STUDY GUIDE
Sahara and Sahel regions Test
Objective
I can locate the
following physical
features by: -Kalahari and Sahara Deserts
Kalahari- Southern Africa region, south of the Congo Basin
Relative location= Subregion Sahara Desert-Northern Africa region, North of the Sahel region
it is located in and its location
relative to nearby major
physical features (i.e. Atlas
Mountains are in the Northern
region of Africa, East of the
Atlantic Ocean.)
Absolute location= I can use
latitude and longitude to
locate a physical feature on a
map.
I can describe four
geographic
characteristics of each
subregion of Africa.
Notes
Physical Features I can Locate:
-Atlas Mountains and Mt. Kilimanjaro
Atlas Mountains-Northern Africa region, East of Atlantic Ocean
Mr. Kilimanjaro-Eastern Africa region, South of the Ethiopian Highlands
-Niger and Nile rivers
Niger River- South of Sahara Desert, feeds into Atlantic Ocean
Nile River-West of Ethiopian Highlands, flows into Mediterranean Sea
-Meditteranean Sea, Atlantic Ocean, Red Sea
-Congo Basin-Central Africa
North: West
-Sahara Desert -mostly Dry, grassland plains
-Dry climate -Arid/Semi Arid (north)
-mostly Desert vegetation w/ broadleaf &Tropical Wet/Dry (Equator
green forest around Nile -tropical grassland vegetation
-oil is a key resource -oil is key resource
Central and South: East:
-Tropical wet near Equator -Arid/Semiarid
changes to semiarid southward -Ethiopian Highlands/Mt. Kili.
-Broadleaf evergreen forest near Congo -Nomadic Herding &
-Congo Basin and Kalahari Desert Subsistence farming
-Diamonds, Gold, Manufacturing
I can identify where the
Sahara Desert, Sahel,
and Oases environments
are located in Northern
Africa

I can identify two major -Environmental challenges of Sahara Desert:

environmental 1.Sandstorms
challenges of the Sahara, 2.Unpredictable rain
Sahel and Oases 3.Flash floods
environments

-Environmental challenges of Sahel Desert:

1.Drought
2.Marginal Land
3.Desertification increasing

-Environmental challenges of Oases:

1.Struggles against the harsh desert environmental
2.Limited available water

I can explain two ways 1.Satellite phones to keep in touch with customers
for how technology has
improved trade in 2.Drilling machines cut through rock to locate underground water
Northern Africa
3.Trucks and planes improve transportation and for bringing people and
goods between oases.
I can identify and
explain the importance
of dates in an Oases
environment.
I can explain the An Oases provides relief especially for those who live in the Sahara region,
significance of an Oases as it has water and therefore vegetation (plants.)
in a desert Environment
I can describe two ways
human modifications
made to the Sahel
Environment have
caused environmental
stress and can propose
two solutions.
I can give a definition for
pastoral nomads and
identify two ways they
are successful in
Northern Africa.
Date Palms are extremely useful; Its fruit, the date, is eaten fresh or dried.
Its trunk and leaves are used as building materials, and the fiber from its
bark is twisted together to make rope. Date pits, or seeds are burned as fuel
or fed to animals.
Human modification #1 and way it has caused environmental stress:
-One modification is the use of cash crops: these are goods produced to
make profit (opposite of subsistence farming.) It depletes the environment
because of its wear on the soil, since so much is grown at one time and does
not suit the land better than raising traditional crops.
Solution #1: Begin to be more knowledgeable of the land; grow traditional
crops that are still valuable, and won't deplete the land as fast or as much.
Human modification #2 and way it has caused environmental stress:
-Another modification could be cutting down trees for things such as
firewood. This depletes the land because it causes deforestation which
eventually leads to desertification of the land.
Solution for #2:
- A solution could be to switch to alternative resources to burn, such as
coal, which cuts down on deforestation.
Definition: groups of herders who move with their animals from place to
place in search of pasture and water.
Reason #1: They travel in smaller clans; this helps for traveling purposes as
well as sharing resources and food when they reach Oases.
Reason #2: They are better able to practice Agriculture Shifting, which is
using the land and abandoning it after a couple years in order to let it
revive; nomads are extremely adept to packing and moving.