The Sahara is a great desert. Spread on millions of square kilometers of vast sands, majestic barkhans … However, living in the desert is almost impossible, so in the Sahara, life only boils around oases. This harsh desert has killed many brave travelers who ventured into the road through its sands.
The Sahara is the largest hot desert in the world. In general, of all deserts, it stands in second place in the area, yielding to the palm of the Antarctic desert.
Each year, Sahara captures all new territories, moving south for five to ten kilometers.
The Sahara is located on the territory of just ten African states. It occupies thirty percent of the entire African continent.
The Sahara is larger than Brazil, and Brazil is the fifth largest country in the world.
Sand dunes in the Sahara reach a height of three hundred meters.
Under the Sahara are huge reserves of groundwater.
About 6 thousand years ago in the Sahara there was no desert – only fertile land, lakes and a lot of vegetation.
The highest temperature ever recorded in the Sahara is +57.8 degrees Celsius. But on hot days the sand can warm up to +80 degrees, so walking on it is impossible.
On winter nights, the sand in the Sahara freezes, and the frost condenses on it.
From the Sahara come powerful dust storms, which can last a very long time.
Once in the mountainous regions of the Sahara was recorded a temperature of -15 degrees Celsius. There several times snow fell.
The average population density in the Sahara is 0.4 people per square kilometer.
In the Middle Ages, through the Sahara, trade routes ran along which caravans of camels walked. According to the testimony of Arab historians, a well-equipped caravan could include from one thousand to twelve thousand camels.
Deserts are not so lifeless. In the Sahara territory, there are about four thousand species of living beings. True, more than half of this number is for migratory birds.
On average, there are less than 20 millimeters of precipitation in the Sahara.
