Interesting facts about the Sahara Desert. Sahara Desert in Africa: animals, plants, map. Interesting facts, photos, pictures, videos Sahara Vegetation of the Sahara in brief

I suggest you take a walk through the endless sandy expanses Sugars and learn a lot about this mysterious desert. So, are you with me?

Sahara - greatest desert on Earth and occupies 30% of the total area Africa. And this is half the territory of Russia, or the size of Brazil, the fifth largest country in the world.

There are ten countries in the Sahara: Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Western Sahara, Mauritania, Niger, Morocco, Chad and Sudan.

Do you know that "Sahara" translated from Arabic language means "desert"? Locals it is also called the “Sea without Water”, because 5-10 thousand years ago there were many lakes, rivers and tropical forests.

Interestingly, the dunes of the Sahara move at speeds from a few centimeters to hundreds of meters per year, reaching a height of 250 m.

In some places in the desert you can find oases - bodies of water with luxurious green vegetation around. It is here that villages, and sometimes entire cities, are built. Every year the number of oases is constantly decreasing.

The average daily temperature in the desert is +40 ° C, but during the day the sand sometimes warms up to +80 ° C. And at night the temperature can drop sharply to -15.

Rain in the Sahara is a very rare holiday. But frequent sandstorms caused by hot desert winds. Over the past 50 years, the number of sandstorms has increased by 10, and in some places by 40 times.

Now 2.5 million people live in the Sahara. However, it used to be busier here. Caravans of traders often stretched across the Sahara, carrying gold, copper, slaves, and ostrich feathers. Just imagine, crossing the desert and back took a year and a half!

This is the mysterious Richat Structure, or "Eye of the Sahara" with a diameter of 50 km. Scientists still do not know the reasons for the emergence of this amazing formation.

Roots native plants They go 15-20 meters deep into the earth. This is how hardened plants obtain water for themselves in order to retain it for a long time and use it sparingly.

Fauna of the Sahara has 4000 species.

Camels can live without water for two weeks, and without food for up to a month. These amazing animals can smell moisture from another 50 km away and can drink about 100 liters of water at a time. The interesting thing is that in such heat, camels do not sweat at all. Their large humps are fat, which allows the animals to go for a long time without food.

Incredibly, camels are excellent swimmers. And this at a time when most of them had never seen a single body of water.

sand cat- the smallest representative wild cats. Body length is only 65-90 cm, 40% of which is the tail. These kids are leading night look life, escaping the heat of the day in burrows.

Another bright representative fauna of the Sahara - Ethiopian hedgehog. By the way, he can go without food for up to 2.5 months.

Chit fennec fox - the smallest fox in the world also lives in the Sahara.

Body temperature oryx can reach 45 ° C. Despite their good endurance (they can go without water for a long time), oryxes are now facing complete extinction.

These are the secrets of the Sahara :)

North Africa is completely given over to the hottest desert in the world, the Sahara Desert is located here. On the map it resembles the shape of a rectangle, stretching for 4800 km from west to east and up to 1200 km from north to south. There is no exact data on the boundaries and area. We are talking about 8.6 million square meters. km, and the border expands annually by 6-10 km to the south. The map of the Sahara Desert partially includes 11 states: Mali, Morocco, Sudan, Niger, Chad, Tunisia, Algeria, Egypt, Western Sahara, Mauritania, Libya.

On the site of the present Sahara 10-12 thousand years ago there was a savannah. The climate was more humid, and crocodiles lived in the rivers. People were hunting. So why did the desert form in such a favorable place? And the Sahara Desert was formed due to drought, which began 5-7 thousand years ago. First, herbivores went deep into the continent, then predators, and eventually people. Only a few were able to survive where there was little water left and where a desert appeared.

The northern part has a dry subtropical climate, where Cold winter and hot summers, large daily and annual temperature fluctuations. Rainfall mainly occurs from December to March. In the south it is dry tropical, with hot summers and mild, dry winters. In summer it rains, often with thunderstorms.

The air temperature in summer is on average +50° C (the maximum temperature of the thermometer rose to +58° C). The soil warms up to 70-80. At night it can drop to -18° C, and snow sometimes falls.

Many rivers make their way through the territory. For example: Nile, Niger, Draa, Saura, Ziz, etc. There are also lakes: Chad, Fagibin, Garou, Niangai, etc.

Very sparse flora of the Sahara. But they also adapted. Desert plants are mostly drought-resistant grasses, with an extensive root system that reaches 21 m in depth. Herbaceous plants can produce seeds within three days after precipitation; they can be sown within 10-15 days. In the mountainous areas grow olives, cypress, mastic tree, acacia, dustwood, oleander, dum palm, thyme, and dates. Citrus, olive, fruit trees, dates, figs, vegetables.

The fauna is much more diverse than other deserts, amounting to about 4 thousand species. Animals of the Sahara Desert have also learned to survive. Many are nocturnal. They settle mainly near oases. Some people travel daily from pastures to rare, widely scattered bodies of water and find water there. Others extract the necessary amount of moisture from food (from the juice of leaves, seeds, prey). And some people produce water inside their body by breaking down fat reserves. One way or another, animals get water or have learned to get moisture. Here you can find jerboas, Cape hares, hedgehogs, rams, antelopes, gazelles, donkeys, hyenas, jackals, cheetahs, foxes, mongooses, ostriches, a secretary bird, guinea fowl, lizards, chameleons, monitor lizards, cobras, and vipers. And that's not all animal world Sugars. And the rare addax antelope and Dorcas gazelle are under threat of extinction.

The desert is popular with tourists. Many travel agencies lure tourists with photos of the Sahara desert. Here you can go on an excursion on a camel to the nearest city or on an expedition for two weeks. Those who like to tickle their nerves can fly on a motor hang glider.

The Sahara is a mysterious and largest hot desert in the world. It is so huge that its area is almost equal to the territory of the United States. In the Sahara, sand dunes are formed so high that they can reach up to 180-190 meters, and in winter they appear on the tops. snow cover. In recent history, the Saharans have seen snow, it fell in 1879 and in 2012.

Where is the Sahara Desert located?

The Sahara Desert is the largest SANDY desert on our planet and it is located in the northern part of the continent of Africa. She also takes second place as the most big desert in the world in area, giving way to the Antarctic desert. The area of ​​the Sahara covers about 8.6 million km2 and partially occupies the territory of 10 states. From west to east its length is 4800 m, and from south to north its length ranges from 800 to 1200 meters. Moreover, the size of the desert is not constant; it grows annually by 6-10 km from south to north.

Sahara desert landscape

The landscape of the Sahara consists of 70% plains and 30% of the Tibesti and Ahaggar highlands, the stepped plateaus of Adrar-Iforas, Air, Ennedi, Tademait, etc., as well as cuesta ridges.

Sahara desert climate

The desert climate is divided into subtropical in the north and tropical in the south of the desert. In the northern part of the desert there are large temperature fluctuations, both average annual and average daily. In winter, temperatures in the mountains can drop to -18 degrees. Summer, on the other hand, is very hot. The soil can warm up to 70-80 degrees Celsius.

In the southern part of the desert, temperature fluctuations are slightly less, but also in winter, temperatures in the mountains can drop below zero degrees Celsius. Winters are milder and drier.

The desert is characterized by large temperature fluctuations at night and daytime. This figure is expressed by up to 30-40 degrees difference between night and day temperatures! Therefore, sometimes you can’t do without warm clothes there at night, as the temperature can drop below zero. Also in the desert there are often sandstorms, in which winds can reach up to 50 meters per second. Central parts of the desert may not see rain for years, and other parts may even experience heavy downpours. In other words, the Sahara Desert is full of surprises when it comes to weather.

The Sahara Desert is an amazing place. It is incredible how animals, plants, and people were able to adapt to life in this part of the earth, given the constant drought and heat.

1) The size of the desert is as big as half of Russia, or the whole of Brazil!
The Sahara Desert is the largest desert in the world, covering 30% of Africa. But this is half Russian Federation, or the entire area of ​​Brazil, which is the fifth largest country on Earth.

2) “A sea without water.” On Arabic The Sahara is a desert, and some people called it the “Sea without Water” because once upon a time there were many rivers and lakes in its place.

3) Mars on Earth. Desert dunes move from a couple of centimeters to hundreds of meters per year, and the dunes themselves resemble the landscapes of Mars! Sometimes they reach a height of 300 meters!

4) There are fewer and fewer oases. Villages and towns usually appear near oases, but every year there are fewer and fewer oases.

5) average temperature in the desert it's about 40 degrees Celsius! The sand itself heats up to 80 degrees Celsius! But at night the temperature can drop to -15 degrees Celsius.

6) Over the past fifty years, storms have begun to appear more and more often, in some places their occurrence has increased forty times!

7) 3 million people live in the Sahara. However, there used to be more people; once upon a time, caravans of traders passed through the desert, carrying various riches. But crossing the entire desert took 1.5 years!

8) The roots of some plants are at a depth of 20 meters! In this way, plants try to get water for themselves in order to retain it for a long time and use it carefully.

9) There are about 4 thousand in the Sahara various types animals and plants.

10) Camels live without water for 14 days, and without food for as many as 30! They can smell moisture from 50 kilometers away, and drink one hundred liters of water at a time! And they don't sweat at all! Their humps are fat, thanks to which they can survive for a long time without food.

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The territory of several states that are attractive to tourists covers that vast part of Africa (about 30%) where the Sahara Desert is located. Among these countries, Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, and Mauritania stand out.

Sahara on the world map

The most hot desert globe from north to south - 800 - 1,200 kilometers and from west to east - 4,800 kilometers.

According to various sources, the area of ​​Es-Sahra el-Kubra is 8.6 - 9.1 million square meters. kilometers. Scientists say that every year its area increases by several kilometers to the south.

Borders of the Sahara:

• the western part is limited Atlantic Ocean,
• the northern region is framed by the Atlas Mountains, the Mediterranean Sea,
• the eastern border runs along Red Sea,
• the southern sand dunes form the transition to the Sudanese savannah.

The stereotypical idea that the Sahara consists of endless, monotonous desert sands is wrong. There are several regions:

Sahara desert climate

According to scientific research The Sahara has become deserted natural area 5 million years ago. The following features are typical for the climate:

• percent relative humidity – 30-50;
• high volatility;
• the presence of 2 types of climate: the northern part is dry subtropical, South part– dry tropical.

The northern region is characterized by a number of features:

• fixed high rate annual temperature fluctuations;
• the temperature in the desert during day and night also has a significant difference;
• winter is cool, summer is hot;
• average temperature level in winter +13°С, in summer + 37.2°С;
• the rainiest months are August (frequent thunderstorms), December-March;
• spring is accompanied by multi-day hot winds leading to dust storms.

For southern zone characteristic:

• hot summer period,
• in winter there is mild, dry weather, average temperatures do not differ from subtropical ones;
• a minimum of -15°C is stated;
• temperature indicator + 50°C maximum;
• rains are insignificant, more often in summer.

Desert Animals

The driest areas have little diversity of animal life. The main habitat areas are the central highlands. Most representatives of the animal world are unique in their kind, since they have adapted to the harsh conditions of the desert and are often nocturnal.

Interesting. It is believed that the ancient Egyptians used the image of a horned viper to depict the hieroglyph “phi” due to the similarity of the sound it makes and the pronunciation of the hieroglyph. Snake charmers still use this type in their performances.

• Dromedaries or dromedary camels domesticated, used for riding and transporting goods. The hump, which stores fat reserves, allows them to be hardy.
• Horned Saharan viper - dangerous poisonous snake nocturnal lifestyle. It emits a continuous hiss to scare away enemies.
• The Dorcas gazelle is an animal 65 centimeters tall, weighs 25 kilograms, and reaches a speed of approximately 80 km/h. It survives thanks to its sand-colored camouflage coloration and its ability to feed on dew and water-storing plants. Sensing the approach of a predator, she instinctively jumps away, which serves as a warning to other animals.
• The mendes antelope or addax has special structure paws, which, on the one hand, helps movement along sandy soil, and on the other hand, it makes it difficult to avoid attacks from predators. On this moment habitat, the number of livestock is significantly reduced.
• Sahara ostriches are classified as a separate subspecies of African ostriches. The characteristics of ostriches provide them with the opportunity to live in the desert: covering long distances at great speed (70 km/h), high level hearing and vision, powerful legs that help fight off predatory animals.
• Cold-blooded monitor lizards are very armed dangerous poison, which is used for hunting small animals and insects. Adapted to heat, they become aggressive in the cold.
• Fennec fox is a nocturnal miniature fox with unusual big ears which help avoid overheating.
• Dung beetle, aka Holy Scarab, rolls up a ball of ungulate dung with the help of its hind legs, hides it in underground voids, feeds and lays eggs.

Interesting. The ancient Egyptian god Khepri was depicted with the head of a scarab beetle. According to legend, he possessed the secrets of the sun and rolled it across the sky.

How to get to the Sahara

The tourist’s path depends on the territory of which state African continent there is any attraction of the Sahara Desert.

Moscow-Tunisia

Advice. The optimal choice would be to fly to Djerba-Zarzis airport, as it is located closer to the Sahara.

Moscow – cities of Egypt

Moscow – cities of Morocco

Moscow - Algeria

The cost of the flight is approximately 227 USD - 230 USD.

Moscow – Mauritania

The city of Douz, located on the border of the oasis, is considered the gateway to the Sahara. On its outskirts there is a symbolic key that opens the way for wanderers. Tourists are offered excursions:

• camel ride to the nearest dune (20 USD);
• visit to a remote oasis among the dunes of Ksar Gilan ( thermal waters) (168 USD);
• ruins of an ancient Roman settlement, drying up salt Lake Chott el-Jerid with the opportunity to see mirages, Sahara Explorer program (2 days) – 98 USD;
• jeep ride – 120 USD.

Interesting. There are guided tours of the Star Wars filming locations.

Egypt offers travelers not only to relax on the beach, but also to get acquainted with the sights of the desert (approximate cost):

• Giza Valley, pyramid complex, Sphinx (35 USD);
• numerous oases from which you can go for a walk on a camel, by car, or on foot (with a tourist group) (25 USD – 35 USD);
• the city of Siwa, ancient fortress, Temple of Alexander the Great, Crystal Mountains (5 days, 300 USD);
• the Bahariya oasis introduces the life of the Bedouins (155 USD – 259 USD);
• the city of Muta, the Ethnographic Museum, the Dakhlya oasis, the Nile Valley, the opportunity to conduct a health course using thermal springs(300 USD – 400 USD).

Travelers to Morocco are attracted by:

• Draa Valley with oases, red dunes, ancient fortresses (300 USD);
• By SUV or camel you can explore the virgin ergs of Shigaga (200 USD).

Many films were filmed in the valley famous films Hollywood, including “Gladiator”, “Pearl of the Nile”, “The Mummy”.

Almost the entire state is located in the Sahara. Tourists are recommended to see:

• rock paintings of the Tassili Mountains;
• Mzab Valley, 5 cities with unique architecture.

Tours to Algeria cost from 1000 USD.

Mauritania

Despite the tense political situation, desperate tourists are attracted by the Adrar plateau. The Gu-Er-Rishat formation, which has not been precisely studied, has a diameter of 50 kilometers, and became famous after being photographed from space. The cost of a tour to Mauritania is 3030 USD – 3380 USD.

Lovers active rest will appreciate a trip to the Sahara.

The Sahara Desert is one of the largest deserts in the world. The Sahara extends across most of North Africa, covering 9 million square kilometers. In fact, the Sahara Desert covers 30% of the entire African continent. It is the hottest and hottest place in the world with summer temperatures that often exceed 57 degrees Celsius. The desert experiences annual rainfall and very powerful sandstorms, lifting sand 1000 meters into the air and moving the dunes.

We continue the topic of the deserts of Africa. In previous issues of LifeGlobe we told you about the White Desert in Egypt and the Namib Desert, now it’s the turn to tell you about the Sahara. Some say the Sahara Desert is before the first ice age was much larger, and some say that the Sahara Desert appeared 4000 years ago. For example, German scientists, using methods of computer modeling of the Earth's climate, found that the Sahara became a desert 4,000 years ago. 10 thousand years ago, the world's largest desert was covered with grass and low bushes, but then the summer became hotter and the rains almost stopped. Naturally, many ancient civilizations disappeared, and all living things left the Sahara. According to scientists from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Research, the transformation of the Sahara into a desert was one of the most dramatic climate events on Earth in the foreseeable millennia. Why is the climate so variable? It turns out that the inclination of the earth's axis to the Sun is gradually changing: approximately 9 thousand years ago it was 24.14 degrees, now it is 23.45 degrees. Today the Earth comes closest to the Sun in January, ten thousand years ago - at the end of July. Subtle changes in the Earth's orbit around the Sun, amplified by interactions with the atmosphere, ocean and land, change the climate beyond recognition.

The climate of the Sahara is extraordinary. The humid factor is the wide position of the Sahara north and south of the Tropic of the North. This explains the fact that most of The desert is influenced by the northeast trade wind throughout the year. An additional influence on the climate is exerted by the Atlas mountain barrier located in the north, stretching from west to east and preventing the bulk of humid Mediterranean air from penetrating into the desert. In the south, from the Gulf of Guinea, wet masses freely enter the Sahara in the summer, which, gradually drying out, reach it central parts. Extreme dryness of the air, a huge moisture deficit and, accordingly, extremely high evaporation are characteristic of the entire Sahara. According to the precipitation regime in the Sahara, three zones can be distinguished: northern, central and southern.

IN northern zone precipitation falls in winter and its amount does not exceed 200 mm per year. To the south their number decreases, and in the central zone they fall sporadically. average value they do not exceed 20 mm. Sometimes there is no precipitation at all for 2-3 years. However, such areas may experience unexpected downpours, causing severe flooding. The aridity of the Sahara also varies in the latitudinal direction, from west to east. Heavy rainfall does not occur on the Atlantic coast because of rare westerly winds cooled by the Canary Current passing along the coast. There are frequent fogs here. At the tops of mountain ranges and highlands, the amount of precipitation increases slightly due to the condensation of water vapor. Sugar has a high degree of volatility. Its total annual value varies from 2500 to 5500 mm, which is more than 70 times the amount of precipitation.

The Sahara is characterized by high, one might say record-breaking, air temperatures. The average temperature of the coldest month, January, in almost the entire Sahara does not fall below 10 ° C. The average temperature of July in the central part of the desert is 35 ° C. In many places in the Sahara, temperatures above 50 ° C are recorded. Nights in the Sahara are cool, the temperature drops to 10 -15° C. On the plains, the temperature drop rarely reaches minus 5° C. Frosts are frequent in the mountains. The daily amplitudes of air temperatures are very large - up to 30 ° C, and on the soil surface - up to 70 ° C. At the beginning of summer, hot sirocco winds blow in the north of the Sahara, which come from the central part of the desert. Strong winds cause dust and sand storms; wind speeds during a storm reach 50 m/s. Masses of sand and small stones rise into the air, which have a very strong effect on people and animals. Storms arise as suddenly as they end, leaving behind clouds of slowly settling dry dusty “fog.” Tornadoes are also common in the Sahara.

The Sahara Desert consists of one quarter volcanic mountains, one quarter sand, rock and gravel plains, and small areas of permanent vegetation. Vegetation includes bushes, grasses and trees in the highlands and in the oases located along the river beds. Some of the plants are well adapted to this climate and grow within three days after rain and sow their seeds within two weeks afterwards. Only a small part of the Sahara Desert is fertile - these areas take moisture from underground rivers and oases.