Geography [[Weather and Climate]] 4.2

[[4.2 What management problems does the seasonality of climates cause?]]

Life styles are completely controlled by the need to find water, and the need to know where the nearest supply of water is should the original source fail.
Thus, one of the main management problems is the management of water.

There are three types of Rivers:
1)Ephermeral Stream: desert/semi desert. Irregular flow in short episodes
2) Intermittent Streams: wet/dry seasons with relaible patterns
3) Perennial Streams: sustains base flow with source in wet area.

Coping with different rainfall patterns: different strategies

1) Storage
- store of water or food - underground river tapping

2) Migration/Evacuation
- Leave areas fir period when rain stops

3) Technology strategy
- transport water from ekse where

Management Case Studies:

Equitorial Climate:
*Hunters and Gatherers
* Slash and Burn

Savanna
*The Maasai
- water obtained from springs fed by snowmelt from Kilimajaro
- water sources are seasonal
- major droughts occur as deficit is present in water budget
- tribes move seasonally

Semi Desert
*Burkina Faso
- threat of droughts or famine
- rainfall confined to 2 months
- length and total rainfall unreliable

*North Kenya
- rainfall too low and unreliable to support settled agriculture
- Rain in heavy localised downpours
- Tribes migrate to new grass growth after downpour

Mediterranean
*The Nile
- Annual Flooding
- Summers dry but too hot
- Labour intensive
- Aswan Damn built to allow control of water
- Technology strategy/Storage
- no annual deposition of fertile silt by flood water so fertislisers needed.