Physical Geography
What large desert covers much of North Africa?
Sahara Desert
What is the name for a country’s borders and divisions shown on a map?
Political boundaries or borders (administrative/political divisions)
What term describes people who share a common language, ancestry, or traditions?
Ethnic group (or culture / ethnicity)
What type of economic activity involves farming, fishing, and mining?
Primary economic activities.
What climate zone lies near the Equator and is characterized by heavy rainfall and dense forests?
Tropical rainforest (equatorial)
Name the longest river in Africa.
Nile River
Which African country is the largest by land area?
Algeria (by land area as of current maps)
Name one of the major language families found in Africa.
Examples: Niger-Congo, Afroasiatic, Nilo-Saharan
Name one major cash crop grown in West Africa.
Cocoa (or coffee, cotton)
Which region of Africa is known as the Sahel? Is it north or south of the Sahara?
The Sahel is a semi-arid region just south of the Sahara.
What mountain range runs along the northwest coast of Africa and includes Mount Toubkal?
Atlas Mountains (includes Mount Toubkal in Morocco).
What city is the capital of Egypt and one of Africa’s largest cities?
Cairo.
Which religion originated in the Arabian Peninsula and is widely practiced in North Africa and parts of West Africa?
Islam
Which natural resource has caused both wealth and conflict in parts of Africa, such as the Niger Delta?
Oil (petroleum)
Name two countries that lie in the Horn of Africa.
Somalia and Ethiopia (also Eritrea, Djibouti).
What rift system in eastern Africa is associated with many lakes and volcanic activity?
East African Rift (also called the Great Rift Valley)
Name the landlocked country in southern Africa that is entirely surrounded by South Africa.
Lesotho.
What is cultural diffusion? Give an African example (short answer expected).
Cultural diffusion is the spread of ideas, customs, or goods between cultures. Example: spread of Islam across North and West Africa through trade and conquest.
What is the Human Development Index (HDI) used to compare?
The HDI compares life expectancy, education, and per capita income to rank development.
What causes seasonal monsoon winds that affect West Africa’s climate?
Seasonal shifting of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) and differences in land/sea heating drive monsoon winds.
Identify the large plateau that covers much of southern Africa and influences its rivers and climate.
African Plateau (often called the Southern African Plateau or the African High Plains)
Which two countries share the island of Hispaniola? (Trick: not in Africa — explain why a student should check map regions)
(Trick question note) Hispaniola is not in Africa — the two countries on Hispaniola are Haiti and the Dominican Republic; students should check continental location on maps.
Identify a major traditional art or music form from West Africa and name one instrument used.
Example: West African drumming and dance; instrument: djembe (or kora, balafon).
Explain how scarcity of fresh water can affect economic development in the Sahel region (brief answer).
Fresh water scarcity reduces agricultural production, limits industry, increases conflict over water resources, and hinders public health and sanitation.
Compare Mediterranean climate regions in Africa to interior desert climates in two short points.
Mediterranean regions (e.g., northern Morocco, northern Algeria) have wet winters and dry summers and support agriculture like olives and grapes; interior deserts (e.g., Sahara) are arid, have extreme temperatures, and support little agriculture.