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North Africa

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: African Geography

   ██ Northern Africa (UN subregion) ██ geographic, including above
   Enlarge
   ██ Northern Africa ( UN subregion) ██ geographic, including above

   North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the
   African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Northern Africa
   (which coincides with common reckonings of the region) includes the
   following six countries:
     * Algeria
     * Egypt
     * Libya
     * Morocco

                * Sudan
                * Tunisia

   The disputed territory of Western Sahara is administred by Morocco. The
   Polisario Front also claims it.

   The Spanish plazas de soberanía (exclaves) are on the southern coast of
   the Mediterranean Sea, surrounded by Morocco on land.

   The Spanish Canary Islands and Portuguese Madeira Islands in the North
   Atlantic Ocean are northwest of the African mainland and often included
   in this region.

   Geographically, the Azores, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Chad, Ethiopia,
   Eritrea, and Djibouti are sometimes included.

   The Maghreb includes Western Sahara (claimed by Morocco), Morocco,
   Algeria, Tunisia and Libya. North Africa generally is often included in
   common definitions of the Middle East, since they in many respects have
   closer ties to Western Asia than to sub-saharan Africa. In addition,
   the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt is part of Asia, making Egypt a
   transcontinental country.

Landscape

   The Atlas Mountains, which extend across much of Morocco, northern
   Algeria and Tunisia, are part of the fold mountain system which also
   runs through much of Southern Europe. They recede to the south and
   east, becoming a steppe landscape before meeting the Sahara desert
   which covers more than 90% of the region. The sediments of the Sahara
   overlie an ancient plateau of crystalline rock, some of which is more
   than four billion years old.

People

   Distribution of Berbers/Amazighs in Northwest Africa
   Enlarge
   Distribution of Berbers/Amazighs in Northwest Africa

   The inhabitants of North Africa are generally divided in a manner
   roughly corresponding to the principal geographic regions of North
   Africa: the Maghreb, the Nile Valley, and the Sahara. Northwest Africa
   on the whole is believed to have been inhabited by Berbers or Amazighs
   since the beginning of recorded history, while the eastern part of
   Northern Africa has been home to the Egyptians, Abyssinans (
   Ethiopians) and Nubians (Sudanic descent), although ancient Egyptians
   record extensive contact in their Western desert with peoples that
   appear to have been Berber or proto- Berber. Following the Muslim-Arab
   conquest in the 7th century AD, the region underwent a process of
   Arabization and Islamization that has defined its cultural landscape
   ever since. Questions of ethnic identity usually rely on an affiliation
   with Arabism and/or Islam, or with indigenous cultures and religions.
   Northern Africans exhibit a wide range of phenotypical characteristics
   from fair to dark-complexioned.

Culture

   The people of the Maghreb and the Sahara speak various dialects of
   Berber and Arabic, and almost exclusively follow Islam. The Arabic and
   Berber groups of languages are distantly related, both being members of
   the Afro-Asiatic family. The Sahara dialects are notably more
   conservative than those of coastal cities (see Tuareg languages). Over
   the years, Berber peoples have been influenced by other cultures with
   which they came in contact: Nubians, Greeks, Phoenicians, Egyptians,
   Ethiopians, Romans, Vandals, Arabs, and lately Europeans. The cultures
   of the Maghreb and the Sahara therefore combine indigenous Berber, Arab
   and elements from neighboring parts of Africa and beyond. In the
   Sahara, the distinction between sedentary oasis inhabitants and nomadic
   Bedouin and Tuareg is particularly marked.

   The diverse peoples of the Sahara are usually categorized along
   ethno-linguistic lines. In the Maghreb, where Arab and Berber
   identities are often integrated, these lines can be blurred. Some
   Berber-speaking North Africans may identify as "Arab" depending on the
   social and political circumstances, although substantial numbers of
   Berbers (or Imazighen) have retained a distinct cultural identity which
   in the 20th century has been expressed as a clear ethnic identification
   with Berber history and language. Arabic-speaking Northwest Africans,
   regardless of ethnic background, often identify with Arab history and
   culture and may share a common vision with other Arabs. This, however,
   may or may not exclude pride in and identification with Berber and/or
   other parts of their heritage. Berber political and cultural activists
   for their part, often referred to as Berberists, may view all Northwest
   Africans as principally Berber, whether they are primarily Berber- or
   Arabic-speaking (see also Arabized Berber).

   The Nile Valley through northern Sudan traces its origins to the
   ancient civilizations of Egypt and Kush. The Egyptians over the
   centuries have shifted their language from Egyptian to modern Egyptian
   Arabic (both Afro-Asiatic), while retaining a sense of national
   identity that has historically set them apart from other people in the
   region. Most Egyptians are Sunni Muslim and a significant minority
   adheres to Coptic Christianity which has strong historical ties to the
   Ethiopian Orthodox Church. In Nubia, straddling Egypt and Sudan, a
   significant population retains the ancient Nubian language but has
   adopted Islam. The northern part of the Sudan is home to the, largely,
   Arab Muslim population, but further down the Nile Valley, the
   culturally distinct world of the largely non-Muslim Nilotic and Nuba
   peoples begins. Sudan is the largest and most diverse of all North
   African countries.

   North Africa formerly had a large Jewish population, many of whom
   emigrated to France or Israel when the North African nations gained
   independence. A smaller number went to Canada. Prior to the modern
   establishment of Israel, there were about 600,000-700,000 Jews in
   Northern Africa, including both Sfardīm (refugees from France, Spain
   and Portugal from the Renaissance era) as well as indigenous Mizrāḥîm.
   Today, less than fifteen thousand remain in the region, almost all in
   Morocco and Tunisia, and are mostly part of a French-speaking urban
   elite. (See Jewish exodus from Arab lands.)

History

   The Arabs and Islam arrived in North Africa in 640 A.D. By 670, most of
   North Africa had fallen to Arab rule. The Berbers subsequently started
   to form their own kingdoms in response to this threat in places such as
   Fez, Morocco, and Sijilimasa. In the eleventh century, a reformist
   movement made up of members that called themselves Almoravids, launched
   a jihad against the kingdoms to the south in the Savanna. This movement
   solidified the faith of Islam, and allowed for penetration into
   sub-sahara Africa. After the Middle Ages the area was loosely under the
   control of the Ottoman Empire, except Morocco. After the 19th century,
   it was colonized by France, the United Kingdom, Spain and Italy. In
   World War II from 1940 to 1943 the area was the setting for the North
   African Campaign. During the 1950s, 1960s and into the 1970s, all of
   the North African states gained independence. There remains a dispute
   over Western Sahara between Morocco and the Algerian-backed Polisario
   Front.

Land and sea

   Sheltered valleys in the Atlas mountains, the Nile valley and delta,
   and the Mediterranean coast are the main sources of good farming land.
   A wide variety of valuable crops including cereals, rice and cotton,
   and woods such as cedar and cork, are grown. Typical mediterranean
   crops such as olives, figs, dates and citrus fruits also thrive in
   these areas. The Nile valley is particularly fertile, and most of
   Egypt's population lives close to the river. Elsewhere, irrigation is
   essential to improve crop yields on the desert margins.

   Many north African nomads, such as the Bedouin, maintain a traditional
   pastoral lifestyle on the desert fringes, moving their herds of sheep,
   goats and camels from place to place - crossing country borders in
   order to find sufficient grazing land.

Transport and industry

   The economies of Algeria and Libya were transformed by the discovery of
   oil and natural gas reserves in the deserts. Morocco's major exports
   are phosphates and agricultural produce, and as in Egypt and Tunisia,
   the tourist industry is essential to the economy. Egypt has the most
   varied industrial base, importing technology to develop electronics and
   engineering industries, and maintaining the reputation of its
   high-quality cotton textiles.

   Oil rigs are scattered throughout the deserts of Libya and Algeria.
   Libyan oil is especially prized because of its low sulphur content,
   which it means it produces much less pollution than other fuel oils.

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