African Environment

Some parts of Africa had plenty of water, but others never had enough water. Some places had enough water in good years but not in bad years. The amount of water made a big difference to how the scenery looked, and also to how many people and animals could live there. A bad drought, or a lot of bad droughts in a row, could make even a mighty kingdom collapse.

Ethiopian highlands

In most of Africa, the rain came from the same place as the Indian monsoon - off the Indian Ocean. When there was a good year, lots of rain came. Most of the rain fell in Ethiopia, in East Africa, and in the rain forests of central Africa.

Nile River in Egypt

Water from the rain filled up the streams, and the streams came together to make rivers, and the rivers flowed into places where it hardly ever rained, like Egypt, and brought water there for farming.

An irrigation ditch in Mali

When the water came and flooded the river, people dug irrigation canals (like ditches) for the water to flow away from the river and get to their fields.

But in a bad year, it doesn't rain much, and hardly any water comes down the rivers. Then no food grows, and there are terrible famines along the rivers.

More on the African environment

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