Africa Vocab

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Transition zone

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he African transition zone known as Sahel is one of the nation's eight major geographic regions boasting its own unique mix of flora and fauna. It is located in northern Africa and is so named because its long, narrow shape creates a transition zone between the Sahara and the savanna.

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Delta

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the fourth letter of the Greek alphabe

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Sahel

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is the ecoclimatic and biogeographic zone of transition in Africa between the Sahara to the north and the Sudanian Savanna

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Clan

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a group of close-knit and interrelated families especially associated with families in the Scottish Highlands.

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Oral tradition

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elating to the transmission of information or literature by word of mouth rather than in writing.

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Subsistence farming

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Subsistence agriculture is self-sufficiency farming in which the farmers focus on growing enough food to feed themselves and their families.

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Desrtification

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the process by which fertile land becomes desert, typically as a result of drought, deforestation, or inappropriate agriculture.

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Rift Valley

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a large elongated depression with steep walls formed by the downward displacement of a block of the earth's surface between nearly parallel faults or fault systems.

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indigenous

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originating or occurring naturally in a particular place; native.

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poaching

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Poaching has traditionally been defined as the illegal capturing of wild animals, usually associated with land use rights. According to Encyclopædia Britannica,poaching was performed by impoverished peasants for subsistence purposes and a supplement for meager diets.

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Reservoir

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a large natural or artificial lake used as a source of water supply

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conflict diamonds

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an uncut diamond mined in an area of armed conflict and traded illicitly to finance the fighting.

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Infrastructure

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the basic physical and organizational structures and facilities , buildings, roads, and power supplies needed for the operation of a society or enterprise.

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Griots

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a member of a class of traveling poets, musicians, and storytellers who maintain a tradition of oral history in parts of West Africa.

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understory

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a layer of vegetation beneath the main canopy of a forest.

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cash crops

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a crop produced for its commercial value rather than for use by the grower.