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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.
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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 www.africam.com
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.