African Geography Quiz

Front 1

Reasons for diversity of place names in Africa

Back 1

-local terminology
-diverse African languages
-external contact
-changing political boundaries
-colonial history

Front 2

Zimbabwe

Back 2

Name was changed from southern Rhodesia, in a deliberate rejection of colonialism

Front 3

Cyrenaica

Back 3

Roman term for Greek colonies, now part of Libya

Front 4

Maghreb

Back 4

Arabic for "western lands"

Front 5

Africa is the only continent ________ around the equator

Back 5

Symmetrical

Front 6

Mediterranean zones

Back 6

Winter rainfall (North and South)

Front 7

Tropical zones

Back 7

Summer rainfall (in the center)

Front 8

Deserts in Africa

Back 8

At 20 degrees North and South (Sahara and Kalahari, respectively)

Front 9

Exceptions to why it is difficult to transfer lifestyles between regions

Back 9

Along coasts, rivers, Rift Valley in East (summer rainfall crops don't grow well in winter rainfall areas)

Front 10

Africa goes from ____ to ____ (latitude

Back 10

45 degrees N to 45 degrees S

Front 11

Hot air

Back 11

-rises
-holds more water (as air heats up, it absorbs water)
-expands and rises

Front 12

Cool ait

Back 12

-sinks
-loses water
-contracts and shrinks

Front 13

Why do climates differ in Africa?

Back 13

ITC zones

Monsoons

Altitude difference (higher is cooler and drier)

Front 14

Summer rainfall (ITCZ)

Back 14

Air directly under sun heats up the most, rises and expands N and S

As it rises and spreads, it cools and loses moisture, which falls to the earth as rain, highest directly under the sun

As it spreads north and south it cools so much that it begins to move downward again

Dry air moving downwards heats up as it approaches surface, sucking moisture from the land and creating deserts

Front 15

Winter rainfall (Mediterranean)

Back 15

Oceans heat and cool less than land.

When land is COLDER than ocean (winter), air moving from ocean to land cools down and loses moisture (rains. Think Seattle! Or, more embarrassingly, Forks?)

When land WARMER than ocean (summer), air moving from ocean to land heats up and sucks up moisture (drought)

Front 16

Oceans

Back 16

Heat and cool less than land, maintain more constant temperature!

Front 17

Cold coastal current

Back 17

Such as in Namibia and Peru

Land in tropical regions may never be colder than the sea, so it will rarely or never rain on land.

Front 18

Altitude of Africa

Back 18

Much is highland, at about 3000 - 6000 feet above sea level

Front 19

Rainshadow desert

Back 19

Moist air moving up into mountains cools and loses moisture in rain, then descends on other side.

Front 20

Highest rainfall in Africa

Back 20

Western slopes of Rwenzoris (Mountains of the Moon) on West side of Great Rift at equator

Front 21

What makes it difficult to get up rivers in Africa?

Back 21

Major waterfalls and rapids (Nile cataracts, Victoria Falls, etc.) caused by high plateau of interior

Front 22

Equatorial glaciers of Africa

Back 22

Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania and Mt. Kenya

The advance or retreat of the glaciers tracks temperature and moisture changes

Front 23

Flow of vegetation, going from low altitude to high

Back 23

Lowland forest (savanna, to 1km)

Lower montaine forest (to a little bit above 2km)

Bamboo zone (if present, from about 2.75km to just above 3km)

Upper Montane Forest (from end of lower montane to 4km)

Alpine Savanna (4km to limit of vegetation, about 4.5km)

Front 24

Lowland Forest

Back 24

Also called Savanna

1km and below

Vegetation from 20 to 40m

Front 25

Lower montane Forest

Back 25

From 1km to about 2.2km, vegetation from 10 to 20m

Front 26

Upper montane forest

Back 26

Contains bamboo zone and mossy forest

Vegetation 10km

Front 27

Alpine Savanna

Back 27

From 4km to limit of vegetation, about 4.5km, vegetation under 10km

Front 28

Five major basins

Back 28

they collect sediments and water!

-Niger Delta
-Lake Chad
-Sudan (the Sudd swamps on the White NIle)
-Congo basin (Congo River)
-Kalahari (once had a major lake in center, fed by Okavango before tectonics diverted it into Okavango delta and Zambezi riveR)

Front 29

Key to environmental variation

Back 29

Moisture availability!

Arid deserts reflecting extreme conditions fo rhuman survival (Sahara)

Central African rainforests and distinct fauna

Karooo, arid shrubland of South African interior

Front 30

Marine Isotope Stage

Back 30

Glacier retreat and expansion linked to climate warming and cooling

Based on framework by Barham & Mitchell (2008)

Look at oxygen in the air versus in the sea, get information from sediments.

Measure Marine Oxygen Isotope Record

Front 31

Marine Oxygen Isotope Record

Back 31

Earth's climate as measured by change in O18 is variable

Measure the O18 versus the O16 trapped in a core. O18 is heavier. When more O18, COLDER period. When more O16, WARMER period.

Front 32

Glacial period

Back 32

A colder and drier period, when there is more O18 than O16.

OIS is always EVEN.

Contraction of forests, expansion of deserts and grasslands.

Front 33

Interglacial period

Back 33

A warmer and wetter period, when more O16 than O18.

OIS is always ODD.

Includes the Holocene, which is now.

Contraction of deserts and grasslands, and expansion of forests.

Front 34

Oxygen Isotope Stage

Back 34

OIS. Arbirary number given to alternating periods of glacial and interglacial

Glacial periods always EVEN, interglacial periods always ODD.

Front 35

Holocene

Back 35

The era we're in right now. An interglacial period.

BUT, our forests are shrinking! Deforestation? Global warming? Carbon emissions?

Front 36

Faunal migration

Back 36

Possible indicator of climate change. If habitat changes, animals can either go extinct, adapt, or move. Most large mammals move!)

Front 37

Archaeological palynology

Back 37

Preserved in sediment, fossils, Neandertal teeth, tools

Can get an idea of vegetation that exists in an area, types of soil rainfall, etc.

Front 38

Dating in lake environments

Back 38

In lake environment, get animal fossils, nice record of soils and sediments that existed, can do a lot of dating.

Front 39

Desert expansions...

Back 39

...are recorded in geological record of windblown sands! Kalahari sands lay underneath tropical rainforests!