10 facts about the Sahara desert
- The countries which Sahara desert encompasses include Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Sudan, Tunisia and Western Sahara.
- Sahara desert is the second largest desert in the world, after Antarctica, and the largest hot desert in the world.
- Geographically, Sahara desert is rocky, with varied elevation. It contains underground rivers, which sometime penetrate the surface, resulting in oases.
- The history of the desert dates back to 3 million years ago.
- 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.
- There are some sand dunes in the desert which reach a height of about 180 meters.
- 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.
- The climate of Sahara desert is very hot and dry. During the day, it is very hot, while night brings along chill.
- 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.
- Arabic is the most widely spoken language in the Sahara region, from the Atlantic to the Red Sea.
