Life in the Sahara and the Sahel Adapting to a desert Region

What is the Sahara? The Sahara is a desert region in Northern Africa. Most people that live in the Sahara live near an oasis. An Oasis is an isolated location where water is found in a desert.

What is the Sahel? The Sahel is a semi-arid grassland south of the Sahara. It suffers from droughts.

Introduction The Sahara is the world’s largest desert. It is about the same size as the continental United States. It stretches across North Africa from the Red Sea to the Atlantic oceans and over 1,000 miles north to south. It averages less than five inches of rain a year.

History The Sahara has not always been a desert. Until 6,000 years ago it was a much wetter climate with many different types of animals. People survived by hunting and fishing. Since then the desert has been growing and is continuing to expand.

Sahel The Sahel is marginal land, or land that is not well suited for farming. Pastoral Nomads, or herders who wander in search of water and grazing land, live there. Recently, the Sahel has been changing through desertification, which is when an area become increasingly dry.

The Desert Environment The Sahara is a diverse landscape with 3 principal types of landforms: Ergs – great seas of sand with tall san dunes Regs – gravel covered plains Hammadas – high, rock-covered flatlands

The Desert Environment Only 2 rivers flow through the Sahara: the Nile and Niger There are also wadis, which are dry riverbeds Sandstorms can occur when strong winds pick up the sand The plants and trees that live in the Sahara usually have small, waxy leaves that lose little water

The Tuareg Nomadic group that raises animals by moving between grazing areas. Known as the “Blue Men of the Desert” for their blue robes that cover their entire body. They are able to pack up their things in two hours and fit everything onto either one camel or two donkeys. The Tuareg know the environment and lead camel caravans across the desert.

Technology Technology has made life easier. Drilling machines have created new sources to collect water. Trucks and Planes have improved transportation, by replacing camels