title: Gun laws in California

text: The gun laws of California are some of the most restrictive in the United States. A five-year Firearm Safety Certificate, obtained by paying a $25 fee, submission of applicant data to the state, and passing a written test proctored by a DOJ Certified Instructor, is required for the sale, delivery, loan, or transfer of any firearm. Handguns sold by dealers must be "California legal" by being listed on the state's Roster of Handguns Certified for Sale. This roster, which requires handgun manufacturers to pay a fee and submit specific models for safety testing, has become progressively more stringent over time and is currently the subject of a federal civil rights lawsuit on the basis that it is a de facto ban on new handgun models. Private sales of firearms must be done through a licensed dealer. All firearm sales are recorded by the state, and have a ten-day waiting period. Unlike most other states, California has no provision in its state constitution that explicitly guarantees an individual right to keep and bear arms. The California Supreme Court has maintained that most of California's restrictive gun laws are constitutional, because the state's constitution does not explicitly guarantee private citizens the right to purchase, possess, or carry firearms. However, U.S. Supreme Court decisions of "Heller" (2008) and "McDonald" (2010) established that the Second Amendment applies to all states within the Union, and many of California's gun laws are now being challenged in the federal courts. Additionally, California law heavily restricts the sale and possession of other items regarded as dangerous weapons, including but not limited to: certain knives, swords, clubs, explosives, fireworks, bows and arrows, slingshots, spears, and nunchucks.


title: Gun laws in California

text: Semi-automatic firearms that the state has classified as assault weapons; .50 BMG caliber rifles; and large-capacity magazines (magazines that can hold more than ten rounds of ammunition) may not be sold in California. The ban on large-capacity magazines was ruled unconstitutional March 29, 2019 but the ruling was put on hold while the case was under appeal. On August 14, 2020, a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that the ban was unconstitutional. However, this decision was vacated by the Ninth Circuit Court on February 25, 2021, until the case can be reheard "en banc". On June 4, 2021, Roger Benitez, a senior judge of the Southern District of California, ruled the assault weapons ban unconstitutional, though he permitted a 30-day stay of appeal. The Ninth Court of Appeals subsequently extended the stay indefinitely. Possession of automatic firearms, and of short-barreled shotguns and rifles, is prohibited without a Dangerous Weapons Permit, that is received from the California Department of Justice pending a good reason for their possession such as: manufacture, repair, collecting in limited cases (pre-1990), movie prop guns or dealing to police/military. California Penal Code §25850 defines what constitutes a loaded weapon.


title: Gun laws in California

text: California is a "may issue" state for permits to carry concealed guns. The willingness of issuing authorities in California ranges from "No Issue" in most urban areas to "Shall Issue" in rural counties. Additionally, the issuing authority can also impose restrictions on the CCW permit-holder, such as limiting concealed carry only to the purposes listed on the approved CCW permit application. However, concealed carry permits are valid statewide, regardless of where they were issued. This creates a situation where residents in presumptively "No Issue" locations such as Los Angeles and San Francisco cannot lawfully carry a concealed firearm, but residents from other counties with more permissive CCW issuance policies can lawfully carry within these same jurisdictions. California does not recognize concealed carry permits issued by other states, and non-residents are generally forbidden from obtaining a California concealed carry permit. Those eligible to carry a rifle, shotgun, or handgun under the federal Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act are not subject to some California laws.


title: Gun laws in California

text: California has state preemption for many, but not all, firearms laws. Actual enforcement of California's firearms laws also varies widely across the state. Urban areas, such as the San Francisco and Los Angeles metropolitan areas strictly enforce firearms laws, and some communities within these areas have passed local ordinances that make legally owning a firearm difficult. Meanwhile, some rural jurisdictions narrowly enforce the same firearms laws by prosecuting only those who demonstrate malicious intent or by not enforcing portions of the state's firearms laws at all. State law enforcement agencies, such as the California Highway Patrol, the California Department of Justice, and the California Department of Fish and Game strictly enforce state firearms law everywhere in California.


title: Gun laws in California

text: The Constitution of California does not contain a provision explicitly guaranteeing an individual right to keep and bear arms. Article 1, Section 1, of the California Constitution implies a right to self-defense (without specifically mentioning a right to keep and bear arms) and defense of property, by stating, "All people are by nature free and independent and have inalienable rights. Among these are enjoying and defending life and liberty, acquiring, possessing, and protecting property, and pursuing and obtaining safety, happiness, and privacy."


title: Gun laws in California

text: California law (§53071 GC) prohibits county and city authorities from enacting regulations regarding the registration or licensing of firearms. This provides for uniform firearm laws and prevents situations found in other states (such as New York) where traveling with an otherwise legal firearm could put a citizen at risk of violating local city ordinances.


title: Gun laws in California

text: Because of their inability to regulate firearms directly, some cities, such as Los Angeles, have prohibited residents from possessing a handgun or rifle magazine that fit more than 10 rounds, require firearms be stored in locked containers or with trigger locks installed when not in use, and have enacted ammunition regulations. Many jurisdictions have enacted ordinances restricting or banning the discharge of firearms and use zoning laws to impose significant restrictions to the establishment of gun stores and shooting ranges within their boundaries.


title: Gun laws in California

text: Due to one of California's earliest gun-control bills passed in 1923, gun sellers may not advertise the sale of handguns on their property. However this law was declared unconstitutional in September 2018.


title: Gun laws in California

text: The buyer of a firearm must fill out an application to purchase a particular gun. The firearms dealer electronically submits the application to the California Department of Justice (DOJ), which performs a background check on the buyer. The approved application is valid for 30 days. There is a 10-day waiting period for the delivery of any firearm. The buyer must pick up the firearm within 30 days of the original submission of paperwork (if approved), or he or she will have to have a dealer resubmit the paperwork and another 10-day waiting period starts.


title: Gun laws in California

text: Sales of firearms from one person to another (private party transfers) must be through a licensed firearms dealer using a Private Party Transfer form. The licensed dealer may charge a $10 fee, in addition to the $37.19 transfer fee that the state charges. Any number of firearms may be transferred at one time using this method. The dealer submits a Dealer's Record of Sale (DROS) form to the state, and the purchaser must wait 10 days before picking up the guns.


title: Gun laws in California

text: Handgun purchases, except for private party transfers and Certificate of Eligibility (COE) holders, are limited to one per 30-day period. To purchase a handgun, a buyer must have a Handgun Safety Certificate. This is obtained by passing a written test, given by a Department of Justice certified instructor, on the safe and legal use of handguns. The certificate is valid for five years. A buyer must also perform a Safe Handling Demonstration when taking possession of a handgun. Some individuals are exempt from the Safety Certificate and Handling Demonstration requirements, including active and retired military and law enforcement personnel, hunter safety certificate holders, and concealed carry license holders. As of July 1, 2021, purchasing semiautomatic centerfire rifles will also be limited to one per 30-day period.


title: Gun laws in California

text: Effective January 1, 2015, the Handgun Safety Certificate program was replaced with the Firearm Safety Certificate (FSC) program. Under the FSC program, requirements that previously applied to handguns only now apply to all firearms (handguns and long guns), unless exempt. A valid Handgun Safety Certificate can still be used to purchase/acquire handguns only until it expires. For long gun purchases/acquisitions made January 1, 2015, and thereafter, an FSC will be required. Once an FSC is obtained, it can be used for both handgun and long gun purchases/acquisitions.


title: Gun laws in California

text: Residents of California purchasing long guns in other states are subject to the same requirements as for purchasing firearms in-state, if the buyer returns to California with the weapons in possession. For example, a California resident who purchases a long gun in Nevada would be required to go through a registered FFL in Nevada to have the weapon shipped to an FFL in California, who would then complete the DROS and administer the 10-day waiting period. However, a California resident would not be subject to California law for long guns purchased out-of-state and are never brought into California. In other words, a California resident who purchases a long gun in Nevada and stores the weapon at the home of a family member or friend in Nevada, would not be violating California law, as long as the weapon never enters the state. Such would also be the case for a California resident purchasing a California-defined assault weapon in another state where such weapons are legal, and the weapon is never brought into California. The California Department of Justice has been known to conduct sting operations by sending undercover agents to gun stores and gun shows in neighboring states to observe California residents purchasing firearms at such venues, and then tracking buyers back into California, where they are then arrested and prosecuted. The differences in gun laws and gun control philosophy between California and neighboring states has been a source of heated arguments between political figures in California who mostly support strict limitations on gun ownership and usage, and politicians in Arizona and Nevada who mostly favor individual gun rights.


title: Gun laws in California

text: Dealers may not sell any new handgun unless it is listed in the state Department of Justice roster of handguns certified for sale. Listed handguns must include certain mechanical features and pass a set of laboratory tests. Private party transfers, curio/relic handguns, certain single-action revolvers, and pawn/consignment returns are exempt from this requirement. Sale to law enforcement personnel are exempt from list restrictions.


title: Gun laws in California

text: Handguns which were legally owned and registered before the roster's implementation in 2001, or which were taken off the roster (or discontinued) after their legal purchase and registration, can legally be sold in a private transfer as long as it is done through an FFL in accordance with state law.


title: Gun laws in California

text: Since private transfers (conducted through an FFL in accordance with state law) are exempted from the roster, there have been instances of law enforcement officers purchasing off-roster handguns and then re-selling them (typically at a premium) to regular buyers. This practice has led to occasional criminal convictions of officers who were found to be doing so repeatedly.


title: Gun laws in California

text: On May 17, 2013, the state attorney general began enforcing a new law requiring that semi-automatic pistols incorporate microstamping. With this technology, very small markings are engraved, using a laser, on the tip of the firing pin and on the breechface of the firearm. When the gun is fired, these etchings may be transferred to the primer by the firing pin, and to the cartridge case head by the breechface, using the pressure created when a round is fired. If successful, this imprints two identifying numbers, unique to that gun, on each spent cartridge casing. This requirement applies to new guns being added to the California Department of Justice's roster of handguns certified for sale; semi-automatic handgun models already listed on the roster are not required to incorporate microstamping. This law was passed in 2007 and the wording in the law stated that it would become effective when the technology was available to at least two manufacturers, unencumbered by a patent. To date, no manufacturer actually uses this technology in firearms available to the public.


title: Gun laws in California

text: In June 2018, in the case of "National Shooting Sports Foundation v. California", the California Supreme Court upheld the state's microstamping law. The court wrote, "Impossibility can occasionally excuse noncompliance with a statute. But impossibility does not authorize a court to go beyond interpreting a statute and simply invalidate it." A spokesman for the National Shooting Sports Foundation said that no new models of semiautomatic handguns will be marketed in California.


title: Gun laws in California

text: In August 2018, in the case of "Pena v. Lindley," the Ninth Circuit found the requirement to be constitutional.


title: Gun laws in California

text: California is effectively a "shall issue" state for concealed carry due to the Supreme Court's decision in "New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen". Residents of incorporated cities and towns have the option to apply for a concealed carry license through their local police department or through the sheriff's office in their county of residence. Applicants must generally be residents of the jurisdiction in which the permit application is filed. The only exception to this is for non-resident applicants with a bona-fide place of business in the jurisdiction where the permit application is filed, in which case the permit is valid only in that jurisdiction. A permit may be issued, by a county Sheriff or city Chief or head of municipal police, in one of two formats:


title: Gun laws in California

text: California does not recognize any concealed carry permits issued by other states or their political subdivisions. With exceptions for nonresident Active Duty military members permanently stationed within California, state law generally forbids nonresidents from obtaining a California CCW permit. , there were around 35,000 active concealed carry permits in California, compared to a total population of 39 million.


title: Gun laws in California

text: California law (Penal Code 26155) provides that the Sheriff of a county or a city Police Chief may issue a license to carry a concealed weapon upon proof that the person applying is of "good moral character" and that "good cause" exists for the issuance. The Attorney General has directed law enforcement to cease enforcement of the "good cause" provision due to the Supreme Court's decision in "New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen". While it is generally believed to be extremely difficult to obtain a license to carry a concealed weapon (CCW) in California, the difficulty varies greatly by city and county of residence. Some jurisdictions have established additional local requirements the applicant must meet, as a matter of demonstrating suitability, before the issuing authority grants a CCW permit. For example, Alameda county requires an applicant to obtain a mental health assessment at the applicant's expense as part of each county's permit application process.


title: Gun laws in California

text: Additionally, the definition of "Good Moral Character" is not defined in the law but is instead left to be interpreted by each individual Sheriff or Chief of Police that chooses to issue. Agencies that have restrictive policies can use this Good Moral Character clause as an additional tool for denial, but even agencies with less restrictive policies utilize the Good Moral Character clause to "weed out" those who, while they can pass a background investigation, may not otherwise be desirable for the agency to issue a permit to. In general the definition of Good Moral Character is thought to mean that an individual is of a responsible nature. Qualities like honesty, convictions, lawsuits, civil issues, negative interaction with law enforcement, speeding tickets, DUIs, credit scores, employment history, back taxes and the like can be used to show that an individual lacks "Good Moral Character" and can be used to deny issuance of a CCW permit.


title: Gun laws in California

text: While the state had enforced its "good cause" requirement, in Los Angeles County, many licenses were issued to people who donated to former Sheriff Lee Baca. Some departments are now being challenged in federal lawsuits, under the Equal Protection clause of the 14th Amendment.


title: Gun laws in California

text: Some argued that the California system for CCW issuance fostered political corruption and systematic discrimination of applicants, as it has been publicized that numerous celebrities, government officials, and campaign donors had been issued CCW licenses in cities and counties where the general public have been consistently denied. CCW issuance is also extremely low in areas where the population has a high concentration of minorities and minority applicants are more frequently denied, causing some to allege institutional racism.


title: Gun laws in California

text: Carrying a concealed firearm without a permit is a misdemeanor with a minimum penalty of 90 days in jail. It may be prosecuted as a felony if any one of over a dozen specific circumstances exists, such as carry by a felon, carry in relation to gang activity, carry with the intent to commit a violent crime, etc.


title: Gun laws in California

text: Riverside County's policy of preventing non-citizens from applying for permits was struck down on May 22, 2019.


title: Gun laws in California

text: On February 13, 2014, a three-judge panel of a federal appeals court, in the case of "Peruta v. San Diego", ruled that California's may-issue concealed carry rules as implemented by the County of San Diego, in combination with its ban on open carry in most areas of the state, violate the Second Amendment, because they together deny law-abiding citizens the right to bear arms in public for the lawful purpose of self-defense.


title: Gun laws in California

text: The San Diego County Sheriff's Department issued a press release dated February 21, 2014 stating it will not seek review of the decision by the entire membership of judges sitting in the Ninth Circuit, and "Should the decision of the Ninth Circuit become final, the Sheriff's Department will begin to issue CCW's in situations where the applicant has met all other lawful qualifications and has requested a CCW for purposes of self-defense." This paves the way for California's may-issue law to be replaced with a shall-issue law.


title: Gun laws in California

text: On February 27, 2014, California Attorney General Kamala Harris filed a petition for en banc review of the decision. As the state was not a formal party of the case, her action is not an appeal, but merely a request that the full court re-hear the case en banc on its own initiative. However, the petition filed was denied by the Ninth Circuit on November 12, 2014. However, Chief Judge Thomas of the Ninth Circuit ordered on March 26, 2015, that the case be reheard "en banc". The "en banc" oral arguments were heard on June 16, 2015. On June 9, 2016, the Ninth Circuit reversed its prior decision and ruled that "The right of a member of the general public to carry a concealed firearm in public is not, and never has been, protected by the Second Amendment." The court's ruling did not address open carry in public, leaving that issue open to potential future litigation.


title: Gun laws in California

text: On June 26, 2017, the Supreme Court refused to grant certiorari to hear an appeal of the Ninth Circuit's en banc decision. Justices Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch dissented from the denial.


title: Gun laws in California

text: On June 23, 2022, the Supreme Court issued a decision in "New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen", holding that New York's requirement that carry permit applicants demonstrate a good reason to require a permit was unconstitutional. The following week, the California Attorney General directed state law enforcement authorities to cease enforcement of California's own good cause restriction. As a result, the state is shall-issue, but the ease of acquiring a permit has yet to be determined as the Attorney General emphasized that issuing authorities may continue to enforce the good moral character requirement in a manner the objective nature of which is unknown.


title: Gun laws in California

text: Open carry of firearms is governed in California by a set of laws that, at times, conflict with one another. This has created significant confusion over the legality of open carry in the state. Open carry of loaded or unloaded firearms in public is generally prohibited, although open carry may be allowed in unincorporated rural areas where permitted by local ordinance, and elsewhere under certain circumstances.


title: Gun laws in California

text: The Mulford Act prohibited personal possession (i.e., carry) of a loaded firearm in incorporated areas (such as inside city limits) or prohibited areas of unincorporated territory without a license to carry or other exemption provided for by law. A license to carry "loaded and exposed" firearms may be issued by a Police Chief or County Sheriff in a county with population of less than 200,000 persons at the last census. No license or permit is required to openly carry a loaded firearm in unincorporated areas where discharge is not prohibited by local ordinance. Additionally, state law allows open carry in situations where one "reasonably believes that any person or the property of any person is in immediate, grave danger and that the carrying of the weapon is necessary for the preservation of that person or property." However, one using this rationale as the basis for openly carrying a firearm can expect to be detained and questioned by law enforcement (and possibly arrested and charged with unlawful carrying of a firearm if the officer does not believe that open carry is sufficiently justified; subjecting one carrying under this rationale to substantial legal expense, even in the event of such charges being dropped or the individual being acquitted at trial), especially in more densely populated areas.


title: Gun laws in California

text: California Penal Code §25850 (formerly 12031) defines what constitutes a loaded weapon). For Penal Code to have validity, all following must apply to the case.


title: Gun laws in California

text: in, or attached in any manner to, the firearm...including, but not limited to, in the firing chamber, magazine, or clip thereof attached to the firearm.. Therefore, carrying a loaded magazine separate from the handgun is NOT Prohibited under the CA Penal Code. As long as the loaded magazine is not inserted into the gun, one is carrying/transporting an unloaded weapon.


title: Gun laws in California

text: e.g. Ammunition and handgun are in the same box but the handgun does not have a loaded magazine inserted, nor a round in the chamber.


title: Gun laws in California

text: In the case of "People v. Clark" (1996) a shotgun shell attached to the shotgun (e.g. "side-saddle"), although not chambered or placed in a position where it was able to be fired, was declared to be legal under California law and the charge of having a loaded firearm against Clark was dismissed.


title: Gun laws in California

text: Prior to January 1, 2012, it was legal to openly carry an unloaded handgun in public. In October 2011, Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill that modifies the law on openly carrying an unloaded firearm to match the restrictions for openly carrying a loaded weapon. Legislation was later signed by Governor Brown to expand these restrictions to long guns and shotguns, except while hunting.


title: Gun laws in California

text: PC§ 25610 .When being transported, handguns must be unloaded and in a locked fully enclosed container other than the glove box or any console attached to the vehicle. The trunk of a car is considered to be a locked container but a glove box or "utility box" is specifically forbidden. If one believes he or she is within a "gun-free school zone" (area surrounding 1,000 feet from the edge of school grounds which teaches any grade from kindergarten to 12th grade) then the handgun must be locked in a fully enclosed container. Failure to lock up a handgun while in a school zone is a violation of federal (only if one does not possess a concealed weapons permit issued by California) and state law.


title: Gun laws in California

text: Long guns (rifles, shotguns) must be unloaded when transported in a vehicle. There is no requirement for a locked container with the exception of long guns considered to be "assault weapons". Federal law requires locking containers when inside of a "gun-free school zone." In "U.S. v. Lopez" the Supreme Court ruled the federal Gun-Free School Zone Act was an unconstitutional exercise of Congress's power under the commerce clause. However, in 1996 Congress passed an amendment to the law requiring the gun to have traveled in interstate commerce, thereby voiding the effect of the ruling.


title: Gun laws in California

text: Assault weapons, as defined by California law, must always be transported in locked containers and may only be transported under certain circumstances


title: Gun laws in California

text: Firearms must be kept locked up when children may be present. The 2008 California Dangerous Weapons Control Law modified California Penal Code §12035 defining criminal storage of a firearm as keeping "any loaded firearm within any premises that are under his or her custody or control and he or she knows or reasonably should know that a child is likely to gain access to the firearm." A person may be charged with a crime, if he or she keeps a loaded firearm, and the child or a prohibited person takes the firearm to a public place or causes injury. The law was further expanded in 2019 to include unloaded firearms.


title: Gun laws in California

text: It is unlawful for a California citizen to possess a Title II weapon, (categorized NFA firearms), regulated weaponry such as e.g. a fully automatic firearm or a short-barreled shotgun/rifle without a license i.e. permission issued from the DOJ such as for instance FFL-type license. Enforcement of the ban varies throughout the state. Authorities in most urban areas will prosecute someone for merely possessing a prohibited firearm regardless of intent, whereas county sheriffs and local police in some rural counties have either refused to enforce the ban or to only prosecute those in possession of banned weapons who demonstrate malicious intent.


title: Gun laws in California

text: Since 1989, it is illegal to sell a firearm that the state has defined as an assault weapon and that has been listed in the California Department of Justice (DOJ) roster of prohibited firearms, unless one holds a Dangerous Weapons Permit issued by the state Department of Justice. This includes many military look-alike semi-automatic rifles and .50 caliber BMG rifles. DOJ roster firearms may be legally possessed if registered with the state prior to January 2005. Military look-alike firearms that are not listed on the DOJ roster of prohibited firearms, known as "off-list lowers," are legal* to own and possess as long as state laws concerning configuration are followed. *Technically these "off-list" lowers are Category 2 assault weapons under current California law. However, in the 2001 case Harrott v. County of Kings (25 P.3d 649 (Cal. 2001), the Category 2 assault weapon law was ruled unenforceable. With the passage of Senate Bill 880 and Assembly Bill 1135 in June 2016, the state's assault weapon ban has been expanded to include all semi-automatic center-fire rifles and shotguns with military-style features that lack a fixed magazine. This expanded the class of firearms deemed to be assault weapons to include rifles that were previously not considered assault weapons because they had a "bullet button" magazine release instead of a standard push-button magazine release. The sale or transfer of such weapons is prohibited, effective January 1, 2017. Those purchased prior to January 1, 2017, must be registered with the DOJ by June 30, 2018. It is illegal to import, sell, give, trade, or lend a magazine that holds more than 10 rounds of ammunition, except for fixed tubular magazines for lever-action rifles and .22 caliber rifles; however, the possession of such magazines was legal until the passage of Proposition 63 in November 2016, effective July 1, 2017. The ban on possession was prevented from going into effect by a federal district court on June 29, 2017. Subsequently, on March 29, 2019, the entire large-capacity law was ruled unconstitutional but that ruling was put on hold while the case is under appeal. The ban on possession of large-capacity magazines remains enjoined.


title: Gun laws in California

text: On June 4, 2021, in the case of "Miller v. Bonta", a federal judge in San Diego ruled that the assault weapons ban of 1989 is unconstitutional as it violates the Second Amendment. The judge granted a 30-day stay in the ruling to allow time for the state to file an appeal.


title: Gun laws in California

text: The Roberti-Roos Assault Weapons Control Act of 1989 (AWCA), its augmentation in 1999, and the .50 Caliber BMG Regulation Act of 2004 have led to many restrictions on semi-automatic firearms. In addition to a list of specific firearms that are banned by name, the following firearms are banned by characteristic (from Penal Code §30515(a), formerly §12276.1):


title: Gun laws in California

text: In addition, (Penal Code §12001.5) bans, by definition, short-barreled shotguns and short-barreled rifles.


title: Gun laws in California

text: Defined in Penal Code §12020; a short-barreled shotgun is defined as a firearm (designed, redesigned, or altered) to fire a fixed shotgun shell and has a barrel or barrels of less than 18 inches or an overall length of less than 26 inches.


title: Gun laws in California

text: A short-barreled rifle is defined as a semiautomatic, center fire rifle with a barrel length of less than 16 inches or an overall length of less than 26 inches.


title: Gun laws in California

text: While a Rossi Circuit Judge (18" barrel) is considered a shotgun with a revolving cylinder (violation of #8 above), the CA DOJ claims it is legal because it has a rifled barrel. However, the Taurus Judge handgun is considered a "short-barreled shotgun" and therefore illegal in CA, even though it fires the same shot shell as the Circuit Judge, as well as has a rifled barrel. Conversely, there are many revolvers that fire shot shells made in different calibers (e.g. 22, 9mm, 38, etc.) mostly used to shoot birds or snakes. Even though these handguns, with less that 18" barrels, fire shot shells, like the Judge, they are legal in California.


title: Gun laws in California

text: Following the "Kasler v. Lockyer" ruling, California passed a list of 84 firearms by name that are deemed as Assault Weapons and are subsequently deemed illegal to own in the State of California. These firearms include the Bushmaster XM-15, Colt AR-15, Armalite AR-15, DPMS Panther, and Rock River Arms, Inc, as well as the Kalashnikov USA Hunting Rifle and various other AK-style and AR-style firearms.


title: Gun laws in California

text: Methods of obtaining particular styles of firearms similar to assault weapons have been achieved by design changes by gun parts manufacturers. One of the most common modifications prior to 2017 was a "bullet button", which modified a rifle so that the magazine is not removable without the use of a tool (which could include a bullet used as a tool per state law), which presses a button that a finger alone cannot press. Weapons with this feature were deemed to no longer have a "detachable magazine" within the assault weapons definition, and therefore could be exempt from the law as it then stood, depending on the other requirements. As certain portions of firearms (the lower receiver, or "lower" for short, which is legally considered to be the firearm) are banned by model name under California state law, multiple modifications could be made to allow a rifle to comply under state law.


title: Gun laws in California

text: It is under these exceptions that the weapons used in the 2015 San Bernardino terrorist attack were legal when initially purchased, and subsequently illegally sold to the perpetrators. The perpetrators subsequently illegally altered these exempt weapons in ways that violated other provisions of the California law, by enabling the DPMS Panther Arms AR-15 rifle to use a high-capacity magazine and illegally modifying the Smith & Wesson M&P15 rifle.


title: Gun laws in California

text: In order to close what was perceived by proponents to be a loophole in the law enabling such modifications, the legislature passed Assembly Bill 1135 and Senate Bill 880 in 2016 which, amongst other things, narrowed the definition of a "fixed magazine" as required under the law "to mean an ammunition feeding device contained in, or permanently attached to, a firearm in such a manner that the device cannot be removed without disassembly of the firearm action."\


title: Gun laws in California

text: Shortly after being signed into law, Darin Prince, the creator of the bullet button, revealed the bullet button reloaded in order to comply with the new law.


title: Gun laws in California

text: Following the San Bernardino shooting, which left 16 people (including the two shooters) dead and the shooters using two illegally acquired and modified AR-style firearms that used the Bullet Button, California further specified fixed magazines, where they deemed that the Bullet Button was not a sufficient way to fix the magazine, deeming it illegal and closing the "bullet button loophole". As of SB 880's implementation, the use of the Bullet Button alone constitutes the firearm as an assault weapon, deeming it illegal in California.


title: Gun laws in California

text: California's assault weapons law is not an outright ban on statutorily-defined assault weapons per se, as it contains a provision for an individual to apply for a Dangerous Weapon Permit from the state DOJ to acquire, transport and possess a firearm that meets the state's assault weapon criteria, although such approval is generally not granted unless the applicant qualifies under a limited set of exceptions:


title: Gun laws in California

text: There are protections under the federal Firearm Owners Protection Act for nonresidents traveling through California with firearms that meet the state's assault weapon criteria. First, the weapon must be legal for the traveler to own under federal law and under the laws of his or her home state and the state of destination. Additionally, the weapon in question must be unloaded with the firearm and ammunition locked in separate cases and placed in an area of the vehicle that is not easily accessible, such as the trunk of a car or bed of a truck. Finally, the traveler should traverse the state by the shortest route and make the minimum number of stops practicable.


title: Gun laws in California

text: There are also numerous other laws, such as prohibition on possession of tracer ammunition and handgun armor-piercing ammunition. All rifles are normally exempt for the original owner if properly registered at the time of the acts which prohibited them.


title: Gun laws in California

text: In addition, the law states that any weapon that is part of the AR-15 series or AK series is also an assault weapon, regardless of manufacturer; this dates back to 1989 ban, and was confirmed in the "Kasler v. Lockyer" decision, filed 6/29/2000. However, the California Supreme Court declared the identification of assault weapon by series membership to be too dubious and difficult for the average citizen or even trial court to make without specific and clear model identification guidelines. The court thus set some specific requirements for the "series" identification portion of the law in their ruling of "Harrott v. County of Kings", filed 6/28/2001. This decision required banned firearms to be specifically listed by make and model in California Code of Regulations (the "Kasler list"); it did not address assault weapons defined by features. Thus, only firearms specifically listed by exact combination of manufacturer and model name, or conforming to explicit exterior characteristics (such as a pistol grip or folding stock in combination with a detachable magazine) can be banned under current legislation.


title: Gun laws in California

text: Once it was realized the California Department of Justice (CA DOJ) had not updated the "Kasler list" in the five years after the "Harrott" decision, many Californians found they could legally purchase and possess AR and AK rifles not yet officially identified as "series" members. As of February 2006, over 10,000 "off-list" receivers (frames) for such rifles have been legally imported to, and purchased within, California. The only requirement for these receivers are that the combination of make and model is not explicitly listed as banned, and as long as the owner does not add certain "characteristic features" turning the firearm into an assault weapon (i.e. pistol grip, flash suppressor, etc.). These characteristic features can be used, however, if a nondetachable 10-round (or less) magazine, conforming in the converse to the California Code of Regulations §5469, formerly §978.20, definition of detachable magazine, is affixed to such "off-list" rifles. These off-list rifles can also be used without a pistol grip, folding stock, or flash hider, in which case it is legal to own and use them with detachable magazines, including large-capacity magazines.


title: Gun laws in California

text: The CA DOJ produced a report from the Ferranto Commission in response, intimating that this list will be updated in early 2006; as of December 2006, it had not done so. On February 1, 2006, the CA DOJ also issued a controversial memorandum about this subject; critics say the described actions are not founded or supported within statutory law in Penal Code §§12275–12290. This memo stated that once off-list "series" firearms are declared and registered as assault weapons, they will not be able to have characteristic features added or fixed magazines removed. This is being challenged by pro-gun groups, since there is no criminal violation in the California Penal Code for adding or changing features to a legally acquired, registered assault weapon.


title: Gun laws in California

text: On November 8, 2005, San Francisco voters enacted Proposition H, a total ban on the manufacture, sale, transfer or distribution of firearms or ammunition in San Francisco, as well as a ban on the possession of handguns within the city by San Francisco residents (excepting police officers, security guards and the like). The ban did not prohibit possession of weapons other than handguns, nor did it prohibit residents of other cities from possessing handguns in San Francisco.


title: Gun laws in California

text: While this measure made San Francisco the third major U.S. city, following Washington, D.C. and Chicago, to enact a ban on handguns, San Francisco's ban extended further, not implementing a grandfather clause found in Chicago's and Washington D.C.'s laws that protected existing gun owners. Proposition H stated that handgun owners in San Francisco must turn over their handguns to the police by the end of March 2006, have them confiscated, or move outside the city limits. In June 2006, Judge James Warren of the San Francisco County Superior Court struck down Proposition H, asserting that under California law local officials do not have the authority to ban handgun ownership by law-abiding citizens. On January 9, 2008, a California appellate court upheld Judge Warren's decision. The National Rifle Association (NRA) opposed the ban from its inception.


title: Gun laws in California

text: In May 2013, the Los Angeles City Council voted to draft a law prohibiting the possession of large-capacity ammunition magazines, sparking lawsuit threats from two gun rights organizations. In November of the same year, the city of Sunnyvale passed a similar ordinance along with three other firearm related restrictions. The new ordinance requires city residents to "dispose, donate, or sell" any magazine capable of holding more than ten rounds within a proscribed period of time once the measure took effect. Measure C also requires:


title: Gun laws in California

text: Bill 1014 that has passed the State Senate in September 2014 would allow the police to confiscate guns from high-risk individuals for a period of 21 days without a warrant or court order. On 30 September 2014, Governor Brown signed the law which is phased in through 1 January 2016. This makes California the fourth state (behind Connecticut, Indiana, and New York) to have a weapons seizure law.


title: Gun laws in California

text: SB 869, newly signed by Governor Brown, makes it a crime (infraction with a fine up to $1,000) to leave a firearm in an unattended vehicle unless it has been either 1. locked in the trunk, 2. stored in a locked container that is placed out of plain view or 3. stored in a locked container that is permanently affixed to the interior of the vehicle and not in plain view. The specific language of the new law can be found in Penal Code Section 25140. Active peace officers are specifically called out as not being exempt, unless in the event that immediate aid is required that is within the course of their employment. Likely, this law will be enforced upon the report that a firearm was stolen out of a vehicle, in which case the owner will be held responsible.


title: Gun laws in California

text: In California, the police or a person's family member can ask a judge to confiscate the firearms of a person who appears to pose a threat to themselves or others. The weapons may be held for up to a year. Such orders from out-of-state are also recognized. As of September 1, 2020, eligible petitioners will be expanded to include an employer, coworker, and school teacher or employee, and the maximum allowable duration will be extended to 5 years.


title: Gun laws in California

text: Ghost guns are illegal. Anyone wanting to build a homemade firearm is required to obtain a serial number from the state ("de facto" registration) and pass a background check. As of July 1, 2024, the sale of all "firearm precursor parts" is required to be done through a licensed dealer.


title: Gun laws in California

text: SB 1327, signed into law in July 2022 by California Governor Gavin Newsom, is modeled after the Texas Heartbeat Act, which allows private citizens in Texas to sue anyone that performs or aids in abortions. SB 1327 similarly awards any California citizen if they successfully sue anyone who manufactures or distributes guns or gun parts that are illegal in California. While SB 1327 uses the same enforcement mechanism as the Texas law, it underlines Newsom's (and the California legislature's) opposition to that mechanism, by providing that all its provisions shall become invalid upon invalidation of the Texas law


title: Gun laws in California

text: . As Newsom said of the Supreme Court's 5:4 decision upholding the Texas law's enforcement mechanism, "It was a terrible decision, but these are the rules that they have established."


title: Jersey cattle

text: The Jersey is a British breed of small dairy cattle from Jersey, in the British Channel Islands. It is one of three Channel Island cattle breeds, the others being the Alderney – now extinct – and the Guernsey. It is highly productive – cows may give over 10 times their own weight in milk per lactation; the milk is high in butterfat and has a characteristic yellowish tinge.


title: Jersey cattle

text: The Jersey adapts well to various climates and environments, and unlike many breeds originating in temperate climates, these cows can tolerate heat very well. It has been exported to many countries of the world; in some of them, including Denmark, France, New Zealand, and the United States, it has developed into an independent breed. In Nepal, it is used as a draught animal.


title: Jersey cattle

text: As its name implies, the Jersey was bred on the British Channel Island of Jersey. It apparently descended from cattle stock brought over from the nearby Norman mainland, and was first recorded as a separate breed around 1700.


title: Jersey cattle

text: Before 1789, cows would be given as dowry for inter-island marriages between Jersey and Guernsey. This was, however, not widespread.


title: Jersey cattle

text: In 1789, imports of foreign cattle into Jersey were forbidden by law to maintain the purity of the breed, although exports of cattle and semen have been important economic resources for the island. The restriction on the import of cattle was initially introduced to prevent a collapse in the export price. The United Kingdom levied no import duty on cattle imported from Jersey. Cattle were being shipped from France to Jersey and then shipped onward to England to circumvent the tariff on French cattle. The increase in the supply of cattle, sometimes of inferior quality, was bringing the price down and damaging the reputation of Jersey cattle. The import ban stabilised the price and enabled a more scientifically controlled programme of breeding to be undertaken.


title: Jersey cattle

text: Sir John Le Couteur studied selective breeding and became a Fellow of the Royal Society; his work led to the establishment of the Royal Jersey Agricultural and Horticultural Society in 1833. At that time, the breed displayed greater variation than it does today, with white, dark brown, and mulberry beasts. However, since the honey-brown cows sold best, the breed was developed accordingly. In 1860, 1,138 cows were exported via England, the average price being £16 per head. By 1910, over 1,000 head were exported annually to the United States alone. It is now the fastest-growing dairy breed in the world.


title: Jersey cattle

text: On 1866, at the annual general meeting of the Royal Jersey Agricultural and Horticultural Society, H.G. Shepard noted in his history that "it was resolved – on the motion of Col. Le Couteur, that the Hon. Secretary be hereby invited to open and to carry on a "herd book" in which the pedigree of bulls, cows, and heifers shall be entered for reference to all the members of the Society." In 1869 for the first time, prizes were awarded at the society's shows for herd book stock cattle.


title: Jersey cattle

text: The States of Jersey took a census of stock in 1866, and Jersey then supported 12,037 head of cattle, of which 611 were bulls.


title: Jersey cattle

text: In July 2008, the States of Jersey took the historic step of ending the ban on imports, and allowing the import of bull semen from any breed of cattle, although only semen that is genetically pure enables the resultant progeny to be entered in the Jersey Herd Book. For many decades, each of the 12 parishes in Jersey would hold cattle shows in the spring, summer, and autumn, followed in turn by the main shows held by the Royal Jersey Agricultural and Horticultural Society, where the best of the parish shows would compete. The colour of the rosette secured by a prize-winning cow was said to determine its export value. Today, the RJAHS holds two shows a year, where usually five or six of the remaining 23 herds compete against each other for the top prizes. A Jersey cattle show is also held in Jersey, by the West Show Association.


title: Jersey cattle

text: In February 2010, semen from an impure breed Jersey bull had been imported into the island despite strict laws and checks, and 100 cows had been impregnated with the semen. Their offspring will not be recorded in the Jersey Herd Book.


title: Jersey cattle

text: Jersey cattle were exported to the United States from about 1850. A breed society, the American Jersey Cattle Club, was formed in 1868. In the USA, a distinction is sometimes made between the "American Jersey", which is comparatively coarse and large and has been selectively bred mainly for milk yield, and the original or "Island" type; the latter may also be called "Miniature Jersey".


title: Jersey cattle

text: The Jersey is small. Cows in the island weigh some and stand about at the withers; bulls weigh some . Factors contributing to the popularity of the breed have been their greater economy of production, due to:


title: Jersey cattle

text: Jerseys occur in all shades of brown, from light tan to almost black. They are frequently fawn in colour. All purebred Jerseys have a lighter band around their muzzles, a dark switch (long hair on the end of the tail), and black hooves, although in recent years, colour regulations have been relaxed to allow a broadening of the gene pool.


title: Jersey cattle

text: Jersey cattle have a greater tendency towards postparturient hypocalcaemia (or "milk fever") in dams, and tend to have frail calves that require more attentive management in cold weather than other dairy breeds due to their smaller body size (which results in an increased surface area-to-mass ratio, increasing heat loss).


title: African humid period

text: The African humid period (AHP) (also known by other names) is a climate period in Africa during the late Pleistocene and Holocene geologic epochs, when northern Africa was wetter than today. The covering of much of the Sahara desert by grasses, trees and lakes was caused by changes in Earth's orbit around the Sun; changes in vegetation and dust in the Sahara which strengthened the African monsoon; and increased greenhouse gases.


title: African humid period

text: During the preceding Last Glacial Maximum, the Sahara contained extensive dune fields and was mostly uninhabited. It was much larger than today, but its lakes and rivers such as Lake Victoria and the White Nile were either dry or at low levels. The humid period began about 14,600–14,500 years ago at the end of Heinrich event 1, simultaneously to the Bølling–Allerød warming. Rivers and lakes such as Lake Chad formed or expanded, glaciers grew on Mount Kilimanjaro and the Sahara retreated. Two major dry fluctuations occurred; during the Younger Dryas and the short 8.2 kiloyear event. The African humid period ended 6,000–5,000 years ago during the Piora Oscillation cold period. While some evidence points to an end 5,500 years ago, in the Sahel, Arabia and East Africa, the period appears to have taken place in several steps such as the 4.2-kiloyear event.


title: African humid period

text: The AHP led to a widespread settlement of the Sahara and the Arabian Deserts, and had a profound effect on African cultures, such as the birth of the Ancient Egyptian civilization. People in the Sahara lived as hunter-gatherers and domesticated cattle, goats and sheep. They left archaeological sites and artifacts such as one of the oldest ships in the world, and rock paintings such as those in the Cave of Swimmers and in the Acacus Mountains. Earlier humid periods in Africa were postulated after the discovery of these rock paintings in now-inhospitable parts of the Sahara. When the period ended, humans gradually abandoned the desert in favour of regions with more secure water supplies, such as the Nile Valley and Mesopotamia, where they gave rise to early complex societies.


title: African humid period

text: Herodotus in 440 BC and Strabo in 23 AD discussed the existence of a greener Sahara, although their reports were at first questioned owing to their anecdotal nature. In 1850 the researcher Heinrich Barth discussed the possibility of past climate change leading to increased wetness in the Sahara after discovering petroglyphs in the Murzuq Desert, and further discoveries of petroglyphs led desert explorer László Almásy to coin the concept of a "Green Sahara" in the 1930s. Later in the 20th century, conclusive evidence of a past greener Sahara, the existence of lakes and higher Nile flow levels was increasingly reported and it was recognized that the Holocene featured a humid period in the Sahara.


title: African humid period

text: The idea that changes in Earth's orbit around the Sun influence the strength of the monsoons was already advanced in 1921, and while the original description was partly inaccurate, later widespread evidence for such orbital controls on climate was found. At first it was believed that humid periods in Africa correlate with glacial stages ("pluvial hypothesis") before radiocarbon dating became widespread.


title: African humid period

text: The development and existence of the African humid period has been investigated with archaeology, climate modelling and paleoproxies, with archaeological sites, dunes and deposits left by lakes, aeolian deposits and leaf wax in the sea and wetlands playing an important role. Pollen, lake deposits and former levels of lakes have been used to study the ecosystems of the African humid period, and charcoal and leaf impressions have been used to identify vegetation changes. The time 6,000 years ago has received particular attention, especially since that period of the AHP has been used as an experiment in the Paleoclimate Modelling Intercomparison Project.


title: African humid period

text: While the precipitation changes since the last glacial cycle are well established, the magnitude and timing of the changes are unclear. Depending on how and where measurements and reconstructions are made, different beginning dates, ending dates, durations and precipitation levels have been determined for the African humid period. The amounts of precipitation reconstructed from paleoclimate records and simulated by climate modelling are often inconsistent with each other; in general, the simulation of the Green Sahara is considered a problem for earth system models. Erosion of lake sediments and carbon reservoir effects make it difficult to date when they dried up. Vegetation changes by themselves do not necessarily indicate precipitation changes, as changes in seasonality, plant species composition and changes in land use also play a role in vegetation changes. Isotope ratios such as the hydrogen/deuterium ratio that have been used to reconstruct past precipitation values likewise are under the influence of various physical effects, which complicates their interpretation.


title: African humid period

text: Earlier humid periods are sometimes known as "African humid periods" and a number of dry/wet periods have been defined for the Central Africa region. In general, these types of climate fluctuations between wetter and drier periods are known as "pluvials" and "interpluvials", respectively. Because the AHP did not affect all of Africa, Williams "et al." 2019 recommended that the term be dropped.


title: African humid period

text: Other terms that have been applied to the Holocene AHP or correlative climate phases are "Holocene humid period", which also covers an analogous episode in Arabia and Asia; "early to mid-Holocene humid episode"; "Holocene Pluvial"; "Holocene Wet Phase"; "" in Central Africa; "Makalian" for the Neolithic period of northern Sudan; "Nabtian Wet Phase" or "Nabtian period" for the 14,000–6,000 humid period over the Eastern Mediterranean and Levant; "Neolithic pluvial"; "Neolithic Subpluvial"; "Neolithic wet phase"; "" of the Western Sahara 6,500 – 4,000 years before present; "Subpluvial II" and "" in the Central Sahara 14,000 – 7,500 years before present. The terms "" and have been applied to the dry period in the last glacial maximum, the latter is equivalent to the "Kanemian"; "Kanemian dry period" refers to a dry period between 20,000 and 13,000 years before present in the Lake Chad area.


title: African humid period

text: The African humid period took place in the late Pleistocene and early-middle Holocene, and saw increased precipitation in Northern and Western Africa due to a northward migration of the tropical rainbelt. The AHP is the most profound climate change of the low latitudes during the last 100,000 years and stands out within the otherwise relatively climatically stable Holocene. It is part of the so-called Holocene climatic optimum, during which summers in the Northern Hemisphere were warmer than today. Liu "et al." 2017 subdivided the humid period into an "AHP I" which lasted until 8,000 years ago, and an "AHP II" from 8,000 years onward, with the former being wetter than the latter.


title: African humid period

text: The African humid period was not the first such phase; evidence for about 230 older such "green Sahara"/wet periods exist going back perhaps to the first appearance of the Sahara 7–8 million years ago, for example during Marine Isotope Stage 5 a and c. Earlier humid periods appear to have been more intense than the AHP of the Holocene, including the exceptionally intense Eemian humid period which provided the pathways for early humans to cross Arabia and Northern Africa and which, together with later moist periods, has been linked to expansions of the Aterian populations. Such humid periods are usually associated with interglacials, while glacial stages correlate to dry periods.


title: African humid period

text: The Bølling-Allerød warming appears to be synchronous with the onset of the African humid period as well as to increased humidity in Arabia. Later, in the Blytt–Sernander sequence the humid period coincides with the Atlantic period.


title: African humid period

text: During the Last Glacial Maximum, the Sahara and Sahel had been extremely dry with less precipitation than today as reflected by the extent of dune sheets and water levels in closed lakes. The Sahara was much larger, extending farther south, a difference of 5° latitude. Dunes were active much closer to the equator, and rainforests had retreated in favour of afromontane and savannah landscapes as temperatures, rainfall, and humidity decreased.


title: African humid period

text: There is little and often equivocal evidence of human activity in the Sahara or Arabia at that time, reflecting its drier nature. The aridity during the Last Glacial Maximum appears to have been the consequence of the colder climate and larger polar ice sheets, which squeezed the monsoon belt to the equator and weakened the West African Monsoon. The atmospheric water cycle and the Walker and Hadley circulations were weaker as well. Exceptional dry phases are linked to Heinrich events when there are a large number of icebergs in the North Atlantic; the discharge of large amounts of such icebergs between 11,500 and 21,000 years before present coincided with droughts in the subtropics.


title: African humid period

text: Before the onset of the AHP, it is thought that the Lake Victoria, Albert, Edward, Turkana and the Sudd swamps had dried out. The White Nile had become a seasonal river whose course along with that of the main Nile may have been dammed by dunes. The Nile Delta was partially dry, with sandy plains extending between ephemeral channels and exposed seafloor, and it became a source of sand for ergs farther east. Other lakes across Africa, such as Lake Chad and Lake Tanganyika, also had shrunk during this time, and both the Niger River and Senegal River were stunted.


title: African humid period

text: Whether some parts of the desert such as highlands like the Red Sea Hills were reached by the westerlies or weather systems associated with the subtropical jet stream—and thus received precipitation—is contentious. It is only clearly supported for the Maghreb in northwestern Africa, though river flow/terrace formation and lake development in the Tibesti and Jebel Marra mountains and residual Nile flow may be explained in this way. The highlands of Africa appear to have been less affected by drought during the last glacial maximum.


title: African humid period

text: The end of the glacial drought occurred between 17,000 and 11,000 years ago, with an earlier beginning noted in the Saharan mountains (possibly) 18,500 years ago. In southern and central Africa earlier starts 17,000 and 17,500 years ago, respectively, may be linked to Antarctic warming, while Lake Malawi appears to have been low until about 10,000 years ago.


title: African humid period

text: High lake levels occurred in the Jebel Marra and Tibesti Mountains between 15,000 and 14,000 years ago and the youngest stage of glaciation in the High Atlas mountains took place at the same time as the early African humid period. Around 14,500 years ago, lakes started to appear in the arid areas.


title: African humid period

text: The humid period began about 15,000-14,500 years ago. The onset of the humid period took place almost simultaneously over all of Northern and Tropical Africa, with impacts as far as Santo Antão on Cape Verde. In Arabia, wet conditions apparently took about two millennia to advance northward, a gradual advance is supported by tephrochronological data.


title: African humid period

text: Lake Victoria reappeared and overflowed; Lake Albert also overflowed into the White Nile 15,000–14,500 years ago and so did Lake Tana, into the Blue Nile. The White Nile flooded part of its valley and reconnected to the main Nile. In Egypt widespread flooding by the "Wild Nile" took place; this "Wild Nile" period led to the largest recorded floods on this river, sedimentation in floodplains, and probably also impacted human populations along the river. Even earlier, 17,000–16,800 years ago, meltwater from glaciers in Ethiopia – which were retreating at that time – may have begun to increase the flow of water and sediment in the Nile. In the East African Rift water levels in lakes began to rise by about 15,500/15,000-12,000 years ago; Lake Kivu began overflowing into Lake Tanganyika by about 10,500 years ago.


title: African humid period

text: About the same time that the AHP started, the cold glacial climate in Europe associated with Heinrich event 1 ended with climate changing as far as Australasia. A warming and retreat of sea ice around Antarctica coincides with the start of the African humid period, although the Antarctic Cold Reversal also falls into this time and may relate to a drought interval recorded in the Gulf of Guinea.


title: African humid period

text: The African humid period was caused by a stronger West African Monsoon directed by changes in solar irradiance and in albedo feedbacks. These led to increased moisture import from both the equatorial Atlantic into West Africa, as well as from the North Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea towards the Mediterranean coasts of Africa. There were complex interactions with the atmospheric circulation of the extratropics and between moisture coming from the Atlantic Ocean and the Indian Ocean, and an increased overlap between the areas wetted by the monsoon and those wetted by extratropical cyclones.


title: African humid period

text: Climate models indicate that changes from a dry to a green Sahara and back have threshold behaviour, with the change occurring once a certain level of insolation is exceeded; likewise, a gradual drop of insolation often leads to a sudden transition back to a dry Sahara. This is due to various feedback processes which are at work, and in climate models there is often more than one stable climate-vegetation state. Sea surface temperature and greenhouse gas changes synchronized the beginning of the AHP across Africa.


title: African humid period

text: The African humid period has been explained by increased insolation during Northern Hemisphere summer. Due to precession, the season at which Earth passes closest to the Sun on its elliptical orbit – the perihelion – changes, with maximum summer insolation occurring when this happens during Northern Hemisphere summer. Between 11,000 and 10,000 years ago, Earth passed through the perihelion at the time of summer solstice, increasing the amount of solar radiation by about 8%, resulting in the African monsoon becoming both stronger and reaching farther north. Between 15,000 and 5,000 years ago, summer insolation was at least 4% higher than today. The obliquity also decreased during the Holocene but the effect of obliquity changes on the climate is focused on the high latitudes and its influence on the monsoon is unclear.


title: African humid period

text: During summer, solar heating is stronger over the North African land than over the ocean, forming a low pressure area that draws moist air and precipitation in from the Atlantic Ocean. This effect was strengthened by the increased summer insolation, leading to a stronger monsoon that also reached farther north. The effects of these circulation changes reached as far as the subtropics.


title: African humid period

text: Obliquity and precession are responsible for two of the foremost Milankovich cycles and are responsible not only for the onset and cessation of ice ages but also for monsoon strength variations. Southern Hemisphere monsoons are expected to have the opposite response of Northern Hemisphere monsoons to precession, as the insolation changes are reversed; this observation is borne out by data from South America. The precession change increased seasonality in the Northern Hemisphere while decreasing it in the Southern Hemisphere.


title: African humid period

text: According to climate modelling, orbital changes by themselves cannot increase precipitation over Africa enough to explain the formation of the large desert lakes such as Lake Megachad or the northward expansion of vegetation unless ocean and land surface changes are factored in.


title: African humid period

text: Decreasing albedo resulting from vegetation changes is an important factor in the precipitation increase. Specifically, increased precipitation increases the amount of vegetation; vegetation absorbs more sunlight and thus more energy is available for the monsoon. In addition, evapotranspiration from vegetation adds more moisture, although this effect is less pronounced than the albedo effect. Heat fluxes in the soil and evaporation are also altered by the vegetation.


title: African humid period

text: Reduced dust generation from a wetter Sahara influences the climate by reducing the amount of light absorbed by dust and also modifying cloud properties, making them less reflective and more efficient at inducing precipitation. In climate models, reduced amounts of dust in the troposphere together with vegetation changes can often but not always explain the northward expansion of the monsoon. There is not universal agreement on the effects of dust on precipitation in the Sahel, however, in part because the effects of dust on precipitation may be dependent on its size.


title: African humid period

text: In addition to raw precipitation changes, changes in precipitation seasonality such as the length of dry seasons need to be considered when assessing the effects of climate change on vegetation, as well as the fertilizing effects of increased carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere.


title: African humid period

text: Warmer extratropics during summer may have drawn the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) northward, resulting in precipitation changes. Sea surface temperatures off North Africa warmed under orbital effects and through weaker trade winds, leading to a northward movement of the ITCZ and increasing moisture gradients between land and sea. Two temperature gradients, one between a cooler Atlantic during spring and an already warming African continent, the other between warmer temperatures north of 10° latitude and cooler south, may have assisted in this change. In Eastern Africa, ITCZ changes had relatively little effect on precipitation changes. The past position of the ITCZ in Arabia is also contentious.


title: African humid period

text: The African humid period that took place in East Africa appears to have been caused by different mechanisms. Among the proposed mechanisms are decreased seasonality of precipitation due to increased dry season precipitation, shortening of the dry season, increased precipitation and increased inflow of moisture from the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. The Atlantic moisture inflow was in part triggered by a stronger West African and Indian monsoon, perhaps explaining why the effects of the AHP extended into the Southern Hemisphere. The behaviour of the easterly trade winds is unclear; increased moisture transport by easterly trade winds may have aided in the development of the AHP but alternatively a stronger Indian Monsoon that draws easterly winds away from East Africa may have occurred.


title: African humid period

text: Changes in the Congo Air Boundary or increased convergence along this boundary may have contributed; the Congo Air Boundary would have been shifted east by the stronger westerly winds directed by lower atmospheric pressure over Northern Africa, allowing additional moisture from the Atlantic to reach East Africa. The parts of East Africa that were isolated from Atlantic moisture did not become significantly wetter during the AHP although at one site in Somalia the seasonality of precipitation may or may not have decreased.


title: African humid period

text: Various contributing factors may have led to the increased humidity in East Africa, not all of which were necessarily operating simultaneously during the AHP. That the "African humid period" reached this part of Africa has been doubted. Finally, increased greenhouse gas concentrations may have been involved in directing the onset of the AHP in tropical southeastern Africa; there, orbital changes would be expected to lead to climate variations opposite to those in the Northern Hemisphere. The pattern of humidity changes in south-eastern Africa are complex.


title: African humid period

text: The African humid period extended over the Sahara as well as eastern, southeastern and equatorial Africa. In general, forests and woodlands expanded through the continent. A similar wet episode took place in the tropical Americas, China, Asia, India, the Makran region, the Middle East and the Arabian Peninsula and appears to relate to the same orbital forcing as the AHP. An early Holocene monsoonal episode extended as far as the Mojave Desert in North America. In contrast, a drier episode is recorded from much of South America where Lake Titicaca, Lake Junin, the discharge of the Amazon River and water availability in the Atacama were lower.


title: African humid period

text: The discharge of the Congo, Niger, Nile, Ntem, Rufiji, and Sanaga rivers increased. Runoff from Algeria, equatorial Africa, northeastern Africa and the western Sahara was also larger. Changes in the morphology of the river systems and their alluvial plains occurred in response to the increased discharge, and the Senegal River expanded its riverbed, breached dunes and re-entered the Atlantic Ocean.


title: African humid period

text: During the African humid period, lakes, rivers, wetlands and vegetation including grass and trees covered the Sahara and Sahel creating a "Green Sahara" with a land cover that has no modern analogues. Evidence includes pollen data, archaeological sites, evidence of faunal activity such as diatoms, mammals, ostracods, reptiles and snails, buried river valleys, organic-rich mats, mudstones, evaporites as well as travertines and tufas deposited in subaqueous environments.


title: African humid period

text: The vegetation cover then extended over almost all of the Sahara and consisted of an open grass savannah with shrubs and trees. In general, the vegetation expanded northward to 27–30° northern latitude in West Africa with a Sahel boundary at about 23° north, as the Sahara was populated by plants that today often occur about farther south. The northward movement of vegetation took some time and some plant species moved faster than others. Plants that perform C3 carbon fixation became more common and the fire regime of the vegetation changed.


title: African humid period

text: Forests and plants from the humid tropics were concentrated around lakes and rivers. The landscape during the AHP has been described as a mosaic between various vegetation types of semi-desert and humid origin rather than a simple northward displacement of plant species, and some brown or yellow vegetation communities persisted. There was no southward displacement of Mediterranean plants during the Holocene and on the Tibesti Mountains cold temperatures may have restricted the expansion of tropical plants. Pollen data often show a dominance of grasses over humid tropics trees. The tree "Lophira alata" and others may have spread out of the African forests during the AHP, and the "Lactuca" plants may have split into two species under the effects of the AHP and other climate changes in Africa during the Holocene.


title: African humid period

text: The Sahara climate did not become entirely homogeneous; its central-eastern parts were probably drier than the western and central sectors and the Libyan sand sea was still a desert although pure desert areas retreated or became arid/semiarid. An arid belt may have existed north of 22° latitude, or the vegetation and the African monsoon might have reached 28–31° northern latitude; in general conditions between 21° and 28° northern latitude are poorly known. Dry areas may have persisted in the rain shadows of mountains and could have supported arid climate vegetation, explaining the presence of its pollen in sediment cores. In addition, north–south gradations in vegetation patterns have been reconstructed from charcoal and pollen data.


title: African humid period

text: Fossils record changes in the animal fauna of the Sahara. This fauna included antelopes, baboons, cane rats, catfish, clams, cormorants, crocodiles, elephants, frogs, gazelles, giraffes, hartebeest, hares, hippos, molluscs, Nile perches, pelicans, rhinoceroses, snake-eagles, snakes, tilapia, toads, turtles and many more animals, and in Egypt there were African buffaloes, spotted hyenas, warthogs, wildebeest and zebra. Additional birds include brown-necked raven, coot, common moorhen, crested grebe, glossy ibis, long-legged buzzard, rock dove, spur-winged goose and tufted duck. Large herds of animals lived in the Sahara. Some animals expanded over the whole desert, while others were limited to places with deep water. Earlier humid periods in the Sahara may have allowed species to cross the now-desert. A reduction in open grasslands at the beginning of the AHP may explain a population bottleneck in cheetahs at the start of the humid period, while the humid period led to the expansion of some animal populations such as Hubert's multimammate mouse.


title: African humid period

text: A number of lakes formed or expanded in the Sahara and the Hoggar and Tibesti Mountains. The largest of them was Lake Chad which increased to at least ten times its present-day size to form Lake Megachad. This enlarged Lake Chad reached dimensions of in north–south and east–west direction respectively, covering the Bodélé Depression and perhaps as much as 8% of the present-day Sahara desert. It influenced the climate itself; for example rainfall would have been reduced at the centre of the lake and increased at its margins. Lake Chad was possibly fed from the north by rivers draining the Hoggar (Taffassasset drainage) and Tibesti Mountains, from the Ennedi Mountains in the east through the "Eastern palaeorivers" and from the south by the Chari-Logone and Komadugu Rivers. The Chari River was the main tributary while the rivers draining the Tibesti formed alluvial fans/the Angamma river delta at their entry into northern Lake Chad. Skeletons of elephants, hippos and hominins have been found in the Angamma delta, which is the dominant shoreline feature of northern Lake Chad. The lake overflowed into the Niger River during highstand through the Mayo Kebbi and the Benue River, eventually reaching the Gulf of Guinea. Older dune systems were submerged by Lake Chad.


title: African humid period

text: Among the large lakes which may have formed in the Sahara are Lake Megafezzan in Libya and Lake Ptolemy in Sudan. Quade "et al." 2018 raised some doubts about the size and existence of some of these lakes such as Lake Ptolemy, Lake Megafezzan, Lake Ahnet-Mouydir, especially for Lake Megafezzan. Other lakes are known from Adrar Bous in Niger, Era Kohor and Trou au Natron in the Tibesti Mountains, I-n-Atei in the Hoggar, at Ine Sakane and in Taoudenni in Mali, the Garat Ouda and Takarkori Lakes in the Acacus Mountains, Chemchane in Mauretania, at Sebkha Mellala close to Ouargla in Algeria, at Bilma, Dibella, Fachi and Gobero in the Ténéré, in Niger and at "Eight Ridges", El Atrun, Lake Gureinat, Merga, "Ridge", Sidigh, at Wadi Mansurab, Selima and Oyo in Sudan. Lake Yoa of the Lakes of Ounianga overflowed, either above surface or underground. Mosaics of small lakes developed in some regions. Wetlands also expanded during the AHP, but both their expansion and subsequent retreat were slower than that of lakes.


title: African humid period

text: In some parts of the Sahara ephemeral lakes formed such as at Abu Ballas, Bir Kiseiba, Bir Sahara, Bir Tarfawi and Nabta Playa in Egypt, which may relate to later Egyptian religions, or swamp-lakes such as at Adrar Bous close to the Air Mountains. Ephemeral lakes developed between dunes, and a "freshwater archipelago" appears to have existed in the Murzuq basin. All these lake systems left fossils such as fish, limnic sediments and fertile soils that were later used for agriculture (El Deir, Kharga Oasis). Finally, crater lakes formed in volcanic fields and sometimes survive to this day as smaller remnant lakes such as Malha crater in the Meidob volcanic field. Potentially, the increased availability of water during the AHP may have facilitated the onset of phreatomagmatic eruptions such as maar formation in the Bayuda volcanic field, although the chronology of volcanic eruptions there is not well known enough to substantiate a link to the AHP.


title: African humid period

text: The large Tamanrasset River flowed from the Atlas Mountains and Hoggar westward towards the Atlantic and entered it in the Bay of Arguin in Mauretania. It once formed the 12th largest watershed in the world and left a submarine canyon and riverine sediments. Together with other rivers it formed estuaries and mangroves in the Bay of Arguin. Other rivers in the same area also formed submarine canyons, and sediment patterns in marine sediment cores and the occurrence of submarine landslides in the area have been related to the activity of these rivers.


title: African humid period

text: Rivers such as the Irharhar in Algeria, Libya and Tunisia and the Sahabi and Kufra rivers in Libya were active during this time although there is some doubt that they had perennial flow; they appear to have been more important in earlier humid periods. Small watersheds, wadis and rivers discharging into endorheic basins such as Wadi Tanezzuft also carried water during the AHP. In Egypt, some rivers active during the AHP are now gravel ridges. In the Air, Hoggar and Tibesti Mountains, the so-called "Middle Terrace" was emplaced at this time. The rivers of the Sahara, lakes and their watersheds may have acted as pathways for the spread of humans and animals; the rivers were often connected to each other by alluvial fans. Proposed examples of animals that spread through rivers are the Nile crocodile and the fish "Clarias gariepinus" and "Tilapia zillii". It is possible that the name Tassili n'Ajjer, which means "plateau of the rivers" in Berber, is a reference to past river flows. On the other hand, intense flows of these rivers may have made their shores dangerous to humans and thus created additional impetus for human movement.


title: African humid period

text: Conditions and resources were ripe for first hunter-gatherers, fishermen and, later, pastoralists, which arrived in the Sahara at the time where lakes developed. They may have come either from the north (Maghreb or Cyrenaica) where the Capsian culture was located, the south (Sub-Saharan Africa), or the east (Nile Valley). The human population in the Sahara increased at the beginning of the AHP. Traces of human activity have been found in the Acacus Mountains where caves and rock shelters were used as basecamps for humans, such as the Uan Afuda cave and the Uan Tabu and Takarkori rock shelters. The first occupation in Takarkori took place between 10,000 and 9,000 years ago; about five millennia of human cultural evolution are recorded there. At Gobero in the Ténéré desert a cemetery has been found, which has been used to reconstruct the lifestyle of these former inhabitants of the Sahara, and at Lake Ptolemy in Nubia humans settled close to the lake shore, using its resources and perhaps even engaging in leisure activities. At that time, many humans appear to have depended on water-bound resources, seeing as many of the tools left by the early humans are associated with fishery; hence this culture is also known as "aqualithic" although substantial differences between the cultures of various places have been found. The greening of the Sahara led to a demographic expansion and especially in the Eastern Sahara human occupancy coincides with the AHP. Conversely occupation decreased along the Nile valley, perhaps due to the expansion of wetlands there and frequent large-scale flooding of the Nile delta.


title: African humid period

text: Humans were hunting large animals with weapons that have been found in archaeological sites and wild cereals occurring in the Sahara during the AHP such as brachiaria, sorghum and urochloa were an additional source of food. Humans also domesticated cattle, goats and sheep; cattle domestication occurred especially in the more environmentally variable Eastern Sahara. Animal husbandry picked up in earnest around 7,000 years ago when domestic animals came to the Sahara, and a population boom may be linked to this change in cultural practice; cattle and goats spread southwestwards from northeasternmost Africa from 8,000 years before present. Dairying has been demonstrated in some locations and cattle-husbandry is supported by the frequent depiction of cattle in rock paintings. The Dufuna canoe, one of the oldest known ships in the world, appears to date to the Holocene humid period and implies that the waterbodies of that time were navigated by humans. The cultural units "Masara" and "Bashendi" existed in Dakhleh Oasis during the AHP. In the Acacus Mountains, several cultural horizons known as Early and Late Acacus and Early, Middle, Late and Final Pastoral have been identified while in Niger the Kiffian culture has been related to the beginning of the AHP. Ancient civilizations thrived, with farming and animal husbandry taking place in Neolithic settlements. Possibly, the domestication of plants in Africa was delayed by the increased food availability during the AHP, it only took place around 2,500 BC.


title: African humid period

text: Humans created rock art such as petroglyphs and rock paintings in the Sahara, perhaps the largest density of such creations in the world. Scenes include animals and everyday life such as swimming which supports the presence of past wetter climates. One well-known such petroglyph location is the Cave of Swimmers in the Gilf Kebir mountains of Egypt; other well known sites are the Gabal El Uweinat mountains also of Egypt, Arabia and the Tassili n'Ajjer in Algeria where rock paintings from this time have been discovered. Humans also left artifacts such as "Fesselsteine" and ceramics in what today are inhospitable deserts. North Africa together with East Asia is one of the first places where pottery was developed probably under the influence of increased availability of resources during the AHP. The humid period also favoured its development and spread in West Africa during the 10th millennium BC; the so-called "wavy line" or "dotted wavy-line" motif was widespread across Northern Africa and as far as Lake Turkana.


title: African humid period

text: These populations have been described as Epipaleolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic and produced a variety of lithic tools and other assemblages. In West Africa, the cultural change from the African Middle Stone Age to the Late Stone Age accompanied the beginning of the AHP. Genetic and archaeological data indicate that these populations which exploited the resources of the AHP Sahara probably originated in Sub-Saharan Africa and moved north after some time, after the desert got wetter; this may be reflected in the northward spread of Macrohaplogroup L and Haplogroup U6 genomic lineages. In return, the AHP facilitated the movement of some Eurasian populations into Africa. These favourable conditions for human populations may be reflected in paradise myths such as the Garden of Eden in The Bible and Elysium and the Golden Age in Classical Antiquity, and in the spread of the Nilo-Saharan languages.


title: African humid period

text: The expanded vegetation and soil formation stabilized previously active dunes, eventually giving rise to the present-day draa dunes in the Great Sand Sea of Egypt for example, although there is uncertainty about whether this stabilization was widespread. Soil development and biological activity in soils are attested in the Acacus Mountains and the Mesak Settafet area of Libya, but evidence of soil formation/pedogenesis such as bog iron are described from other parts of the Sahara as well. In the Selima Sand Sheet, the landscape underwent erosional truncation and bioturbation. The Central and Southern Sahara saw the development of alluvial deposits while sebkha deposits are known from the Western Sahara. Lightning strikes into soil left lightning-altered rocks in parts of the Central Sahara.


title: African humid period

text: The increased precipitation also resulted in recharged aquifers such as the Nubian Sandstone Aquifer; presently, water from this aquifer maintains several lakes in the Sahara, such as the Lakes of Ounianga. Other groundwater systems were active at that time in the Acacus Mountains, Air Mountains, in the Fezzan and elsewhere in Libya and the Sahel. Raised groundwater tables provided water to plants and was discharged in depressions, lakes and valleys, forming widespread carbonate deposits and feeding lakes.


title: African humid period

text: The formation of lakes and vegetation reduced the export of dust from the Sahara. This has been recorded in marine cores, including one core where dust export decreased by almost half. In coastal places, such as in Oman, sea level rise also reduced the production of dust. In the Mediterranean, a decreased dust supply was accompanied by increased sediment input from the Nile, leading to changes in marine sediment composition.


title: African humid period

text: Whether the strengthening of the monsoon enhanced or reduced upwelling off Northwestern Africa is debatable, with some research suggesting that the strengthening in upwelling decreased sea surface temperatures and increased the biological productivity of the sea, while other research suggests that the opposite occurred; less upwelling with more moisture. However, regardless of whether upwelling increased or decreased, it is possible that the strengthening of the monsoon boosted productivity off the coasts of Northern Africa because the increased river discharge delivered more nutrients to the sea.


title: African humid period

text: Precipitation in Dhofar and southwestern Arabia is brought by the African monsoon, and a change to a wetter climate resembling Africa has been noted in southern Arabia and Socotra from cave and river deposits. It possibly reached as far as Qatar. Holocene paleolakes are recorded at Tayma, Jubbah, in the Wahiba Sands of Oman and at Mundafan. In the Rub al-Khali lakes formed between 9,000 and 7,000 years ago and dunes were stabilized by vegetation, although the formation of lakes there was less pronounced than in the Pleistocene. The Wadi ad-Dawasir river system in central Saudi Arabia became active again with increased river runoff into the Persian Gulf. Wadis in Oman eroded across LGM dunes and formed accumulation terraces. Episodes of increased river discharge occurred in Yemen and increased precipitation is recorded in the caves of Hoti, Qunf in Oman, Mukalla in Yemen and Hoq cave in Socotra. Increased precipitation resulted in increased groundwater flow, generating groundwater-fed lakes and carbonate deposits.


title: African humid period

text: Forests and wildfire activity expanded across parts of Arabia. Freshwater sources in Arabia during the AHP became focus points of human activity and herding activity between mountains and lowlands occurred. In addition, karstic activity took place on exposed coral reefs in the Red Sea and traces of it are still recognizable today. Increased precipitation has been also invoked to explain decreased salinities in the Red Sea. Archaeological sites such as cairns appeared with the beginning of the humid period.


title: African humid period

text: The humid period in Arabia did not last as long as in Africa, deserts did not retreat as much and precipitation may not have reached the central and northern part of the peninsula past Oman and the Yemen Highlands; northern Arabia remained somewhat drier than southern Arabia, droughts were still common and the land and still produced dust. One study has estimated that the amount of rainfall in the Red Sea did increase to no more than . Whether some former lakes in Arabia were actually marshes is contentious.


title: African humid period

text: Nile discharge was higher than today and during the early African humid period, the Nile in Egypt flooded up to higher than it did recently before flood control. The increased flooding may have turned the Nile Valley marshy and inhospitable and could explain why many archaeological sites along the Nile were abandoned during the AHP, with violent conflicts reconstructed from the Jebel Sahaba archaeological site. Early after the Younger Dryas, the Blue Nile would have been the major source of waters for the Nile. Waters from the Nile filled depressions like the Fayum Depression to form a deep lake with anoxic bottom waters and reaching above sea level, probably once a geomorphic barrier was breached. Wetlands and anastomosing channels developed in the Nile Delta as sediment supply increased. In addition, Nile tributaries in northwestern Sudan such as Wadi Al-Malik, Wadi Howar and Valley of the Queens became active during the AHP and contributed sediments to the Nile. Wadi Howar was active until 4,500 years ago, and at the time often contained dune-dammed lakes, swamps and wetlands; it was the largest Saharan tributary of the Nile and constituted an important pathway into sub-Saharian Africa. Conversely it appears that Lake Victoria and Lake Albert were not overflowing into the White Nile for all of the AHP, and the White Nile would have been sustained by overflow from Lake Turkana. There appears to be a tendency over the course of the AHP for the discharge of the Blue Nile to decrease relative to that of the White Nile. The Blue Nile built an alluvial fan at its confluence with the White Nile, and incision by the Nile reduced flooding risk in some areas which thus became available for human use.


title: African humid period

text: Closed lakes in East Africa rose, sometimes by hundreds of metres. Lake Suguta developed in the Suguta Valley, accompanied by the formation of river deltas where rivers such as the Baragoi River entered the lake. In turn, Lake Suguta overflowed into the Kerio River, this adding water to Lake Turkana where increased discharge by the Turkwel River led to the formation of a large river delta. Over half of the water in Lake Turkana came from the Omo River, a decline compared to present-day conditions. Lake Turkana itself overflowed on its northwestern side through the Lotikipi Swamp into the White Nile. Deposits from this lake highstand form the Galana Boi Formation. This overflowing large lake was filled with freshwater and was populated by humans; the societies there engaged in fishery but could probably also fall back on other resources in the region.


title: African humid period

text: The Ethiopian Lake Abhe expanded to cover an area of , much larger than the present-day lake, in the "Abhe IV"-"Abhe V" lake cycle. The enlarged lake covered a large area west of the present-day lake, present-day lakes Afambo, Gamari and Tendaho, reducing Borawli, Dama Ale and Kurub to islands. The maximum water level was reached during the early Holocene as river discharge increased, but was later limited by partial overflow and did not rise above again. Deep thermal groundwater recharge occurred in the region. About 9,000 years of human occupation are documented at the lake. Archaeological sites indicate that people obtained resources from the lake and followed its rise and decline. The cultural traditions at Lake Abhe appear to be unusual by AHP/African standards.


title: African humid period

text: Lake Zway and Lake Shala in Ethiopia joined with Lake Abiyata and Lake Langano to form a large waterbody which began overflowing into the Awash River. Other lakes that expanded include Lake Ashenge and Lake Hayq also in Ethiopia, Lake Bogoria, Lake Naivasha and Lake Nakuru/Lake Elmenteita all in Kenya, Lake Masoko in Tanzania, and a lake formed in the caldera of the Menengai volcano. Overflow of several of these lakes allowed animals including Nile crocodiles and fish to propagate to the individual lake basins. A large and deep Lake Magadi formed in the early Holocene, and in the Danakil Depression of Ethiopia freshwater conditions became established. Lakes formed in depressions on the mountains around Lake Kivu. Finally, δ18O variations in Lake Garba Guracha in the Bale Mountains document the beginning and end of the AHP.


title: African humid period

text: Glaciers stopped retreating or briefly expanded in East Africa at the beginning of the AHP before continuing retreat. On Mount Kilimanjaro they may have expanded during the AHP after a phase during the Younger Dryas where the mountain was ice free, but the tree line also rose at that time, accompanied by soil formation. The wetter climate may have destabilized the neighbouring Mount Meru volcano, causing a giant landslide that removed its summit.


title: African humid period

text: Erosion in catchments of East Africa increased with the beginning of the humid period but then decreased even before its end, as the increased weathering led to the formation of soils, these in turn to the establishment of a vegetation cover that subsequently reduced additional erosion. Increased weathering resulted in the increased consumption of atmospheric during the AHP.


title: African humid period

text: Surprisingly, and contrary to the patterns expected from precessional changes, the East African Rift also experienced a wetter climates during the AHP, reaching as far south as Lake Rukwa and Lake Cheshi into the Southern Hemisphere. In the region of the African Great Lakes, pollen evidence points to the occurrence of forests including rainforest vegetation due to the increased precipitation, while today they occur only in limited areas there. Denser vegetation also occurred at Lake Turkana, with wooden vegetation covering almost half of the dry land although grasslands remained dominant. Development of forest vegetation around the African Great Lakes created an interconnected environment where species spread, increasing biodiversity with effects on the future when the environment became fragmented. Vegetation cover also increased in the Afar region and Ericaceae plants spread at high elevations. Forests and moisture-requiring vegetation expanded in the Bale Mountains. Different types of vegetation, including dryland vegetation, existed at Lake Malawi and Lake Tanganyika however, and vegetation did not change much. A wetter climate is recorded from a soil in the Afar region.


title: African humid period

text: In East Africa, the AHP led to improved environmental conditions in terms of food and water supply from large lakes, allowing early human populations to survive and grow in size without requiring major changes in food gathering strategies. Pottery techniques such as the "dotted wavy line" and "Kanysore" are associated with fishing and foraging communities. Earlier wet and dry periods in East Africa may have influenced the evolution of humans and allowed their spread across the Sahara and into Europe.


title: African humid period

text: Lake Bosumtwi in Ghana rose during the AHP. Evidence there also suggests a decrease in wildfire activity took place. Tropical forests expanded in Cameroon Highlands and the Adamawa Plateau of Cameroon and moved upward at Lake Bambili also in Cameroon. The core of the rainforest was probably unaltered by the African humid period, perhaps with some changes in species and an expansion of their area, although the peatlands of Central Congo started developing during the African humid period and peat continues to accumulate there to this day, albeit with a slowdown in the Cuvette Centrale after the end of the African humid period.


title: African humid period

text: On São Nicolau and Brava in the Cape Verde Islands, precipitation and erosion increased. In the Canary Islands, there is evidence of a moister climate on Fuerteventura, the laurel forests changed perhaps as a consequence of the AHP. Recharge of groundwater levels have been inferred from Gran Canaria also in the Canary Islands, followed by a decrease after the end of the AHP. Choughs may have reached the Canary Islands from North Africa when the latter was wetter.