10 facts about the Sahara desert

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

  1. Sahara dunesThe countries which Sahara desert encompasses include Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Sudan, Tunisia and Western Sahara.
  2. Sahara desert is the second largest desert in the world, after Antarctica, and the largest hot desert in the world.
  3. Geographically, Sahara desert is rocky, with varied elevation. It contains underground rivers, which sometime penetrate the surface, resulting in oases.
  4. The history of the desert dates back to 3 million years ago.
  5. It might sound strange, but the peaks in the desert are snowcapped during the winter. The eastern part of Sahara - Libyan Desert, is dry and has very few oases.
  6. There are some sand dunes in the desert which reach a height of about 180 meters.
  7. Sahara desert receives only 8 inches of rainfall per annum. This is one of the reasons for the meager population in the region, with just 2 million people here.
  8. The climate of Sahara desert is very hot and dry. During the day, it is very hot, while night brings along chill.
  9. Earlier, the desert used to be a fertile area, in which elephants, giraffes and other animals grazed. Slowly it started becoming drier and the fertile landscape gave way to infertile region, as we see today.
  10. Arabic is the most widely spoken language in the Sahara region, from the Atlantic to the Red Sea.

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