[...]... various forest ecosystems include tropical rainforests; thick, high-branched forests that wind through savanna woodlands along rivers; and groves of tiny dwarf trees that grow high on mist-wrapped peaks Tropical and humid forests occupy about 7 percent of the continent’s total land area Five thousand years ago, before human activities such as burning and clearing land began on a large scale, forests... disappearance of certain species Savannas Savannas occupy more than half of Africa’s land surface A savanna is a tropical plain with both trees and grass The typical image consists of a broad grassland dotted with large trees and herds of grazing animals such as zebra and antelope However, in some savanna ecosystems, trees cover more than half of the area Africa has two main types of savannas, fine-leaved and... Nelson Mandela stands trial and is jailed Tanganyika and Zanzibar join to form Tanzania Malawi and Zambia become independent Hutu overthrow Tutsi rule in Burundi 1965 Rhodesia declares independence under Ian Smith Mobutu Sese Seko takes power in Congo (Kinshasa) and renames it Zaire King Hassan restores monarchy in Morocco The Gambia gains independence 1966 x Independence achieved in Lesotho and Botswana... on involving local people, protecting a diversity of plant and animal species, and searching for ways to use the forest for economic purposes without destroying it (See also Climate, Deserts and Drought, Forests and Forestry, Wildlife and Game Parks.) Education Education 4 I n the modern world no country can hope to prosper and advance without an educated population During most of the colonial period,... read and write Government and Education As Europe’s African colonies grew larger and more prosperous, colonial rulers began to see the need for general education On the one hand, more and more Europeans were working and settling in Africa, and these settlers demanded schools for their children On the other hand, European officials realized that prosperity depended on having a trained local workforce... fine-leaved savannas Savannas contribute to the economy in a number of ways They provide firewood and timber for many Africans They are the main grazing lands for livestock, and their use as agricultural lands is expected to increase In addition, the savannas contain all of Africa game parks, which attract many tourists Forests A forest is a continuous group of trees whose crowns interlock and cast enough... around it into three zones— Saharan, Sahelian, and Sudanese—although the boundaries between these zones are gradual rather than sharp The Saharan zone receives less than six inches of rain per year The climate changes little with the seasons, and rainfall is rare and highly irregular Only about 500 species of plants, mostly shrubs and grasses, live in the Saharan zone, and few animals flourish there One... Africa; Egypt, Ancient; North Africa: Geography and Population; North Africa: History and Cultures; World Wars I and II.) Ekwensi, Cyprian Ekwensi, Cyprian 1921– Nigerian writer Emin Pasha Emin Pasha 1840–1892 Explorer and colonial governor 20 C yprian Ekwensi has won fame for his books about urban life in modern Africa Born into an IGBO family in northern NIGERIA, he was educated at Ibadan University... The mainland and the small islands of Corisco, Elobey Grande, and Elobey Chico make up the province of Mbini The two islands farthest from the mainland, Bioko (formerly Fernando Póo) and Annóbon, form the Bioko province The total area of Equatorial Guinea is about 10,800 square miles, roughly the size of the state of Maryland Most of the mainland territory is a plateau covered in dense rainforests that... that trees cannot grow near their peaks Other areas, such as South Africa’s Drakensburg range, are low enough to be forested TANZANIA’s Mount Kilimanjaro at 19,340 feet and KENYA’s Mount Kenya at 17,058 feet are the continent’s two highest peaks Kilimanjaro is an active volcano, and Kenya is an extinct volcano africa_vol2 1/14/03 10:39 AM Page 3 Ecosystems Much of Africa is covered in savannas similar . struggle for liberation of Mozambique. 1964 In South Africa, Nelson Mandela stands trial and is jailed. Tanganyika and Zanzibar join to form Tanzania. Malawi and. Afri ca Africa An Encyclopedia for Students LANGUAGE FAMILIES NILO-SAHARAN AFRO-ASIATIC NIGER-KORDOFANIAN KHOISAN MALAYO-POLYNESIAN Akan Amharic Bambara Chichewa Ewe Fulani Ganda Gbaya Hausa Igbo Kanuri Gikuyu Kirundi Kinyarwanda Kongo Lingala Luo Mbundu Mossi Nguni Oromo Sango Shona Somali Sotho Swahili Tigrinya Wolof Yoruba Nama !Kung Malagasy Arabic Tubu Tuareg Songhai Arabic Efik Ewando Fang Sara Mongo Luba Chokwe Bemba Maasai Kordofanian Gur Fon Tuareg Berber Arabic Berber Arabic Arabic LANGUAGES Afri ca Africa Volume