Unit 6 – Africa
Vocabulary Terms
Afrikaans
A language developed from 17th century Dutch and used in the Republic of South Africa.
Apartheid
System of laws that separated racial and ethnic groups and limited the rights of blacks in South Africa.
Arid
Very dry; especially: not having enough rainfall to support agriculture.
Civil War
Fight between different groups within a country.
Colonization
to establish a colony in or on.
Colony – overseas territory or settlement tied to a parent country.
Desertification
Process by which grasslands change to desert.
Developing Country
a country that is poor and whose citizens are mostly agricultural workers but that wants to become more advanced socially and
economically.
Drought
Long period of extreme dryness and water shortages.
Economic Indicator
Statistical data showing general trends in the economy.
Examples are unemployment, housing starts, consumer price index, industrial productions, bankruptcies, GDP, stock market
prices, money supply changes.
Genocide
Mass murder of a people because of their race, religion, ethnicity, politics, or culture.
Immigration
The act of coming into a foreign country to live.
Industrialized Country
Country in which a great deal of manufacturing occurs.
Interdependent
Dependence of countries on one another for goods, raw materials to make goods, and markets in which to sell goods.
Oppression
Cruel or unjust use of authority or power.
Poaching
Illegal hunting of protected animals.
Refugee
Person who flees to another country to avoid persecution or disaster.
Savanna/Tropical Wet & Dry
Savanna
broad grassland with few trees, found in the tropics.
Tropical Wet & Dry
found near the equator, usually on the outer edges of Tropical Wet climate areas.
There are only 2 seasons: wet season (summer) and dry season (winter). Usually the dry season is longer. During the dry seasons
plant life and animal life suffers, but as the rainy season begins life flourishes in this area. This climate is caused by changing
wind and ocean currents.
Segregation
The separation or isolation of a race, class, or group (as by restriction to an area or by separate schools).
Semi-Arid
Marked by light rainfall; esp: having from about 10 to 20 inches of annual precipitation.
Third World
The underdeveloped nations of the world.
Tropical Wet/Rainforest
Tropical wet
Rainforest
An often tropical woodland with a high annual rainfall and very tall evergreen trees with tops forming a continuous layer
Climate Zones
divisions of the Earth's climates into general climate zones according to average temperatures and average rainfall. The three
major climate zones on the Earth are the polar, temperate, and tropical zones. Temperatures in these three climate zones are
determined mainly by the location, or latitude, of the zone.
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Natural Resources
only found along the equator, usually within 25 degrees of the equator
Seasons don't change in Tropical Wet, so there is only 1 season.
Temperatures stay the same throughout most of the year because these areas are found along the equator and receive constant
direct sunlight.
polar- has the coldest with temperatures almost always below freezing.
temperate- contains most of the Earth’s land masses with more moderate temperatures and rainfall year-round.
tropical zones- has the warmest average temperatures and gets the most rain.
materials or substances such as minerals, forests, water, and fertile land that occur in nature and can be used for economic gain.