Page 17 - Microsoft Word - geo class task.docx

Sahara Desert (Arabic for The Great Desert)

Description and Location:

• The largest hot desert and the third largest desert in the world after
Antarctica and the Arctic

• One of the most ‘unforgiving landscapes’
• 9,200,000 square kilometers- comparable to the area of the United
States.
• The desert covers large sections of Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Libya, Mali,
Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Western Sahara, Sudan and Tunisia.
• Atlantic Ocean- West; Mediterranean Sea- North; Red Sea- East; Niger
River Valley- South
• Divided into: Western Sahara; the central Hoggar Mountains; the
Tibesti Mountains, the Air Mountains, Ténéré desert and the Libyan
desert

Functions- Climate:

• One of the worlds most severe climates
• Only has 2 permanent rivers (Nile and Niger), and a handful of lakes
• Across the desert, the annual average rainfall equals no more than a few inches or less, much less in many locations. In some
areas, no rain at all may fall over several years. Then, several inches may fall in a torrential downpour.

• Natural disturbances: common as the occasional fires or cold weather, and sudden, infrequent & intense rain leading to flooding
• Summer: daytime air temps. can reach over 100; the hottest air temp. ever recorded at 136 degrees

Functions- Animals and Plants:

• The Sahara's environment requires that the wildlife adapt to hyper-arid conditions, fierce winds, intense
heat and wide temperature swings.
• Altogether, the Sahara hosts some 70 species of mammals, 90 species of resident birds, 100 species of
reptiles, and numerous species of arthropods (invertebrates that have jointed limbs, segmented bodies
and external skeletons).
• Harbors a relatively sparse community of wild plants, with the highest concentrations occurring along the
northern and southern margins and near the oases and drainages.
• It has imposed adaptations on the plants e.g. near wadis and oases, plants such as date palms,
tamarisks and acacia put down long roots to reach life-sustaining water.

• Arid areas: the seeds of flowering plants sprout quickly after a rain, putting down shallow roots, and
completing their growing cycle and producing seeds in a matter of days, before the soil dries out