Sahara Desert

The Sahara Desert is the world’s largest hot desert and the third largest desert that gets its name from the Arabic word Sahra, which means ‘desert’. Located in North Africa, it covers large sections of the continent – covering 9,200,000 km2 or roughly 10% of the continent. Which is comparable to the area of China or the US! Scientists estimate that the Sahara’s overall size has grown to be 10% larger than it was nearly a century ago. While this is partly due to natural climate cycles, human-driven climate change is also responsible. It is bounded in the east by the Red Sea and it stretches west to the Atlantic Ocean. To the north, the Sahara Desert’s northern boundary is the Mediterranean Sea, while in the south it ends at the Sahel, an area where the desert landscape transforms into a semi-arid tropical savanna.
The Sahara covers parts of several African nations including Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Sudan, and Tunisia. Most of its landscape has been shaped over time by wind and includes sand dunes, sand seas called ergs, barren stone plateaus, gravel plains, dry valleys, and salt flats. Around 25% of the desert is sand dunes, some of which reach over 152 m in height. The Sahara’s topographical features, said “The Living Africa,” include not only the iconic sand dune fields, but also arid mountains, plateaus, sand- and gravel-covered plains, shallow basins and large oasis depressions. Mount Koussi, an extinct volcano in Chad, is the highest point in the Sahara at 3,415 m, and the Qattara Depression in Egypt is the Saraha’s deepest point, at 133 m below sea level.
The Sahara is the hottest desert in the world – with one of the harshest climates. During the summer months, temperatures in the Sahara average between a sizzling 38-46°C. The average annual temperature is 30°C, but during the hottest months temperatures can exceed 122°F (50°C), with the highest temperature ever recorded at 136°F (58°C) in Aziziyah, Libya. High temperatures in the Sahara present a threat to human life. With daily temperatures often higher than 40°C exposure to this kind of heat leads to death or illness. In addition to this healthcare may be a long distance away. The hot season is too warm for tourists so tourism is seasonal. The area receives little rainfall, in fact, half of the Sahara Desert receives less than 1 inch of rain every year. Snow falls regularly on several mountain ranges, but nowhere else in the Sahara.
Due to the high temperatures and arid conditions of the Sahara Desert, the plant life in the Sahara Desert is sparse and includes only around 500 species. These consist mainly of drought and heat resistant varieties and those adapted to salty conditions (halophytes) where there is sufficient moisture. The harsh conditions found in the Sahara Desert have also played a role in the presence of animal life in the Sahara Desert. In the central and driest part of the desert, there are around 70 different animal species, 20 of which are large mammals like the spotted hyena. Other mammals include the gerbil, sand fox, and Cape hare. Alongside camels and goats, desert species include cheetah, gazelles, ostrich and Fennec fox. Reptiles like the sand viper and the monitor lizard are present in the Sahara as well.
The Sahara has changed immensely! It used to be lush and green, home to a variety of plants and animals. The change came approximately 5000 years ago, due to a gradual change in the tilt of the earth. It is thought that the Sahara Desert will become green again at some point in the future.
The Sahara has only two permanent rivers and a handful of salt lakes, but it has substantial underground reservoirs, or aquifers. Its permanent rivers are the Nile and the Niger. The Nile rises in central Africa, south of the Sahara, and flows northward through Sudan and Egypt and empties into the Mediterranean. Vegetation grows freely in the oases and the Nile river valley. In fact, olive trees may even be seen near Nile. You may be surprised to discover that the soil of the Sahara is fertile and therefore in areas where irrigation is possible excellent crops can be grown. The Niger rises in western Africa, southwest of the Sahara, and flows northeastward into Mali and the desert then turns southeastward, through Nigeria, and empties into the Gulf of Guinea.
Saharan trade routes played an important part in the economies of Ancient Africa. Goods such as copper, salt and gold were transporting using camel caravans, which in their heyday consisted of thousands of camels. There’s even a record that mentions caravans of 12,000 camels travelling between Egypt and Sudan.
It is believed that people have inhabited the Sahara Desert since 6000 BCE and earlier. Since then, Egyptians, Phoenicians, Greeks, and Europeans have been among the peoples in the area. Today the Sahara’s population is around 4 million. Most of the people living in the Sahara today do not live in cities; instead, they are nomads who move from region to region throughout the desert. Because of this, there are many different nationalities and languages in the region but Arabic is most widely spoken. For those who do live in cities or villages on fertile oases, crops and the mining of minerals like iron ore (in Algeria and Mauritania) and copper (in Mauritania) are important industries that have allowed population centers to grow.
Spending a night under the stars in the Sahara Desert is an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity you’re unlikely to experience anywhere else in the world. That’s why, if you have the time, spending more than one night in the desert is also recommended. With two nights, you will be able to explore the desert at a more relaxed pace and fully immerse yourself in the traditional ways of the local tribes. Spend your days sand-boarding and camel trekking. It’s best to do one night in the tents out in the sand dunes and another night in one of the nearby desert towns.