Sub Saharan Africa consists of Central, East, West,South Africa and Madagascar. These countries are one of the poorest countries in the world. North Africa includes Western Sahara, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, and Sudan.
Physical Features
A few physical features includes the Ruwenzori Mountains that reaches 16,761 ft. It’s located in the Eastern section of Africa between Congo and Uganda.
Another beautiful feature Sub Saharan Africa has is the Congo River, it is second to size of the Amazon river (in flow) and is 2,715 miles long. The Congo River also takes up 13% of the landmass of the continent.
The Zambezi River is also a well known river in Africa. It’s between Zimbobwe and Zambia and it is home to Victoria Falls.
Africa has a number of well known volcanic peaks that are high in elevation. The tallest point in Africa is Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania near the border of Kenya. It is 19,340 feet high. Also, nearby in Kenya, Mount Kenya is 17,058 feet high.
Climate
There are many different varieties of climate in Africa. Some include:
- “Tropical rainforest – found particularly in the center of the continent and also along the eastern coast of Madagascar.
- Humid sub-tropical – found in the southwest.
- Mediterranean – mostly on the northwest (Mediterranean) coast and in the southeast
- Savannah – found to the north and south where it replaces the rain forest. There are distinct wet and dry seasons.
- Steppe – away from the Equator, to the north and south, the savannah grades into drier steppe.
- Desert – here there is little rainfall and wide differences between day and night temperatures. The Sahara in the north is the world’s largest desert (only three countries have a greater area – Russia, Canada and China). The Kalahari in southern Africa covers an area larger than France.
- Highland – largely found in the east, below the Horn of Africa.
- Marine – largely in the southeast.”
“Climate.” Our Africa. N.p.N.d.Web. 3 May 2015. <http://www.our-africa.org/climate>.
Languages
It is not unusual for people living within a short distance of each other in Africa to speak different languages. Sometimes, specific languages have developed that are used only for business communications and trading. Over 1000 languages are currently spoken on the African continent, and it is believed that they have their roots in four language ‘families’.With in each country are cultural and ethnic groups with their own history, language, and religion. Three of the six dominant languages in Sub Saharan Africa are spoken by at least ten million people or more in Nigeria: Hausa, Yoruba, and Ibo. The three remaining major languages of Sub Saharan Africa are Swahili, Lingala, and Zulu.Swahili is a language that developed in East Africa as a result of trade with Arabs from the Middle East.Many African countries today speak a European languages as well. The languages of most of West Africa are either French or English, and Guinea-Bissau’s official language is Portuguese.
“Chapter 7 Subsaharan Africa.” Subsaharan Africa. Creative Commons, 29 Dec. 2012. Web. 4 May 2015.
Religion
Like languages, Africa has many different religions scattered across the continent. Most of the population north of the Saharan Desert follows Islam, and most of the population living south of the desert follows Christianity. Large percentages of people in the region follow a wide variety of traditional beliefs. “For example, as of 2010, more than 50 percent of the people of Togo still followed local religions not affiliated with Christianity or Islam. Only about 29 percent of the population claimed to be Christian, and even fewer claimed to follow Islam.”
“The World Factbook,” Central Intelligence Agency,https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/to.html.
A few statistics on religion in Africa are given by World Christian Encyclopedia: A comparative survey of Churches and Religions in the modern world.
African Traditional Religion: 96.805.405 (12.3%)
Christianity: 360.232.182 (45.9%)
Islam: 317.374.423 (40.5%)
Hinduism: 2.351.390 (0.3%)
Baha’i: 1.732.816 (0.2%)
Judaism: 214.055 (less than 0.1%)
Buddhism: 134.409 (less than 0.1%)
Isizoh, Chidi Denis. “Religions in Sub-Saharan Africa : Working and Walking Together. A Christian Reflection.” Religions in Sub-Saharan Africa: Working and Walking Together. A Christian Reflection. Web. 4 May 2015.
Culture
Many communities and villages in the Sub Saharan each have their own beliefs and traditions. This is an aspect that proves that Sub Saharan Africa is very diverse.There are over 400 ethnic groups in Africa. Traditional African societies often relate in their belief of “whatever a person earns or achieves must be shared with other members of the extended family” (Richmond) An extended family is one of the core aspects of every African community.“An African will refer to an older person as auntie or uncle. Siblings of parents will be called father or mother rather than uncle and aunt. Cousins will be called brother or sister” Religion is also a major influence on these cultures.
Richmond, Yale; Gestrin, Phyllis (2009). Into Africa a guide to Sub-Saharan culture and diversity. Boston: Intercultural Press
World Regional Geography Spring 2015 Final Project 