Europe's Peninsulas

Europe is the second-smallest continent. Only Oceania has less landmass. 

Europe's main peninsulas are the Iberian, Italian, and Balkan, located in southern Europe, and the Scandinavian located in northern Europe. The link between these peninsulas has made Europe a dominant economic, social, and cultural force throughout recorded history.

Europe extends from the island nation of Iceland in the west to the Ural Mountains of Russia in the east. Europe's northernmost point is the archipelago of Norway, and it reaches as far south as the islands of Greece and Malta. 

Europe is sometimes described as a peninsula of peninsulas. A peninsula is a piece of land surrounded by water on three sides. Europe is a peninsula of the Eurasian supercontinent and is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and the Mediterranean, Black, and Caspian Seas to the south. 

Extending to the south from central Europe into the Mediterranean Sea, the Balkan Peninsula (colored dark gray in the map above) includes the countries of Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, and the geographical/political region of European Turkey.

Portugal shares the Iberian Peninsula with Spain in the south.  The Iberian peninsula divides the Atlantic Ocean from the Mediterranean Sea on the east.  Ships enter the Mediterranean from the Atlantic through the Strait of Gibraltar.  At this point only about three fourths of a mile separates Europe from Africa. 

Further east the boot-shaped Italian peninsula extends into the Mediterranean  At the far southeastern corner of Europe, the Balkan Peninsula divided into several countries, with Greece at the tip.

The large European peninsula is divided into several smaller peninsulas, extending into the surrounding seas. In the north, the Scandinavian peninsula extends across the Arctic Circle.  This peninsula is divided into Norway and Sweden. Denmark is located on the Jutland peninsula, reaching up toward Scandinavia.
Watch 25 Facts about Europe (4.05) 
Begin to learn the first three regions of Europe:
Nordic Countries, Western and Southern Regions. 

Comment: Watch the Geography of Europe (5.17)
and comment on the blog with five facts that you learned from this particular video. 

 

Rainforest and Island

Congo Basin Rainforest

The Congo Rainforest is the life support system for millions of people in the 'green heart' of Africa. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo alone, 40 million people depend on the forest. Like all large intact forests, it's also crucially important for regulating the local and global climate.

As the world's second largest rainforest, the Congo Rainforest is also home to some of Africa's most iconic wildlife including gorillas, chimpanzees, bonobos and forest elephants.

Madagascar

Madagascar Island, isolated from the rest of the world, has unique flora and fauna. Like Australia, it has eucalyptus trees, baobabs, and also about 170 endemic species of palms, 900 species of orchids, and carnivorous pitcher plants. 

There are no elephants, giraffes, zebras, rhinos, lions, leopards or antelopes like in Africa. 

 Animals include the famous lemurs, but also giant centipedes, mongooses, crocodiles, iguanas, geckos, aye-ayes, and hundreds of species of frogs. There are also 200 bird species including 70 singing bird and parrot species; kingfishers, eagles, roller birds, owls and falcons. And then of course, the 150 species of chameleons including the bright green Jackson's chameleon and the pygmy stump-tailed chameleon.

This brief video highlights Madagascar. 

Watch this 9 minute video about the rainforest and answer the questions on your worksheet. 

Play this game and when you're gone PRINT out your results, write your name on them and bring it to class. 

Refugees

Between July 2011 and mid-2012, a severe drought affected the entire East Africa region. Said to be "the worst in 60 years", the drought caused a severe food crisis across Somalia, Djibouti, Ethiopia and Kenya that threatened the livelihood of 9.5 million people. 

Many refugees from southern Somalia fled to neighboring Kenya and Ethiopia, where crowded, unsanitary conditions together with severe malnutrition led to a large number of deaths. 

Other countries in East Africa, including Sudan, South Sudan and parts of Uganda, were also affected by a food crisis.

Why did it happen?     

Weather conditions over the Pacific, including an unusually strong La Niña, have interrupted seasonal rains for two consecutive seasons. The rains failed in 2011 in Kenya and Ethiopia, and for the previous two years in Somalia. 

The lack of rain led to crop failure and widespread loss of livestock, as high as 40%–60% in some areas, which decreased milk production as well as exacerbating a poor harvest. 

As a result, cereal prices rose to record levels while livestock prices and wages fell, reducing purchasing power across the region. 


The crisis is compounded by rebel activity around southern Somalia from a terrorist group.

Some reports of 260,000 deaths from the drought in Somalia alone between 2011–2012. 

Within the camps, infant mortality had risen threefold in the few months leading up to July 2011. The overall mortality rate was 7.4 out of 10,000 per day, which was more than seven times as high as the "emergency" rate of 1 out of 10,000 per day.

By 15 September 2011, more than 920,000 refugees from Somalia had reportedly fled to neighboring countries, particularly Kenya and Ethiopia.

 At the height of the crisis in June 2011, the United Nations base in Dadaab, Kenya hosted at least 440,000 people in three refugee camps, though the maximum capacity was 90,000.


More than 30 percent of children were suffering from acute malnutrition; more than two adults or four children were dying of hunger each day for every group of 10,000 people.
Credit: New York Times

Here is a 4 minute video about the drought in the Horn of Africa. 

Watch this two minute video to fully understand the difference between a refugee and an internally displaced person. 

Watch: Life in the largest refugee camp in the world. (3 minutes) 

Here are three blog posts written by my daughter a few years ago when she worked for World Vision. They are very short so take the time to read all three. Make sure to click "Read More" so that you can read each one in its entirety. 

The current state of the Dadaab Refugee Camp in Kenya. 

Comment: Can you put yourself in Michele's shoes and imagine how she felt as she interviewed refugees and came face to face with girls who were her own age who had lived through such sadness?

South Africa

Learn  the countries in the South Africa regions.

PLAY the game to see how many African countries you know by heart!! 

South Africa, Africa's southernmost nation, is also Africa's largest and most developed economy.


Less than thirty years ago, Apartheid was a system in place in South Africa that separated people based on their race and skin color. There were laws that forced white people and black people to live and work apart from each other. Even though there were less white people than black people, apartheid laws allowed white people to rule the country and enforce the laws. 

Watch this short video about apartheid. 

Cape Point marks the south western tip of the African continent, with some of the most breathtaking ocean and coastal scenery in the world. Cape Point marks the south western tip of the African continent, with some of the most breathtaking ocean and coastal scenery in the world. 

This is where two oceans meet – the cold waters of the Atlantic Ocean on the west and the warmer Indian Ocean waters on the east.

Watch: Two oceans DONT mix! (1.23)




Comment: Do your own research and share one fact about the region of South Africa.

Namib & Kalahari Deserts

The Namib Desert

The Namib Desert in southwestern Africa spreads along Namibia's Atlantic coast and reaches into South Africa and Angola. 

It covers an area of 100,000 square miles, and is the world's oldest desert.

 Rose sand dunes punctuate the landscape, some over 900 feet high.  

The Namib supports a variety of animal life, including two of Africa's large mammals, lions and elephants. 

The Kalahari Desert Fast Facts: 

The Kalahari Desert covers about 350, 000 square miles from the southern part of the African continent. It includes some parts of South Africa, Namibia and big part of Botswana. It merges with the Namib Desert

The Kalahari’s desert name comes from the local word ‘waterless place’. However, for the reason that the Kalahari’s sand retains water greater than some other deserts, there’s a variety of plant life in this desert.

The Kalahari is generally known as a semi-desert or savannah, as it receives some rainfall has more plants and animals than the usual dry desert.

Some of the world’s largest diamond mines can be found in the Kalahari Desert. The vast area is also a rich source of nickel, copper and coal and it is also home to several huge game reserves.

During summer time, temperatures can reach around 100 degrees, while winter weather temperatures can reach very cold ones. 

Several of the world’s most dangerous big cats can be found in the Kalahari Desert, like cheetah, lion and leopard. 

The British television line “Meerkat Manor” was made in the Kalahari Desert.

No Comments needed

Sahel and Desertification

Yacouba Sawadogo,  lives and farms in the part of Burkina Faso that lies in the Sahel region. 
Here is his story. 

Burkina Faso has four seasons: 

from mid-November to February the weather is dry and cool with temperatures around 60⁰F, 

from mid-February to June the weather is hot and dry with winds that blow from the Sahara Desert named  and temperatures around 100⁰F, 

the rainy season is from June to September, and from September to mid-November is an intermediate season between the rainy and dry times. 

The difference in rainfall amounts (during the rainy season) can vary widely. 

Drought can occur when the precipitation during the rainy season is less than normal. Several years in a row of rainfall anomalies can lead to severe droughts that have long-lasting effects. 

One of the consequences of prolonged drought is desertification. Desertification is a process by which land that was once productive can no longer support the same plant growth that it had in the past, which can have huge implications for the people that live in the region. 

In addition to drought, other main causes of desertification include poor farming practices, deforestation, overgrazing, and fire. 

If plants are removed from an area, either through overgrazing or deforestation, the nutrient rich topsoil can blow away, leaving farmlands less productive and making it harder for more plants to grow. Dry conditions can cause the soil to change to a hard, crusty surface that rain can’t penetrate, perpetuating the dry conditions. If the factors that caused desertification are stopped and the land doesn’t return to a productive state, then the land is “desertified.”  

This video discusses Desertification.

Watch this less than two minute video on DROUGHT. :(

Watch the following and comment on the blog. What are your thoughts about this video?  Comment on your own and then respond to one other comment. 

Africa Water Bodies

Watch this three minute video titled" Our Thirsty World"

Watch the following four short videos: 

Victoria Falls  and Girls defy death at Victoria Falls! 

Nile River  and  The Nile 

Mediterranean Sea 

The Strait of Gibraltar, which lies between the southern coast of Spain and the northern coast of Morocco, is the only place where water from the Atlantic Ocean mixes with water from the Mediterranean Sea.The strait is the only connection between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea , and hundreds of vessels pass through it daily, making it one of the busiest shipping routes in the world. The main shipping lanes can be seen through the concentration of ships -colorful points- in distinct channels. Europe and Africa are less than 8 miles apart at this point and Ferries cross between the two continents every day in as little as 35 minutes.

Comment on the Blog five facts that you learned and no repeating please. 

East & Central Africa

Learn EAST Africa and CENTRAL Africa regions.

PLAY the game to see how many African countries you know by heart!! 

Watch Destination East Africa 

Fun Fact:  East Africa is home to 4 of the 5 fastest land animals; the cheetah, the wildebeest, the lion and the Thomson’s gazelle. The none African top 5 fastest land animal is the Pronghorn which is native to North America.

Central Africa is a hugely fertile region, with abundant grasslands, vast tropical rainforests, and many rivers and lakes. Both Niger and Chad are mostly desert, however, and in recent years, Lake Chad has shrunk to one-tenth of its former size as the rivers that feed it have dried up. Although many of the countries have great agricultural and mineral wealth, political instability and civil wars have kept people in this region in great poverty.

HOW CAN THE ANIMALS BE PROTECTED?
Governments have established huge national parks and wildlife reserves, such as the Masai Mara in Kenya and the Serengeti in Tanzania. Here, tourists can go on a safari to view the animals in their natural habitat, contributing much-needed income to both local and national economies.

WHAT IS THREATENING AFRICA’S WILDLIFE?
Africa has an amazing variety of wildlife, but in recent years, many species have come under threat from hunters. Elephants are prized for their ivory tusks, black rhinoceroses for their horns. These and other species are now threatened with extinction, while some species have been lost forever.

HOW DOES THE EQUATOR AFFECT THE LANDSCAPE?
Africa is the only continent through which the equator and both tropics (Capricorn and Cancer) run. Around the equator itself, high rainfall has created a watery landscape of lakes, rivers, and lush tropical rainforest. On either side of the equator, the climate and vegetation roughly mirror each other, with huge deserts forming in the hot and rain-starved land around each tropic.

RIFT VALLEY
The East African Rift stretches for 3,000 miles from Syria in western Asia south through the Red Sea and East Africa to Mozambique. Its landscape is extraordinary, with many deep lakes, steep-sided valleys, vast plateaus, and volcanic peaks.

Watch: Ten Things You Didn't Know about Nigeria!

Nigeria is potentially the richest nation in Africa, with huge reserves of oil, natural gas, coal, tin, and iron ore. It also has abundant fertile land, capable of growing cotton, coffee, sugar, and many other crops. However, corruption and bad government have meant that the money earned from these natural resources has not been used properly, and most Nigerians remain very poor.

WHAT WORK DO PEOPLE DO IN THIS REGION?
Most rural Africans live off the land, tending herds of cattle, sheep, and goats, and growing food crops such as corn, cassava, and yams. In East Africa, many also work on the tea and coffee plantations or earn a living from tourism in the many wildlife reserves. The oil industries of Nigeria and Cameroon and the mineral mines of Congo employ thousands of people.

WHAT DO LOCAL PEOPLE CALL THE CONGO RIVER?
The Congo River is known locally as the Zaire. It runs in a huge, upturned U-shape through the Democratic Republic of Congo, previously known as Zaire. The river is a lifeline for the Congolese people, providing fresh water, fish, irrigation for crops along its banks, and a vital transportation system.

Watch: Famine 

Ethiopia and Somalia have both endured lengthy civil wars in recent years, leaving many people homeless and destitute and creating millions of refugees. Both countries have also been affected by drought, crop failure, and the over farming of poor or exhausted land. This intense pressure on hugely overstretched resources means that famine occurs regularly.

Comment on the Blog: What three facts did you learn from this blog that you didn't know before. 

Two short videos that are interesting:

Worlds Toughest Jobs (3.02)

The Sahara Desert and Culture (1.50)

Assignment: Write down ten questions and answers. On Monday, you will quiz other students on the information contained in this blog post. 

West Africa

Within the region of West Africa, the environment ranges from  lush tropical rainforests to arid desert.

There is a range of physical environments found in West Africa. Some regions  are very dry, making farming difficult if not impossible.

Many people in West Africa are farmers, and as such they depend on the rainfall for their livelihood. Some regions can fluctuate from year to year in terms of rainfall, which can result in droughts or poor harvests from time to time.

Other regions have better conditions for agriculture ,
and others are left unfarmed as forests.

Watch this five minute video on West and Central Africa. 

Learn TWO regions today. 

Play this game but make sure that you choose 

WEST AND NORTHWEST AFRICA from the drop down menu.

So, far you have visited the link that allowed you to LEARN the location of African countries. Now, check out the actual game that tests your knowledge of how well you know them so far!

Comment on the blog: How would you feel about visiting the are of West and Central Africa? Where would you most want to go? Why?