Sahara desert is one of the world’s largest hot desert and third largest desert on the planet after Antarctica and the Arctic (Antarctica and Arctic are cold deserts). Its 9,200,000 square kilometers area is comparable to the area of China or United States. This desert covers large areas of Egypt, Algeria, Chad, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Western Sahara, Tunisia and Sudan.
The Sahara desert is surrounded by Atlantic Ocean on the western border, the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlas Mountains to the north, the Sudan, the valley of the Niger River on the south and the Red Sea on the east. The Sahara is divided into western Sahara, the Tibesti Mountains, the Air Mountains, the central Hoggar Mountains, an area of desert mountains and high plateaus, Libyan desert and the Ténéré desert, which is the most arid region.
These is some major cities that are based in Sahara desert include,
Egypt, Cairo, Libya, Nouakchott, Tripoli, the capital of Mauritania, Ouargla, Bechar, Hassi Messaoud, Ghardaia, and El Oued in Algeria, Tamanrasset, Timbuktu in Malibu, Faya-Largeau in Chad and Agadez in Niger.
Many year ago, the Sahara had sufficient water so that people and animals were able to survive on the edge of the desert. there is proof that the place was capable of sustain river animals such as crocodiles. Fossils of dinosaurs including Jobaria, Ouranosaurus and Afrovenator have also been founded in the desert.
But now, there is limited water or vegetation to sustain life in most part of this desert. a very few exceptions like, the Nile Valley, some oases, and the northern highlands. The changes happened in about 1600 B.C., after the Earth's axis increased temperatures and decreased precipitation.
Here are some interesting facts of Sahara Desert.
The Sahara desert is surrounded by Atlantic Ocean on the western border, the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlas Mountains to the north, the Sudan, the valley of the Niger River on the south and the Red Sea on the east. The Sahara is divided into western Sahara, the Tibesti Mountains, the Air Mountains, the central Hoggar Mountains, an area of desert mountains and high plateaus, Libyan desert and the Ténéré desert, which is the most arid region.
These is some major cities that are based in Sahara desert include,
Egypt, Cairo, Libya, Nouakchott, Tripoli, the capital of Mauritania, Ouargla, Bechar, Hassi Messaoud, Ghardaia, and El Oued in Algeria, Tamanrasset, Timbuktu in Malibu, Faya-Largeau in Chad and Agadez in Niger.
Many year ago, the Sahara had sufficient water so that people and animals were able to survive on the edge of the desert. there is proof that the place was capable of sustain river animals such as crocodiles. Fossils of dinosaurs including Jobaria, Ouranosaurus and Afrovenator have also been founded in the desert.
But now, there is limited water or vegetation to sustain life in most part of this desert. a very few exceptions like, the Nile Valley, some oases, and the northern highlands. The changes happened in about 1600 B.C., after the Earth's axis increased temperatures and decreased precipitation.
 |
| "3W6A2037" (CC BY-SA 2.0) by Véronique Mergaux |
Here are some interesting facts of Sahara Desert.
- The changes in climate in the Sahara Desert are due to a 41000 year cycle. The earth changes its level between 22 and 24.5 degrees during this cycle.
- It is one of the most largest desert in Africa.
- In Arabic, Sahara means ‘The greatest desert'
- There are sand rise in the Sahara as tall as 590 feet.
- Over 30,000 fossils of animals related to rivers have been found in southeast Algeria in the Sahara.
- The Sahara Desert is a mixture of sand seas, sand dunes, gravel plains, dry valleys, salt flats, mountains, stone plateaus, oases, rivers and streams.
- There is few grassland in some parts of the desert including the highlands and northern and southern parts of the desert.
- The occasional rain and wind are responsible for creating the landforms in the Sahara, Land formations change regularly.
- The topest point in the Sahara desert is Emi Koussi. this is a shield volcano in northern Chad.
- Maximum of the streams and rivers in the Sahara are only seasonal.
- There are numerous underground water resources known as aquifers. Sometimes they reach to the surface. Some of these are the Kufra, Time mountain, Bahariva and the siva.
- The Sahara desert's weather is one of the strongest ones in the globe.
- One half area of the Sahara desert receives less than .79 inches of rain every year and rest of the area only receives 3.9 inches per year.
- There are several mountain levels in the Sahara that get snowfall regularly. But, it's not common anywhere else. One snowstorm stopped the Algeria's transportation system in 1979, It was the first time that snow was recorded in the area.
- But, It melted in a few hours and It snowed in Algeria once more in 2012.
- Camels and goats are the most common domestic animals in the Sahara.
- There are numerous species of fox in the Sahara as well as gazelle, cheetah, antelope, lizards, sand vipers, ostrich and wild dogs.
- The local people in the Sahara desert are usually nomads and they move from one place to another.
- The desert shrinks and grows depending on the weather.
0 comments:
Post a Comment