Life of flora and fauna in the Sahara Desert. Great Sahara Desert Sahara plants
When we say “desert” we mean “Sahara”, and in Arabic there is no other word for desert other than “sugar” itself. And this is no coincidence: the Sahara is the largest sandy area on the globe, stretching in North Africa from the Red Sea to the Atlantic for almost five thousand kilometers. Dunes reaching a height of 300 meters, many kilometers of perfectly flat areas of saline soil, lush oases and endless dunes stretching beyond the horizon - all this makes up some of the most amazing landscapes on the planet. However, despite an area of more than 8 million km, the Sahara is not so easy to visit, which is due to the extremely turbulent political situation in the region. However, you can still get a glimpse of the majesty of the desert - the main thing is to know where and when to go.
The Sahara lies within the borders of eleven states, but you can visit without problems, perhaps, only three of them - Tunisia, Egypt and Morocco.
A bit of geography and politics
The Sahara covers almost the entire area of North Africa from the Mediterranean Sea to 16° northern latitude, with the exception of the continent's rather narrow coastline, which is characterized by lush vegetation. Its area is 8.6 million km2, which is about a third of the total area of the African continent. From west to east the desert stretches for 4800 km, and from north to south its length ranges from 800 to 1200 km.
Contrary to popular belief, the Sahara is not only sand dunes and rare oases. The landscape here is no less diverse than in other natural areas: there are rocky plateaus, salt marshes, volcanic formations, highlands and ridges. The sandy areas of the Sahara are called ergs; they make up only 25% of the total desert area. And the rocky areas are called "reg".
The Sahara lies within the borders of eleven states - Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Western Sahara, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Sudan and Chad. You can visit without problems, perhaps, only three of them - Tunisia, Egypt and Morocco. However, the most breathtaking landscapes lie, alas, in Algeria, Libya, Chad and Niger, which are difficult for tourists to reach.
Climate in the region
The northern part of the Sahara (which is what tourists most often visit) is under the influence of dry subtropical climate with relatively cool winters and hot summers. The average daytime temperature in the summer is about +37...+39 °C, at night the thermometer drops to +28...+30 °C. Winter is characterized by strong temperature changes between daytime and nighttime: during the day the air warms up to +15...+17 °C, while at night there may be zero readings or even frosts. There are often strong southern winds, bringing masses of sand - on such days life in the Sahara comes to a standstill.
In the southern regions of the Sahara, the climate is tropical - summers are even hotter, winters are colder.
It is best to visit the “civilized” Sahara (that is, its northern part) from October to early May, while daytime temperatures have not yet become unbearable. If you're visiting the Sahara for a few days, it's worth remembering that in December and January the nights are quite chilly and you'll need a warm sleeping bag. In June and September, you can visit the Sahara only if you can tolerate high temperatures.
Sahara civilized
So, where should a traveler go who decides to see with his own eyes the indescribable beauty of the Sahara Desert? The choice, frankly speaking, is small: Africa is not one of the prosperous regions at all globe, and Northern and Central - in particular.
Tunisia
The Tunisian south juts out like a long narrow dagger into the Sahara - to the greatest “depth” compared to other “desert-possessing” countries accessible to the public. Tunisia's landscapes are not the most outstanding, but not dull either. The “trick” of the Tunisian Sahara is a wide variety of landscapes: you can see crescent-shaped dunes, endless salt marshes, and filming locations - they filmed on the salt lake Chott el-Jerid and in Matmata “ Star Wars”, and the “Camel Neck” mountain appeared in “The English Patient”.
The gateway to the Sahara Desert in Tunisia is the city of Douz, located on the border of sand and an oasis of date palms. Its tourist area (and there are about seven very high-quality hotels here) is located directly in the vastness of the Sahara - step off the sidewalk and you will feel the finest sand, like powder, under your feet. Excursions to the Sahara regularly depart from Douz, lasting from 1 hour (a camel ride to the nearest dunes) to week-long or even two-week expeditions. Well, those who want to live “on a visit to the Sahara” can be offered to stay in a hotel in the remote oasis of Ksar Gilan - 147 km south of Douz, thermal source and the ruins of the Roman fort of Tisavar as a historical excursion.
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Morocco
The southeastern region of Morocco, lying at the foot of the High Atlas Mountains, is the most convenient region of the Sahara for tourists to visit. In addition to the amazing landscapes - red dunes and exotic fortresses, many of which “participated” in the filming of many films (Ait Benhaddou is the most famous), there is also a natural and historical attraction - the Draa Valley. This is a whole amazing world lush oases, fortified kasbahs and Berber settlements. Once upon a time, it was here that the difficult 52-day journey of trans-Saharan caravans, carrying precious goods from the capital of the ancient empire of Mali, Timbuktu, to the Mediterranean Sea ended.
Today, popular excursions begin in the settlement of M'Hamid, from where tourists are taken along a picturesque 40-kilometer route to the heart of the Moroccan Sahara - Erg Shigaga. The second tested route starts in the town of Merzouga, east of M'Hamid, and continues through the territory of another erg - Chebbi. It is here that a truly brilliant collection of eternal dunes appears before the eyes of the traveler.
Egypt
The western regions of Egypt are a vast, but not very interesting region of the Sahara - especially compared to the landscapes of inaccessible countries. However, in order to get an idea of the desert, this area is quite suitable. More interesting here are the oases south of Siwa - a chain of lush emerald bushes connected by roads barely visible on the rocky surface of the desert. In Siwa itself, among other things, you can see a medieval mud-house fortress and a temple dating back to the time of Alexander the Great.
The southern oases of Al Kharga, Dakhla, Farafra and Bahariya are ideal starting points for excursions into the heart of the desert - by camel, four-wheel drive jeep or two-wheel drive. Beyond the last settlements begin the endless expanses of the White and Black Deserts (all of them are parts of the Sahara) and the picturesque Crystal Mountains, and even further to the south lie the filming locations for another scene of “The English Patient” - the Cave of Swimmers and the Gilf-Kebir plateau, on which it once existed the oasis of Zerzura that disappeared without a trace.
Sugar is hard to reach
The most magnificent landscapes of the Sahara lie, not surprisingly, in its interior regions - this is where the highest 300-meter dunes are located, sands in shades from deep yellow and ocher red to faint pink and almost white sing their songs, and dunes roam. Unfortunately, the situation in the region leaves much to be desired: the southern Saharan countries are regularly rocked by internal conflicts, and tourism here is either simply not developed or is downright dangerous.
Algeria
Algeria is the country with the highest content of Sugar “in the blood” and the safest of the hard-to-reach countries. 80% of its territory is occupied by the sands of this great desert. The sandy seas of the Sahara in Algeria are the longest and most deserted, and in the southeast of the country you can see the fantastic landscapes of the Ahaggar highlands and the Tassili mountains. By the way, in the Tassili Mountains there is one of the oldest caves with rock art - an honorary member of the UNESCO List. Tourism here is at an embryonic level - excursions will be gladly offered, but the organization will not shine, and there are almost no people willing to take risks. However, for the future: among the “non-sandy” pearls of the Algerian Sahara are the cities of Ouargla, the “golden key of the desert”, Mzab with its fantastic architecture and Beni Isgen behind the impressive fortress gates.
Libya
Libya, alas, is lost to the world in general and tourism in particular, so one can only dream about traveling to the Libyan Sahara. This is doubly offensive, since this is where some of the most incredible desert landscapes are located - the volcanic Acacus Mountains. Black basalt rocks grow directly from the sands of the central Sahara - and it seems that we are not at all on planet Earth. The area is on the UNESCO List - not only because of the landscapes, but also because of the prehistoric rock paintings and inscriptions, some of which are more than 12 thousand years old. Another must-see place is the Tuareg citadel, the Gat oasis.
It’s definitely not worth going to Chad, Niger and Mali to explore the Sahara without armed guards.
Mauritania
Mauritania is not as inaccessible to those “sick” of the Sahara as it might seem, and among active independent travelers from Europe it continues to be a popular destination for auto and motor rallies. It is easy to enter here from Morocco, a visa will cost from 50 to 95 EUR, and an entry permit for personal transport can also be obtained without problems. However, this direction is definitely for daredevils - although the country is quite safe compared to its neighbors in the region, no one can guarantee a safe return. Among the interesting things is the endless desert plateau of Adrar, where you understand the scale of the Sahara as well as possible. Prices on the page are as of August 2018.
Chad, Niger, Mali
Let's take a little break from serious topics and take a walk... through the Sahara Desert. Although in real life many of us are unlikely to be able to do this. The hot sand will not allow you to walk, as on some summer days the sand heats up to 80 degrees. And not everyone will be able to travel to Africa to take a tour through the desert by bus.
But we can take a virtual walk through the desert, and it’s also possible to learn interesting facts about this amazing desert. So, let's go!
Sahara Desert - geographical location
The Sahara Desert is the most big desert peace. Located in the north and occupying a third African continent, a little more territory a country like Brazil. It stretches over an area of about 8.6 million km². From west to east the length of the desert is 4800 km, from north to south – 800-1200 km. On the western side, the desert borders the Atlas Mountains and is washed by Mediterranean Sea, and from the east - the Red Sea, from the south is the Sahel - a transition region to the Sudanese savannah.
There are 10 countries in the desert: Algeria, Egypt, Western Sahara, Libya, Mauritania, Mali, Morocco, Sudan, Tunisia and Chad.
Life in the desert without water is impossible, but despite this, almost 2.5 million people live in the desert. They drive sedentary image life in oases in the valleys of the Nile and Niger rivers, where there is water and vegetation. The most numerous peoples of the desert are the Tuaregs and Berbers.
Features of the Sahara Desert
In our minds, the desert is sands and dunes that move with the help of the wind. But the sands in the Sahara Desert occupy only a fifth. The thickness of the sand is approximately 150 meters. The sands are swept into dunes, some of which sometimes reach the height of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. There is so much sand in the desert that if every person living on our planet had to scoop up sand using 10-liter buckets, they would have to carry out 3 million buckets.
70% of the desert territory is occupied by sandstone mountains, and the remaining 10% is sand and pebble wasteland, on which you cannot even see a trace of vegetation - it is barren rocky land and salt marshes.
Sahara Desert. Safari
In the Sahara there is a city called Tegazi, where the walls of the houses are made of rock salt. But the residents of this city are not afraid that their houses may dissolve from the rains. This is the driest place on Earth.
Climate
Until recently, it was believed that the Sahara Desert appeared about 5 million years ago. But scientists currently believe that the lands of modern Sahara became deserted only 2.7 thousand years ago.
It's still so hot in the desert! In the sunshine, or rather in open place, it’s simply impossible to be there. In summer, the air temperature rises to 58°, and in winter – to 15-28° C, which is typical for annual temperature changes. We have this temperature in summer, and in the desert - in winter! Such differences annual temperatures are observed more often in northern regions deserts. But differences between day and night are observed within 20-25°.
The climate of the Sahara is determined by the northeast trade wind, very often there are sandstorms, which even reach Europe. The climate in the north of the desert is dry subtropical, in the south it is dry tropical.
Water
Life in the desert is concentrated only near water. Most big river, flowing through the Sahara Desert, is the Nile. Its main tributaries - the Blue and White Nile - merge in the south-east of the Sahara, passing along the eastern side of the desert, flowing into the Mediterranean Sea. In the sixties of the 20th century, a large Nasser reservoir was created, which, when overflowed, formed Lake Toshka. The Niger River flows along the southwestern edge of the Sahara, near the inner delta of which there are lakes Fagibin, Garou, Niangai, and others.
Nile River near Luxor
Precipitation is rare in the desert. And what sometimes falls in the rains does not reach the ground, evaporating from the hot sand along the way. The Sahara is one of the places where evaporation is several times higher than the amount of precipitation.
But the most interesting thing is that under the sands of the Sahara there are huge “deposits” groundwater, which are larger in area than our Baikal.
Saharan groundwater is used for irrigation. For the first time, mentions of irrigation systems relate to culture Ancient Egypt. It is safe to say that the Egyptians developed a method of irrigating land. The Egyptians dug many parallel small canals perpendicular to the movement of the Nile. Some of them converge into basins, from which water was distributed over irrigated lands, providing them with moisture.
Mirages
Mirages are another one interesting fact in the Sahara Desert. How many people, traveling through the desert, have suddenly seen oases with water and palm trees, thinking that it is located about 2-3 km from them? In fact, sometimes you have to walk 500 kilometers or more to get to the nearest water.
A mirage is an optical phenomenon in the atmosphere; a stream of light is refracted at the boundary between layers of air of different density and temperature.
More than 150 thousand mirages are observed in the Sahara. Maps have even been created of places where they can be seen and even what can be seen: an oasis, a river or a well. The difference from reality is that together with reality visible image object, its reflection in the atmosphere is visible.
Dear readers! You can read more about the amazing African country of Egypt and its ancient city of Luxor.
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The air temperature in summer rises to 58°, and in winter it remains within 15-28° C.
Strong winds, during frequent sandstorms, can carry sand dust from the Sahara even to Europe.
An interesting fact is that there are maps on which areas where mirages are observed are marked. And more than 150 thousand of them are observed in the Sahara!
The mysterious and almost mystical eye of the Sahara.
Map of the ancient Sahara.
The vegetation cover of the Sahara includes 1,200 plant species. Most of them are xerophytes or ephemerals. Rocky areas seem lifeless, but even on such soil, seemingly unreal for life, you can find plants that amaze with their ability to adapt to the harsh conditions of the desert.
Rose of Jericho is a plant whose short branches seem to be pinching its seeds with fingers. When it's raining, these “fingers” unclench and the seeds fall into moist soil, where they germinate very quickly.
Seeds of other plants also use every drop of moisture, but if there are no favorable conditions, they can sit in dry soil even for several years.
Lichens, small plants with spines and small leaves, spread on the sands and rocks. Gray, grey-green and yellow tones of the vegetation give a lifeless, sad look to the entire desert.
Shrubs and some tough grasses appear near the southern border of the Sahara, and wild pistachios, jujubes and oleanders can be found in the north.
Animal world
The fauna of the Sahara is poor in species, but quite rich in individuals. It includes animals that can move quickly in search of food and water, and can also endure all the harsh conditions of the desert.
The most typical of the Sahara are the oryx and addax antelopes, the dama gazelle, the Dorcas gazelle, and mountain goats. Due to their valuable skins and tasty meat, some species are at risk of extinction.
The most famous predators are jackals, foxes, hyenas, and cheetahs.
There are also birds - migratory and permanent. Among the permanent residents, the desert raven is especially popular.
Of the reptiles, lizards predominate, and there are also many snakes and turtles. And in some reservoirs, real crocodiles have been preserved.
Of course, living in the conditions of the Sahara is very difficult, but for many it is their native land, so they get to feel not only the severity, but also the caress of the desert.
Watch the video: Fearless Planet - Sahara Desert (Discovery: Fearless Planet. Episode 1 Sahara Desert).
Sahara. Tuareg salt caravan. Jim Brasher lives the life of a Tuareg in a salt caravan in the middle of the Sahara Desert.
In the wilds of Africa-2. Episode 3. Sahara. Life on the edge / Sahara. Life On The Edge
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Deserts have always attracted the attention of researchers and travelers. These are unique natural areas excite the imagination and frighten us with their mystery. The most famous desert in the world is the Sahara. In this article we will tell you how the Sahara Desert differs from others arid places our planet and why it is interesting to modern science.
Geography of the Sahara Desert
The Sahara Desert is located in the northern part of the African continent and occupies almost 30% of the total area of Africa, which is comparable to the territory of Brazil. The area of the Sahara is about 8.5 million square kilometers, which is why this desert is called the “Great Sahara”. This region is second in size only to arctic desert, but is the largest hot desert in the world. In the depths of the desert there is a huge amount of oil and natural gas. Especially in the territory belonging to Algeria and Libya. In addition, Algeria and Mauritania have large reserves iron ore, and in Morocco a large number of phosphates.
The exact age of the desert is unknown. There are different versions. Initially it was believed that it was about 6 thousand years old. Now scientists agree that the Sahara was formed approximately 3.5 thousand years ago.
The Sahara Desert is washed by the Atlantic Ocean in the west, the Mediterranean Sea in the north, and the Red Sea in the east. The Niger River flows in the south of the desert.
The Sahara is located on the territory of 11 countries: Libya, Algeria, Egypt, Tunisia, Chad, Morocco, Eritrea, Niger, Mauritania, Mali, Sudan. Sometimes the disputed territory of Western Sahara is added to this list.
Sahara desert map
Relief of the Sahara Desert
Most of the Sahara is sandy, poor in organic matter, expanses of flat pebble, clay and rocky plains. But here you can also find mountain ranges, plateaus, shallow basins, large oasis depressions and meadows, which makes the topography of this corner of the world quite atypical and varied. The most hilly part of the desert is its central region. It is here that the highest point of the Sahara is located - the Emi-Kousi volcano, 3,500 m high, and Mount Takhat, 3,003 m.
25% of the desert surface (almost 2.5 million km2) is occupied by wadis - sun-dried river beds and sand dunes. Dunes are found mainly in the north central region, in Algeria and Libya, where they are moved by strong winds. The wind moves the sand up the back slope of the dunes until it reaches the crest, whereupon it falls under the influence of gravity, cascading down the sliding surface. The wind builds dunes in the form of waves along its path. There are dunes of the Sahara different forms: round, star-shaped, crescent-shaped, transverse and pyramidal (up to 300 m high).
Sand dunes of the Sahara.
Sahara desert climate
The climate of the Sahara is one of the harshest in the world. There is little rainfall here and the wind blows strong winds, there are wide fluctuations in air temperature every day. The Sahara Desert is located in subtropical latitudes, with predominant zones of high atmospheric pressure, which obstruct the flow of moist air from the ocean.
In the Sahara there are two main climatic zones: in the north there are subtropics, and in the south there are dry tropics. The northern part of the desert is the driest, and the western part is the wettest. During the rainy season, only 2 cm of precipitation falls in the north. The rest of the desert can receive up to 9.9 cm of precipitation in a whole year.
The prevailing wind blows from the northeast towards the equator, which explains the aridity of the desert. The Sahara experiences very strong winds, up to 100 km per hour. They are called Siroko. Such winds can cause sandstorms, which can be seen even from space.
In the summer in the Sahara, you can safely set temperature records, as the air heats up to +60 degrees Celsius, and the sand up to +80 degrees Celsius. On September 13, 1922, in the Libyan city of Al-Azizia, the maximum air temperature in the Sahara was recorded - 57.7 degrees Celsius. The average annual temperature in the Sahara is 30 degrees Celsius. Since the air contains little moisture to retain heat, there are large differences between day and night temperatures - up to 40 degrees Celsius.
In winter, the northern part of the desert can experience freezing temperatures. V last years ceased to be a rare occurrence.
Water in the Sahara Desert
The Sahara Desert has only two permanent rivers and a few lakes, but it has significant underground reservoirs and aquifers.
The permanent rivers are the Nile and Niger. The Nile rises in central Africa, south of the Sahara, and flows north through Sudan and Egypt before emptying into the Mediterranean Sea. Niger flows into West Africa, southwest of the Sahara, and continues its journey northeast to Mali, deep into the desert, through Nigeria, emptying into the Gulf of Guinea.
There are about 20 lakes in the Sahara and only one of them contains drinking water. This is a shallow Lake Chad, which constantly expands and contracts. Lake Chad is located on the territory of the state of the same name, on the southernmost edge of the Sahara. In other lakes the water is very salty and not suitable for human consumption.
An oasis in the middle of the Sahara Desert
Saharan reservoirs often lie just below dry river beds and river valleys called "wadis". Aquifers sometimes release some of their reserves to the surface. This is how oases arise. They can usually be found at the lower points of relief depressions. For many desert residents, oases are the only source of life in the middle of a hot sandy ocean.
Population of the Sahara
The Sahara is home to just over two million people. These are people who live in permanent communities near water sources, as well as nomadic tribes. Because of climate change The number of people, as well as many species of Saharan flora and fauna, has declined sharply over the past decade.
Animals and plants of the Sahara Desert
Quite poor and monotonous. Due to the specific climate, only 500 plant species are counted in this vast region. In particular, these are trees, grasses, thorny bushes, and palm trees adapted to very hot conditions and salt water.
Plants often grow around oases, lakes and on hills. In oases, people practice growing fruits and some vegetables. Along the Atlantic coast there is enough moisture for the growth of lichens, succulents, and shrubs. Tibesti and Jebel Uweinat meet in the highlands. Because temperatures are cooler, plants such as tamarix, myrtle, oleander, acacia and palms can be found in this region.
The Sahara Desert is inhabited by about 4 thousand representatives of the animal world. These are mainly invertebrates, about 15% of them are endemic. Characteristic of Saharan animals night look life and near-aquatic habitats. The ponds are inhabited by crocodiles, frogs and crayfish. It is impossible not to mention lizards, scorpions, monitor lizards, chameleons and various reptiles that live on rocky slopes and sand dunes.
Almost 60 species of mammals are found in the desert. The most famous among them are the cheetah, the wild dog, some species of foxes (fennec fox, pale fox) and antelope, the spotted hyena and the Ethiopian hedgehog. Some animals are considered long extinct, such as the North African elephant and addax antelope, Saharan oryx, African wild dog and African lion. More than 300 bird species have been spotted in the desert. For example, silver-billed finch and masked amaranth.
The indigenous people of North Africa, the Berbers, raise camels, goats, sheep and donkeys.
The Sahara Desert is an attractive region for hunters. Due to intensive safaris, many animals are classified as vulnerable. For example, the Nubian ibex, which, like other representatives of the fauna, occupies important place in the ecosystem.
Environmental problems of the Sahara Desert
Unfortunately, anthropogenic factors did not play a positive role here either. Due to the cutting down of trees, already scarce water bodies are catastrophically drying up. Animal grazing has led to the erosion of previously fertile soils. All this adds up to the fact that every year the desert becomes wider by 5-10 square kilometers. Due to the increase in desert area, the Earth's atmosphere is warming up faster, which negatively affects the inhabitants of the African continent and those who live beyond its borders.
Although very little research has been done in the desert region, it is clear that many animals and plants are dying out, although the reasons for this are not fully known.
Positive changes have been observed since 2014, as this year was officially dedicated to the problems of deserts and desertification. Thanks to this about serious environmental problems the whole world thought. Several states have made a wide range of commitments to preserve the desert. For example, in Niger a reserve was created in which measures are being taken to protect and increase the populations of gazelles and antelopes living in this region.
Interesting facts about the Sahara Desert
- The desert inhabitants are mainly of Berber and/or Arabic origin.
- Due to its impressive size, the desert is also called the “Great Sahara”. The word “Sahara” itself means “greatest desert” in Arabic.
- Goats and camels are the most common domestic animals in the Sahara.
- In the desert, on natural rocks, archaeologists have found many rock paintings.
- Modern methods of mapping and measurement show that the desert changes its size from year to year, depending on the amount of precipitation in the region.
- Berbers, as well as Arab nomads, led their camel caravans through these lands, trading goods such as cloth, salt, gold and fish.
- Scientists predict that the desert will turn green again in about 15,000 years.
- These lands are 70% gravel and 30% sand.
- The Marathon des Sables is held in this desert. Daredevils from all over the world can take part in the six-day race. This pleasure is not cheap and requires good physical preparation.
Sahara Desert
(North Africa)
A truly endless sea of sun-scorched sand, stone and clay, enlivened only by rare green spots of oases and a single river - this is what the Sahara is. The gigantic scale of this largest desert in the world is simply amazing. Its territory occupies almost eight million square kilometers - it is larger than Australia and only slightly smaller than Brazil. Its hot expanses stretch for five thousand kilometers from the Atlantic to the Red Sea.
Nowhere else on Earth is there such a vast waterless space. There are places in the interior of the Sahara where there is no rain for years. Thus, in the In-Salah oasis, in the heart of the desert, in eleven years, from 1903 to 1913, it rained only once - in 1910, and only eight millimeters of precipitation fell.
These days the Sahara is not so difficult to reach. From the city of Algiers, along a good highway, you can reach the desert in one day. Through the picturesque El Kantara gorge - the “Gateway to the Sahara” - the traveler finds himself in places whose landscape does not at all resemble the expected “sand sea” with golden waves of dunes. To the left and right of the road, which runs along a rocky and clayey plain, rise small rocks, to which the wind and sand have given the intricate outlines of fairy-tale castles and towers.
Sandy deserts - ergs - occupy less than a quarter of the entire territory of the Sahara, the rest is made up of rocky plains, as well as clayey areas cracked by the scorching heat and salt-white depressions, salt marshes, giving rise to deceptive mirages in the unsteady haze of heated air.
In general, the Sahara is a vast tableau, the flat character of which is broken only by the depressions of the Nile and Niger valleys and Lake Chad. On this plain, only in three places do truly high, albeit small in area, mountain ranges rise. These are the Ahaggar and Tibesti highlands and the Darfur plateau, rising more than three kilometers above sea level.
The mountainous, completely dry landscapes of Ahaggar are often compared to lunar landscapes. But under natural rock overhangs, archaeologists discovered an entire Stone Age art gallery here. Cave paintings of ancient people depicted elephants and hippopotamuses, crocodiles and giraffes, rivers with floating boats and people harvesting... All this suggests that the climate of the Sahara was previously more humid, and most of the current desert was once savannah.
Now they are found only on the slopes of the Tibesti highlands and the flat, elevated plains of Darfur, where for a month or two a year, while there is rain, real rivers even flow through the gorges, and abundant springs feed the oases with water all year round.
In the rest of the Sahara, precipitation falls less than two hundred and fifty millimeters per year. Geographers call such areas arid. They are unsuitable for agriculture, and they can only be used to drive herds of sheep and camels in search of meager food.
Here are the hottest places on our planet. For example, in Libya there are areas where the heat reaches fifty-eight degrees! And in some areas of Ethiopia even average annual temperature does not fall below plus thirty-five.
The sun regulates the entire life of the Sahara. Its radiation, given the sparse cloudiness, low air humidity and lack of vegetation, reaches very high values. Daily temperatures here are characterized by large jumps. The difference between day and night temperatures reaches thirty degrees! Sometimes frosts occur at night in February, and on Ahaggar or Tibesti the temperature can drop to minus eighteen degrees.
Of all atmospheric phenomena The hardest thing for a traveler to endure in the Sahara is prolonged storms. The desert wind, hot and dry, causes hardship even when it is transparent, but it is even more difficult for travelers when it carries dust or small grains of sand. Dust storms occur more often than sand storms. The Sahara is perhaps the dustiest place on Earth. From a distance, these storms look like fires that quickly engulf everything around, clouds of smoke from which rise high into the sky. With furious force they rush across the plains and mountains, blowing dust from the destroyed rocks on their way.
Storms in the Sahara are extremely powerful. The wind speed sometimes reaches fifty meters per second (remember that thirty meters per second is already a hurricane!). Caravan workers say that sometimes heavy camel saddles are carried away by the wind two hundred meters away, and stones the size of chicken eggs roll on the ground like peas.
Quite often, tornadoes occur when highly heated air from the sun-hot earth rapidly rises, capturing fine dust and carrying it high into the sky. Therefore, such whirlwinds are visible from afar, which, as a rule, allows the rider to save his life by avoiding a meeting with the “genie of the desert” in time, as the Bedouins call a tornado. A gray pillar rises into the air all the way to the clouds. The pilots encountered dust devils sometimes at an altitude of one and a half kilometers. It happens that the wind carries Saharan dust across the Mediterranean Sea to Southern Europe.
On the endless Saharan plains the wind almost always blows. It is estimated that in the desert there are only six windless days per hundred days. The hot winds of the Northern Sahara are especially notorious, capable of destroying the entire harvest in the oasis in a few hours. These winds - sirocco - blow more often at the beginning of summer. In Egypt, this wind is called khamsin (literally "fifty"), since it usually blows for fifty days after the spring equinox. During its almost two-month rampage, window glass that is not covered with shutters becomes frosted - this is how grains of sand carried by the wind scratch it.
And when there is calm in the Sahara and the air is filled with dust, the “dry fog” known to all travelers occurs. In this case, visibility completely disappears, and the sun appears as a dim spot and does not provide a shadow. Even wild animals lose their orientation at such moments. They say that there was a case when gazelles, usually very shy, calmly walked in a caravan during a “dry fog”, walking between people and camels.
Sahara loves to remind herself unexpectedly. It happens that a caravan sets off when there is no sign of bad weather. The air is still clean and calm, but some strange heaviness is already spreading in it. Gradually, the sky on the horizon begins to turn pink, then takes on a purple hue. It is somewhere far away that the wind has picked up and is driving the red sands of the desert towards the caravan. Soon the dim sun barely breaks through the quickly rushing sand clouds. It becomes difficult to breathe, it seems that the sand has replaced the air and filled everything around. Hurricane winds rush at speeds of up to hundreds of kilometers per hour. The sand burns, suffocates, knocks you down. Such a storm sometimes lasts a week, and woe to those whom it finds on the way.
But if the weather in the Sahara is calm and the sky is not covered with dust raised by the wind, it is difficult to find a more beautiful sight than the sunset in the desert. Perhaps only the aurora makes a greater impression on the traveler. Each time the sky in the rays of the setting sun amazes with a new combination of shades - blood red and pink-pearl, imperceptibly merging with soft blue. All this is piled on the horizon in several floors, burns and sparkles, growing into some bizarre, fabulous forms, and then gradually fades away. Then almost instantly an absolutely black night sets in, the darkness of which even the bright southern stars are unable to dispel.
Of course, the most desirable and most picturesque places in the Sahara are oases.
The Algerian oasis of El Ouedde lies in the golden-yellow sands of the Grand Erg Orient. WITH outside world it is connected by an asphalt highway, but this is how it appears only on the map. In many places the wide road surface is thoroughly covered with sand. Telegraph poles are buried in a good two-thirds of it, and teams of workers with shovels and brooms are constantly clearing out drifts in one area or another. After all, the wind blows here all year round. And even a weak breeze, tearing off the tops of sandy dune hills, steadily moves sand waves from place to place. When the wind is strong, traffic on desert roads sometimes stops completely, and not for just one day.
Like all oases of the Sahara, El Ouedde is surrounded by palm groves. Date palms are the basis of life for local residents. In other oases, irrigation systems are installed in order to provide them with water, but in El Ouedde the process is simpler. In the dry bed of the river flowing through the oasis, deep funnel holes are dug and palm trees are planted in them. Water always flows under the rus house at a depth of five to six meters, so the roots of palm trees planted in this way easily reach the level of the underground stream and do not require irrigation.
Each crater contains between fifty and one hundred palm trees. The sinkholes are located in rows along the riverbed, and they are all threatened by a common enemy - sand. To prevent the slopes from sliding, the edges of the craters are reinforced with fences made of palm branches, but sand still seeps down. You have to take it out on donkeys or carry it in baskets all year round. In the heat of summer, this hard work can only be done at night, by torchlight or in the glow of the full moon. Water wells are also dug in these same craters. It is enough for drinking and for watering gardens. Camel droppings serve as fertilizer.
Dates and camel milk are the main food of fellah farmers. And the valuable muscat variety of dates is sold and even exported to Europe.
The capital of the Algerian Sahara - the oasis of Ouargla - differs from other oases in that it has... a real lake. This tiny town in the center of the desert has a huge reservoir, by local standards, with an area of four hundred hectares. It was formed from water released from palm plantations after irrigation. Water is always supplied to fields and date groves in excess, otherwise evaporation will lead to the accumulation of salts in the soil. Excess water along with salts is dumped into a depression next to the oasis. This is how artificial lakes arise in the Sahara.
True, most of them are not as large as in Ouargla, and do not withstand the mortal struggle with sand and sun. Most often, these are simply swampy depressions, the surface of which is covered with a dense, transparent, glass-like layer of salt.
But oases in the Sahara are rare, and from one “island of life” to another you have to travel along endless desert roads, overcoming the heat of the sun, hot wind, dust and... the temptation to turn off the road. Such a temptation often arises among travelers both on ancient caravan trails and on modern asphalt highways in these inhospitable lands.
When the desired outlines of an oasis appear on the horizon before the traveler, exhausted by a long journey, the Arab guide only shakes his head negatively. He knows that there are still tens of kilometers to the oasis under the scorching sun, and what the traveler sees “with his own eyes” is just a mirage.
This optical illusion sometimes misleads even experienced people. Experienced travelers, who have walked through the sands on more than one expedition route and have studied the desert for many years, also happened to become victims of mirages. When you see palm groves and a lake, white clay houses and a mosque with a high minaret at a short distance, it is difficult to bring yourself to believe that in reality they are several hundred kilometers away. Experienced caravan guides sometimes fell under the power of the mirage. One day, sixty people and ninety camels died in the desert, following a mirage that carried them sixty kilometers away from the well.
In ancient times, travelers, to make sure whether it was a mirage or reality, lit a fire. If even a slight breeze blew in the desert, the smoke spreading along the ground quickly dispersed the mirage. For many caravan routes, maps have been drawn up, which indicate places where mirages are often found. These maps even mark what exactly is seen in a particular place: wells, oases, palm groves, mountain ranges, and so on.
And yet, in our time, when two modern highways run through the great desert from north to south, when colorful car caravans of the Paris-Dakar rally annually rush through it, and artesian wells, drilled along the roads, making it possible, if necessary, to reach the nearest source of water on foot, the Sahara is gradually becoming that disastrous place that European travelers feared more than the Arctic snows and Amazonian jungles.
Increasingly, inquisitive tourists, fed up with beach idleness and contemplation of the ruins of Carthage and other picturesque ruins, go by car or on a camel deep into this unique region of the planet to breathe a breath of the night wind on the slopes of Ahaggar, hear the rustle of palm crowns in the green coolness of the oasis, see the graceful running gazelles and admire the colors of Saharan sunsets. And next to their caravan, running along the side of the road with a quiet rustle are the mysterious guardians of the peace of this hot but beautiful region - dusty-gray, wind-swept “genies of the desert.”
From book encyclopedic Dictionary(WITH) author Brockhaus F.A. From the book Records in the Natural World author Lyakhova Kristina AlexandrovnaSahara The world's largest desert, the Sahara, covers 7,820,000 km2 of sandy and rocky expanses. It extends from Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Red Sea in the east, from the Atlas Mountains and the Mediterranean coast in the north to 15° north latitude in the south, where
From the book Big Soviet Encyclopedia(GI) of the author TSB From the book Great Soviet Encyclopedia (LI) by the author TSB From the book Great Soviet Encyclopedia (NU) by the author TSB From the book Great Soviet Encyclopedia (PU) by the author TSB From the book Great Soviet Encyclopedia (RE) by the author TSB From the book Great Soviet Encyclopedia (SI) by the author TSB From the book 100 Great Wonders of Nature by Wagner BertilSahara Desert (North Africa) A truly endless sea of sun-scorched sand, stone and clay, enlivened only by rare green spots of oases and a single river - that’s what the Sahara is. The gigantic scale of this largest desert in the world is simply amazing.
From book Newest book facts. Volume 1 [Astronomy and astrophysics. Geography and other earth sciences. Biology and Medicine] authorWhat was the Sahara Desert like? glacial period? During the Ice Age, much of Europe was covered with ice, causing North Africa It rained much more often than in our days, and therefore the current Sahara Desert was a green country. The drying up of the Sahara has begun
From the book 3333 tricky questions and answers author Kondrashov Anatoly PavlovichWhat was the Sahara Desert like during the Ice Age? During the Ice Age, a large part of Europe was covered with ice, which is why it rained much more often in North Africa than today, and therefore the current Sahara Desert was a green country. The drying up of the Sahara has begun
From the book The Complete Encyclopedia of Our Misconceptions author From the book The Complete Illustrated Encyclopedia of Our Misconceptions [with illustrations] author Mazurkevich Sergei AlexandrovichDesert Our ideas about the desert are associated with heat, lack of water, cloudless skies, and a mercilessly scorching sun. We remember about dust storms, which you yourself have found yourself in or about which you have heard and read a lot, about moving sands or clayey areas devoid of vegetation
From the book The Complete Illustrated Encyclopedia of Our Misconceptions [with transparent pictures] author Mazurkevich Sergei AlexandrovichDesert Our ideas about the desert are associated with heat, lack of water, cloudless skies, and a mercilessly scorching sun. We remember dust storms that we ourselves have experienced or about which we have heard and read a lot, about shifting sands or clayey soils devoid of vegetation.
From the book The Newest Book of Facts. Volume 1. Astronomy and astrophysics. Geography and other earth sciences. Biology and medicine author Kondrashov Anatoly Pavlovich From the book A Guide to Survival in extreme situations author Molodan IgorDesert (savanna) The daily rate of water consumption in the desert is at least 4 liters. Open reservoirs. Rivers, lakes and streams of oases. The water in oases is polluted, has many mechanical impurities and is saturated with microorganisms, so it can only be consumed after filtering
