N. Africa & SW Asia:
Region - AFRICAN TRANSITION ZONE
Physical Geography
Cultural Geography
Economic Geography
Historical Geography
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[The text of the following was written by Scott Girhard, San Antonio College from his online course GEOG 1301 World Geography. Used with permission.]
The African Transition Zone includes Senegal, Niger, Ethiopia, Mauritania, Nigeria , Eritrea, Mali, Chad, Djibouti, Burkina Faso, Sudan and Somalia. This is a wide corridor across which Islam yields to traditional African (animist) and Christian religions. French colonialism grafted a European blue print of development onto traditional Islam. Conflict has affected this realm, particularly Chad and Sudan between Muslims and non-Muslims. Ethiopia too has suffered from famine, dictatorship and civil war between Muslim Eritreans and non-Muslim Ethiopians. Further south, Somalia has devolved into total anarchy as waring Muslim clans vie for control. The region suffers from tremendous environmental problems. This east-west zone borders the Sahara also known as the Sahel and is subject to frequent and long lasting drought. The Sahel is a steppe environment and the cultural African Transition Zone can be seen generally coinciding with the climate steppe regime. The desert is not static but expands and contracts in fairly regular cycles. When it contracts its margins turn green, grasses grow and the bush fills out, people and their livestock move in and settlements flourish. When dry conditions resume, the Sahara can grow as much as 15 percent in a single year. Movement of people during these stressful times are exacerbated by crossing political boundaries where they are not wanted.