Sahara Desert

T h e S a h a r a D e s e r t A f r i c a I n t r o d u c t I o n a b o u t t h e S a h a r a D e s e r t The Sahara Desert is the largest hot and dry desert in the world. It is located in North Africa; it covers 9 million square kilometres and covers over twelve countries, some of the countries include; Morocco, Algeria Libya, Tunisia, Egypt, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Chad, and Sudan. Most of the Sahara Desert is located at Algeria. The Sahara Desert receives less than 40cm of rain per year, the sand dunes in the Sahara Desert reach up to about 180 metres. It is Atlantic Ocean side to the Red Sea. It is just north of Nigeria and its co-ordinates are 20.6328° N, 11.2061° E. There are also several mountain ranges within the Sahara and many are volcanic. The highest peak found in these mountains is Emi Koussi. 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. The Sahara Desert is almost as large as China or the United States. The Sahara Desert is home to more than 2.5 million people. F o r m a t I o n o f t h e S a h a r a D e s e r t During the Mesozoic era (200 to 70 million years ago), the desert was completely covered by the sea. Over millions of years the skulls of animals were compressed into the kind of rock called “sedimentary.” Then the ocean withdrew due to global warming, leaving the rocks exposed which dissolved/dried up the water. W h a t h a s c a u s e d c h a n g e I n t h i s E n v i r o n m e n t ? The Sahara desert is expanding towards the south at a rate of 30 miles every year. The Sahara is expanding into a place called the Sahel. According to yearly rainfall, the southern border of the desert advanced and withdrew between 1980 and 1990. At one point, a drought in the Sahel caused the Sahara to move south by 81 miles. The Sahara Desert is expanding because of desertification;

Bibliography: Websites * Jimbo Wales, (2001) Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sahara * Michael Hogan, (2007) The Encyclopedia of Earth http://www.agci.org/classroom/hydrosphere/ (01/04/13). * Abrams, Harry N. (2005) Call of the Desert the Sahara, Belgium (31/03/13).