Geography Quiz 7 Answers

Africa

1. Was the flooding of the Nile predictable before dams were built?
The summer floods of the Nile River were so predictable that the Egyptian calendar was based on their rise and fall. Flooding on the Nile occurred from late June until late October.

2. How did a lake kill more than 2000 people?
In August 1986 Cameroon’s lake Nios, which sits upon a volcanic vent, produced an eruption of carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide gasses. The cloud of acidic gas blew into nearby villages, killing more than 2000 people while they slept.

3. How many African countries were independent in 1950?
There were only 4 independent countries on the continent: Egypt, South Africa, Ethiopia, and Liberia.

4. What was apartheid?
South Africa’s legalized form of racial discrimination was known as apartheid (separateness) , and it classified individuals into one of four ethnic groups: white, black, coloured and Asian. Apartheid was repealed in 1990.

5. Why are there so many starving people in Ethiopia?
Droughts in the 1970s and 1980s, which were especially severe from 1984 to 1986, destroyed Ethiopian agriculture. Though relief food was shipped to Ethiopia, internal political corruption kept the food from reaching the starving victims. During the 1980s, approximately one million people died of starvation in Ethiopia.

6. What was the Nazi’s plan for Madagascar?
In 1940, the Nazis developed a plan to relocate Jews to the French colony of Madagascar. Once the impracticality of this plan was realized, the Nazis instead decided on an extermination policy toward the Jews.

7. What is the organization of African unity?
Founded in 1963, this organization helps strengthen and defend African unity across the continent. The 53 members-countries seek to increase development and economic unity within and between member countries.

8. Where is Timbuktu?
Is a town near the Niger River, in the African country of Mali, it has a population of about 30,000 and is a major salt-trading post for Saharan camel caravan routes.

9. Where is Ouagadougou?
Is the capital of the West African country of Burkina Faso.

10. Which countries lies completely within south Africa?
The tiny country of Lesotho, which gained independence from the British in 1966, is completely surrounded by South Africa. Nearly 40 percent of the male workers migrate to South Africa for employment.

11. Who speaks Swahili?
While approximately 50 million East Africans speak Swahili, it is not an indigenous language. Swahili is a mixture of Arabic and African languages that gradually developed through trading between Africans and Arabs. It is the second most popular language in Africa.

12. Is Equatorial Guinea on the equator?
No, is still one degree north of the equator.

13. Where is the horn of Africa?
Is the eastern protrusion of Africa that includes Somalia, Ethiopia, and Djibouti. The easternmost tip of the horn is called Gees Gwardafuy.

14. How many people lived on the islands of Seychelles before 1770?
None, the country, which is composed of 115 islands northeast of Madagascar, was first inhabited by colonizing French in the 1770s.

15. What is Caprivi’s Finger?
Is the name of the narrow strip of land that protrudes from the northeast corner of the otherwise compact country of Namibia.

16. What language of people in Madagascar speaks?
Malagasy.

17. How many official languages are there in South Africa?
The country has 11 official languages: Afrikaans, English, Ndebele, Pedi, Sotho, Swazi, Tsonga, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa and Zulu.

18. How prevalent is AIDS in Africa?
Approximately 14 million African have aids, which makes up 62% of the world’s aids cases.

19. What is the name of the currency of Botswana?
The South African country of Botswana, consisting primarily of the Kalahari desert, uses the pula, which means “rain”, as their currency.

20. What was the first country in the world to provide constitutional protection to gays, lesbians and bisexuals?
South Africa’s 1996 constitution protects gays, lesbians and bisexuals against discrimination in both the public and private sectors. Equality clause in the bill of rights protects people from discrimination based on race, gender, pregnancy, marital status, ethnic or social origin, color, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, conscience, belief, culture, language and birth.