Why There? Exploring West Africa Handout
Vocabulary & Key Terms:
- Activist
- Alluvial gold
- Desert
- Headwaters
- Inland
- Niger River
- Oasis/Oases
- Oasis of Erfoud
- Pictorial map
- Plateau
- Sahara Desert
- Sahel
- Savanna
- Senegal River
Student Context:
When we think of the desert we often think of a vast and empty expanse of dry or arid land. You might therefore be surprised to learn that the Sahara Desert was not full of empty sand dunes. The Sahara actually spanned a vast territory from North to West Africa and stretched toward the East. Therefore rather than being a barrier for people living in Africa thousands of years ago it actually served as a connection point.
If you were to look at a pictorial map at that time, you would see that the Sahara was full of oases. An oasis is a fertile area in a desert, typically characterized by the presence of water in the form of springs or wells. Oases were and are vital for human habitation and agriculture in arid environments, providing a source of water for drinking, irrigation, and the cultivation of crops. Oases also served as important stopover points for travelers crossing deserts, providing a respite from the harsh desert conditions and a source of refreshment.
Zooming in on the map would reveal that the area south of the Sahara is called the Sahel which means “Shore” in Arabic. The Sahel had very specific geographical features that also allowed people to thrive. As a result, despite its harsh environment, the Sahel was and is home to people who have adapted to its conditions. Even further South is the Savanna, an area rich in resources as well. Savannas are dominated by grasses, which typically form a continuous ground cover. Unlike forests, which have dense tree canopies, savannas have widely spaced trees and shrubs.
The Sahel, the Savanna and oases in the Sahara, all had features and natural resources that enabled people to uniquely travel and exchange goods and ideas. Exploring the land and its features helps us better understand how out of the vast continent of Africa this region enabled the kingdoms of Ghana, Mali, and Songhai to thrive.