CH 8 Sub-Saharan Africa

• Desertification


  Processes that destroy the productive capacity of an area of land
• Rift Valleys


  A deep valley caused by the rocks of Earth's crust arching and cracking to let down a section of crust to form the valley floor
• Tropical rain forest


  A forest ecosystem characterized by a great variety of species that are dependent on high temperatures and rainfall
• Savanna


  A tropical ecosystem that in areas of seasonal rainfall
• Laterite


  Soils that form in seasonal tropical conditions
• Desert


  An area that does not support vegetation, often associated with an arid climate
• Sahel


  The zone immediately to the south of the Sahara desert in Africa that suffers droughts as the arid area expands by natural or human-induced actions
• Animism


  Traditional religious beliefs based on the worship of natural phenomena and the belief in spirits separable from bodies
• Hybrid Religion


  A religion that combines ideals, traditions, and customs from two or more separate religions into a single religion
• Triangular trade pattern


  Pattern of trade in the 1700s that involved Britain, West Africa, and the Americas, driven by the demand for slave labor in North and Central America
• Berlin Conference


  Conference held by the European nations in 1884 that divided the continent of Africa among themselves, with no political representation from anyone in Africa
• Apartheid


  The separation of people of different ethnic groups, affecting housing, education, and jobs
• Subsitence agriculture


  The growing of crops to satisfy local needs
• Communauté Financierè Africaine (CFA)

  Economic links between France and its former colonies in Africa
• Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)


  Organization of Western African countries, founded in 1975 and involved in peacekeeping, a consultative parliament (2002), free trade and movement of labor, and banking.