Africa Flashcards
Colonialism
the policy or practice of acquiring full or partial political control over another country, occupying it with settlers, and exploiting it economically.
Sahel
Semiarid zone, western and north-central Africa. Extending from Senegal eastward to The Sudan, it forms a narrow transitional band between the arid Sahara to the north and the humid savannas to the south.
Leaching
(with reference to a soluble chemical or mineral) drain away from soil, ash, or similar material by the action of percolating liquid, esp. rainwater.
Land degradation
is a process in which the value of the biophysical environment is affected by a combination of human-induced processes acting upon the land.
Bazaar
Market in middle eastern country
Perrinial irrigation
y crops were regularly watered throughout the growing season by coaxing water through a matrix of small channels formed in the field.
Wadi
Valley, ravine, or channel that is empty except for during rainy season
Caravan
Group of people traveling across the desert in Asia or North Africa
Medina
the old Arab or non-European quarter of a North African town.
Shifting agriculture
a form of agriculture, used esp. in tropical Africa, in which an area of ground is cleared of vegetation and cultivated for a few years and then abandoned for a new area until its fertility has been naturally restored.
Deforestation
the clearing of trees, transforming a forest into cleared land.
Desertification
process by which fertile land becomes desert, typically as a result of drought, deforestation, or inappropriate agriculture.
Refugee
Person forced to leave their country as result of war, natural disaster, or persecution
Landlocked
Surrounded by land on all sides
Inland delta
River deltas form when a river carrying sediment reaches either (1) a body of standing water, such as a lake, ocean, or reservoir, (2) another river that cannot remove the sediment quickly enough to stop delta formation, or (3) an inland region where the water spreads out and deposits sediments.
