West Africa Vocabulary

What is the longest river in West Africa, which also served as a trading highway in early times?

• Nile River

• Congo River

• Niger River

• Zambezi River

Which large, hot desert in North Africa covers about 3.5 million square miles and made trade difficult?

• Kalahari Desert

• Sahara Desert

• Gobi Desert

• Arabian Desert

What is the name of the zone of semidesert south of the Sahara where short grasses, small bushes, and a few trees grow?

• Savanna

• Sahel

• Steppe

• Tundra

Which animal is used in the desert as a pack animal to help with trade and can survive with half the water other animals need?

• Horse

• Donkey

• Camel

• Mule

What is the name of the vegetation zone of tall grasses and scattered trees with a long rainy season?

• Tundra

• Taiga

• Savanna

• Steppe

Which was the first medieval civilization and empire in West Africa?

• Mali

• Songhai

• Ghana

• Benin

What term describes the trade between peoples north and south of the Sahara?

• Trans-Atlantic Trade

• Trans-Saharan Trade

• Indian Ocean Trade

• Silk Road Trade

Which resource was found in West African kingdoms and traded throughout Africa, helping the kingdom of Ghana grow?

• Silver

• Diamonds

• Gold

• Copper

Which West African empire grew to be twice as big as Ghana and became a major crossroads of the Islamic world?

• Mali

• Songhai

• Ghana

• Egypt

Who was the first West African ruler to practice Islam devoutly?

• Sundiata Keita

• Mansa Musa

• Askia the Great

• Sunni Ali