Chapter 23
Equatorial
Africa
Section 1 - Physical Geography of Equatorial Africa
Landforms
• Equatorial Africa, or the Heart of Africa, is a
tropical subregion located on and near the Equator
in Central Africa.
• Covered by thick rain forest, it is home to Africa’s
most famous and colorful wildlife.
• A basin is an area that is drained by a river and its
tributaries, and the Congo Basin is the secondlargest river basin on Earth.
Section 1 - Physical Geography of Equatorial Africa
Water Systems
• Five of Equatorial Africa’s countries border the Gulf
of Guinea, making fishing important in all of these
nations.
• The Congo River and its many tributaries form a
large network of navigable highways, although some
of these routes have rapids and waterfalls that block
boat traffic.
• Lake Tanganyika, the second-largest and seconddeepest lake in the world, acts as a major food
source and transportation route.
Section 1 - Physical Geography of the Equatorial Africa
Climate, Biomes, & Resources
• A region of high temperatures and tropical
climates, most of the subregion has a tropical rain
forest climate.
• The highland areas surrounding the Congo Basin
experience montane, or highland, climates.
• The complex biome of the rain forest is home to a
wide variety of animal and insect life.
• The subregion’s mineral resources are abundant.
• Although water is a major natural resource,
controlling it for practical purposes is difficult.
Section 2 - Human Geography of Equatorial Africa
History & Government
• In the 1400s, European explorers arrived in
Equatorial Africa to expand their trade networks.
• The slave trade ensued, taking young people away
and harming the societies left behind.
• By the 1900s, European powers established colonies
that promoted European culture and weakened
traditional African cultures.
• Resistance to colonial rule grew, resulting in all of
the countries achieving independence in 1960.
Section 2 - Human Geography of Equatorial Africa
Population Patterns
• Society is mostly rural but has pockets of dense,
urban populations.
• Most people exist by subsistence agriculture, or
eating most of what they grow, and raising cattle.
• Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of
the Congo, is the political, cultural, and economic hub,
or center of activity.
• Gabon is the most urbanized country, while South
Sudan is the most rural.
Section 2 - Human Geography of Equatorial Africa
Society & Culture Today
• The subregion contains hundreds of ethnic groups
and languages, with French being the most
dominant language, reflecting France’s colonial
influence.
• Religion and family life are intertwined, with
Christianity, Islam, and indigenous religions, such as
animism, all practiced in the subregion.
• Due to its lack of financial resources, Equatorial
Africa struggles to stop the spread of preventable
diseases.
• Ethnic conflicts continue in the subregion.
Section 2 - Human Geography of Equatorial Africa
Economic Activities
• Farming is the main economic activity with most of
the population practicing subsistence farming.
• Countries along the Congo and on the coasts rely
on fishing for economic support.
• Although the subregion is rich in mineral
resources, corruption and governmental
mismanagement have prevented the people from
benefiting from these natural resources.
• Manufacturing output is low, but investment
from foreign countries will push industrialization.
Section 3 - People and Their Environment: Equatorial Africa
Managing Resources
• Management of natural resources is sometimes a
low priority, or something that needs attention
among competing alternatives, when daily survival is
the primary concern.
• Extensive conflict hampers, or impedes, normal
economic activity, along with widespread government
corruption.
• Poverty also takes its toll on the subregion’s people,
as some in Equatorial Africa are the poorest in the
world.
Section 3 - People and Their Environment: Equatorial Africa
Human Impact
• The pollution of the air and water, along with soil
erosion and deforestation, are all negative human
influences on the area’s vast natural resources.
• The ivory trade, demand for ivory from elephant
tusks, has greatly depleted the number of elephants
that once roamed the continent.
• Poaching and illegal hunting of endangered species
has threatened the populations of monkeys, antelopes,
gorillas, bonobos, and elephants.
Section 3 - People and Their Environment: Equatorial Africa
Addressing the Issues
• Protection of tropical rain forests has become a
priority, with the foremost efforts being scientific tree
farming and replanting projects.
• Many nongovernmental organizations, or NGOs,
and charitable groups are working to help make biofuel
cook stoves cleaner and more efficient.
• Governments have deployed troops to combat illegal
poaching and to decrease the trade in bushmeat, but
economic struggles continue to make this task difficult.