of the Earths continents Africa has an area of 11,798 square miles


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Vocabulary for the Study of Africa

Continent one of seven large land masses of theearthEquator an imaginary line around the Earth, halfwaybetween the North and South poles

T

ropical a warm, rainy are

a ne

ar the

e

quatorPlain a large, flat area of land

Savanna large area of grassy plains with small shrubs

Rain Forest area of great rainfall, tall evergreen trees

Desert an area where almost no rain falls, where almostnothing grows, and no one lives permanently


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Africa is a large continent with many different

land regions. Elephants play in the water in thetropical region along theequator where there isplenty of food to feed the largeherds. The Africanelephant has very largeears that are as unique as a

humans fingerprints.


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The grassy lands inmuch of Africa areknown as savannas.

A good climate andthe right amount of

rain make thesavanna a good placeto live.

The African savanna region is home to largeherds of animals like these giraffes, zebras, andwildebeests, as well as lions, gazelles, and others.


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Africas riversseem to swirl withlife, like this huge

crocodile, quietlysunning himselfon a rock.


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Mount Kilimanjaro, at 19,340 feet, seems to watch overtheherds of animals grazing on the plains below. Thismountain in Tanzania is Africas highest point.


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From the rocky coastlineto the sandy desert


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and from the lazy flowing NileRiverto the roaring waters of

Victoria FallsAfrica seems todefy descriptionto refuse to betamedeven by words.


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Africas people are as diverse as the land in whichthey live. These desert nomads in Egypt still live thesame nomadic life as their ancient ancestors, movingfrom place to place in search of food and water.


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While many Africans have adopted a more practicalform of dress, these girls continue to dress in thetraditional African clothing of their family group.


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Most of the people of North Africa are Arabs,

following the

M

uslim religion aft

er the

ir lands wereconquered by the followers ofMuhammad.


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Africa is a

land in astate oftransitiontrying to

change andmodernizewhilekeeping the

traditionalvalues andcustoms oftheir people.


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This woman inM

ali continues towear traditional

clothing and preparefood in the familiarways ofherancestors. Hercustoms havepreserved her landand heritage through

the centuries, whilesomeefforts tomodernizehave led

to disaster.


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Poverty, pollution, crime, and disease are allproblems that trouble the people of Africa as theybegin to develop a more modern way of living.

Many think the old ways were better.


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Africa Land of Contrasts

Weend as we began this presentation.

Africa is a very diverse land with manydifferent kinds of people and many differentkinds of problems. There is no one solution

that will solve all the problems.

Africa and the rest of the world will have to

work together to solve these problems thatmay one day affect all of us.

Keep your eye on the second largest

contine

nt!

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