Africa: People of the Land

The Sahara• Few people are able to live

in the Sahara.• Northern parts of the Sahara

dry and hot: Considered one of the most difficult places to live on earth.

• Few places where water exists allows for people to live with grazing animal and few crops.

• Oasis-small place where water and vegetation can be found.

• The Tuareg- the most well known people of the Sahara

• Desert Nomads, known for their blue veils

• Travel by camel looking for water.

• For centuries they ran the trans-Saharan trade caravans

• Camels carried gold and salt from central Africa to markets along the coast.

• Today: live mostly in the southern part of the desert and live as semi-nomadic livestock traders and farmers

The Sahel• Sahel covers almost 1.8

million square mile.• Stretches from the Atlantic

Ocean to the Red Sea.• Flat with few mountains

and hills• Rainfall varies from year

to year ranging from 6-20 inches.

• Farming is difficult in the Sahel due to:– Inconsistent rainfall– Dry land

• Two ways of life in the Sahel -Semi-nomadic herders -subsistence farmers

• Subsistence farming- growing just enough food for your family.

The Fulani• Dairy cattle headers• Cows provide basis

for power and wealth• One of the first West

African peoples to adopt Islam

The Savanna

• African savanna covers almost half of the continent.

• Summer: green thick grass• Winter: dry brown grass; fires occur• Home to many Animals including: Lions,

elephants, buffaloes, giraffes, zebras, leopards, cheetahs, hyenas, and rhinoceros

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• Biggest threat to the savanna: population growth.

• Every year more savanna grassland is plowed up for crops to support the population.

• Roads and highways are destroying natural animal habitats.

• Kenya and Tanzania:– Setting aside large areas of the

savanna as national parks and game preserves.

People of the Savanna• Kikuyu- traditional

farming culture• Jomo Kenyatta- fought

for Kenya’s independence and became the first prime minister of Kenya

• Today: The Kikuyu are Kenya’s largest population group

Rainforest• Home to thousands of

different species.• Several layers of the

rainforest:– Floor: insects and

many types of butterflies

– Rivers and streams: fish, alligators and crocodiles

– Canopy: birds, frogs, toads, snakes, monkeys, and chimpanzees

• 200,000-250,000 native inhabitants of the rainforest

• Live by gathering food from forest and small subsistence farms

• Little impact on the environment

• Changed on the 1800’s with colonization and the clearing of land for plantations and logging.

• Today: commercial logging called deforestation.

• Deforestation also leads to extinction of both plants and animals.

• Extinction: species no longer exist anywhere in the world.

People of the Rainforest• Baka-located in

southeast Cameroon• Divide their time

between hunting, fishing, gathering plants, and working on neighboring farms

• Today: no formal schools or health facilities

• Deforestation is threatening to strip the Baka of their livelihood.