The Sahara is the largest hot desert and has a very intense environment. It is third largest desert overall after Antarctica and the Arctic, which are cold deserts.
At 3.6 million square miles, the Sahara covers most of North Africa. The desert covers large sections of Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Western Sahara, Sudan and Tunisia.
The Sahara is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the west edge, the Atlas Mountains and the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Red Sea on the east, and the Sudan and the valley of the Niger River on the south. The Sahara is separated into western Sahara, the central Hoggar Mountains, the Tibesti Mountains, the Air Mountains, an area of desert mountains and high plateaus, Ténéré desert and the Libyan desert, which is the most arid region.
Today, there is almost no water or vegetation to support life in most parts of the Sahara. There are special cases that include the Nile Valley, a few oases, and the northern highlands, where Mediterranean plants like the olive tree were found growing. The change occurred in about 1600 B.C., after shifts in the Earth's axis changed the the temperatures and decreased precipitation.
Rodents, snakes and scorpions flourish in the desert environment. The desert is home to the deathstalker scorpion which has very dangerous venom, there is also the jerboa, the addax nasomacultus which is also know as the screwhorn antelope. The jackal is a carnivore that also lives in the Sahara
At 3.6 million square miles, the Sahara covers most of North Africa. The desert covers large sections of Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Western Sahara, Sudan and Tunisia.
The Sahara is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the west edge, the Atlas Mountains and the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Red Sea on the east, and the Sudan and the valley of the Niger River on the south. The Sahara is separated into western Sahara, the central Hoggar Mountains, the Tibesti Mountains, the Air Mountains, an area of desert mountains and high plateaus, Ténéré desert and the Libyan desert, which is the most arid region.
Today, there is almost no water or vegetation to support life in most parts of the Sahara. There are special cases that include the Nile Valley, a few oases, and the northern highlands, where Mediterranean plants like the olive tree were found growing. The change occurred in about 1600 B.C., after shifts in the Earth's axis changed the the temperatures and decreased precipitation.
Rodents, snakes and scorpions flourish in the desert environment. The desert is home to the deathstalker scorpion which has very dangerous venom, there is also the jerboa, the addax nasomacultus which is also know as the screwhorn antelope. The jackal is a carnivore that also lives in the Sahara
Information from: http://www.livescience.com/23140-sahara-desert.html
video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7XrabWYHSg
This picture was taken from the weebly website
video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7XrabWYHSg
This picture was taken from the weebly website