North Africa

-Physical Geography-History and Culture-North Africa Today

Physical Geography

• The Region of North Africa includes the Countries:

• Morocco• Algeria• Tunisia • Libya• Egypt

Physical Features

• The Nile River- The rivers waters still irrigates its farm land along its banks.

• Today, the Aswan Dam controls flooding and prevents silt from being deposited in nearby fields.

Nile River

Aswan Dam

• The Aswan Dam controls flooding along the Nile.

• However, the Dam also traps silt, Preventing it from being carried downriver.

• Today some of Egypt’s farmers must use fertilizers to enrich the soil.

The Sinai and the Suez Canal

• East of the Nile Is the triangular Sinai Peninsula.• Barren, Rocky mountains and desert cover the

Sinai.• Between the Sinai and the rest of Egypt is the

Suez Canal.• The French built the canal in the 1860s.• The Canal is a narrow waterway that connects

the Mediterranean sea with the Red Sea.

Sinai Peninsula

Suez Canal

Suez Canal

The Sahara

• The Sahara, the largest desert in the world.• Covers most of North Africa.• One impact of the very dry Sahara is that few

people live there.

Cultures of North Africa

• Religion:• Most North Africans are Muslims who practice

the religion of Islam.• Islam plays a major role in North African life.• For example; North African Muslims stop to

pray five times a day.

Cities and Rural Life

• Most of North Africans live in cities along the Mediterranean coast.

• The largest city in North Africa is Cairo, • Cairo has more than 10 million people, and is

crowded, poor, and polluted.

Rest of the Unit

• Modern Geography of• West Africa• East Africa• Central Africa• Southern Africa• Revolutions of North Africa