EGYPT, LIBYA, AND THE MAGHREB

http://www.theodora.com/wfb/egypt/egypt_maps.html

EGYPT’S LAND AND CLIMATE

Capital: Cairo Mostly desert Less than 4% of land is inhabited

Nile River supplies water Empties into Mediterranean, forming the Nile Delta

Silt (small particles of rich soil) was left behind when the Nile flooded

Made land rich for farming

Sinai Peninsula NE of Nile delta Suez Canal separates from the rest of Egypt

Canal passes from Med. To Red Sea

Desert areas Eastern Desert Libyan Desert covers 2/3 of country

Oasis: fertile or green area in a desert

Desert climate Cairo only gets .4” of rain a year

Spring brings hot winds that can reach 87 MPH

EGYPT’S ECONOMY

2% of land used for agriculture but 29% of people work in it Crops: sugarcane, grains, vegetables, fruits, cotton

Aswan High Dam

Pro

Controls floodwaters

Store water for months

Can be released more than once a year, so farmers can harvest more crops

Con

Block flow of silt, so land is less fertile

More reliance on chemical fertilizers

Less freshwater reaches delta, so saltwater comes farther up the delta

Industry AHD provides hydroelectric power

Factories make food products, textiles, consumer goods

Tourism

THE EGYPTIANS

Became independent from GB in 1952

Republican government

Most people live within 20 miles of Nile

Fellahin: peasant farmers Sell extra food at bazaar (marketplace)

LIBYA

Sahara covers more than 90%

No permanent rivers Aquifers: underground rock layers that store large amounts of water

Mostly Muslim Speak Arabic Capital: Tripoli Dictatorship under Qaddhafi

TUNISIA (MAGHREB)

Mostly Muslim Speak Arabic Smallest country in N. Africa Became independent republic in 1956

Capital: Tunis

ALGERIA (MAGHREB)

Largest country in N. Africa Mostly Muslim Speak Arabic 1962 won independence from France

Republic Capital: Algiers

MOROCCO (MAGHREB)

North- Strait of Gibraltar Constitutional monarchy Capital: Rabat