Middle East and Africa Flashcards
Middle East/North Africa Info
7 m km2, 8th largest
542 m, 7th largest
77% urbanized - 3rd highest
MENA Climate
Mainly Dry/Arid, some areas Mediterranean
Sahara and Arabian Desert (2 largest on earth)
MENA Mountains
Atlas, Zadres, Hagar
Ethiopian plateau, Nile river
Anatolian plateau
MENA Physiographic Processes
African plate moving southwest (forms rift, Red Sea), Arabian Northeast vs Eurasian (forms mountains)
Turkish earthquakes at boundary
MENA Coastal Infuences
Limited freshwater resource
Dead Sea 10x saltier than ocean
Desalination plants in Israel, Qatar, UAE, Saudi
MENA Oil and Gas
more than 3/4 of world’s oil reserves
Cradle of Civilization
12,000 ya permanent settlements in Mesopotamia
- Domestication, Irrigation, Metallurgy, Hierarchical societies, religion, political systems
Cradle of Urbanization and Globalization
Cities linked via extensive trading networks built by empires
Exchange of goods and ideas
Empires: Assyrian, Babylonian, Persian, Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Ottoman
MENA Economic/Cultural Subregions
- Oil States (Saudi, Iraq, Iran, Oman, UAE) - dependent on world oil market and vice versa
- Mahgreb (Western Sahara, Morocco, Algeria, Libya, Tunisia) - have oil, but different culturally (Berbers and Moors)
- Eastern Mediterranean Crescent (Turkey, Israel, Egypt, Lebanon) - European oriented, diversified economies, religious divide
MENA Religion
96% Muslim (Sunni most common, Shi’a in Iran, Iraq, Turkey)
Christians and Jews in concentrated areas
MENA Language
Afro-Asiatic (Semitic) and Indo-European language families
Arabic and Hebrew
MENA Migration
In-migration to India and oil states (UAE 85% EXPATS)
Out-migration due to war , civil unrest, lack of opportunity
Sub Saharan Africa Info
Largest of 10 Regions
3rd largest population (962 million)
2nd lowest urbanization (37%)
How was Africa split?
Mix of historical, physical and social factors
Africa Climate
Arid: northern parts, horn and South
Tropical: Middle (rainforest)
Madagascar
High Climate variability
Trade winds, rain shadow effect, seasonal variation, biodiversity
Africa Physiography
Deserts: Sahara, Sahel, Kalahari, Namib - Approx 40% of Africa
Green wall: natural buffer vs Sahara growth
Africa Major Ecosystems
Tropical rainforest
Grassland
Desert
Savanna
A sub-tropical zone
- 40% of land area
- Dense concentrations of diverse grazing animals, along with major predatory animals
Human Migration
One thousand plus years out of East Africa towards the rest of the world
First Australia, Europe, Siberia, Americas then Oceania
European Exploration/ Colonization
Trading network linked to spice land/silk road
Initially Portuguese
Dutch/German South (1609’s)
Abolition of slavery and British presence changed political economy
Quinine opened to explorers (Malaria)
Slavery
- Middle Eastern and Mediterranean Empires
- West European Empires exported slaves to Americas (1-2 m died on route)
Triangular trade
Ended slowly during 19th century
African Independence
Happened quickly in 1950’s/60’s
Some peaceful, others violent
Some kept strong ties
African Civil Wars
Since independence: civil war, internal conflict and genocide
Due to incongruence of boundaries
African Conflicts
Central: Rwanda and Burundi
West: Liberia and Sierra Leone
East: Somolia and Sudan
South: Zimbabwe and South Africa
African Dependency and Debt
Modernization and infrastructure 1960’s and 80’s left them owing other nations, requiring loans
More aid provided to area than anywhere else combined
Poorest in the world, lowest life expectancy, infant mortality, malnutrition