The word “Sahara” means desert in Arabic and the Sahara desert is the hottest desert in the world. It stretches from the Atlantic Ocean, north to the Mediterranean Sea and east to the Red Sea.
Covering most of North Africa, the Sahara is the most famous desert in the world. But how much do you really know about this iconic landscape? Although well known, there is much we do not know about this special part of the Earth.
Here are 11 facts about the Sahara desert that you might not have heard before
- A common misconception is that the Sahara is the largest desert in the world. In fact, it is the largest hot desert after the Arctic and Antarctic, both of which are cold deserts. During the summer months, the average temperature in the Sahara varies between 38-46°C.
2. The Sahara desert covers approximately 8,600,000 square kilometers. However, this changes over time as the actual desert area expands and contracts with the seasons.
3. Scientists estimate that the total size of the Sahara has become 10% larger than almost a century ago. While this is partly due to natural climate cycles, human-induced climate change is also responsible.
4. Extending over almost a third of the African continent, the Sahara reaches a total of 11 countries. Among them are Egypt, Algeria, Chad, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Sudan, Western Sahara and Tunisia.
5. The Sahara got its name from the Arabic word sahra, which means “desert”.
6. Dunes and sheets cover only about 25% of the actual surface of the Sahara. This desert also has many other land features such as salt flats, gravel pits, plateaus and even mountains where snow has been recorded.
7. While many of the sand dunes of the Sahara reach a height of over 180 meters, the highest point in this desert is an inactive volcano called Mount Koussi in Chad, which has an elevation of 3,415 meters.
8. It may be one of the harshest environments on Earth, but the Sahara is home to a variety of wildlife that have adapted to an extreme lifestyle. Along with camels and goats, desert species include cheetahs, gazelles, ostriches, fennec fox and monitor lizards. The deadliest creatures include the scorpion and the highly venomous sand viper.
9.About 2.5 million people also call the Sahara “home”, most of whom have Berber or Arab roots. They either live in permanent settlements near water sources or have a nomadic lifestyle, traveling from place to place with herds of sheep, goats or camels.
10. Saharan trade routes played an important role in the economies of Ancient Africa. Goods such as copper, salt and gold were transported by camel caravans, which in their heyday consisted of thousands of camels. There is even a record that mentions caravans of 12,000 camels traveling between Egypt and Sudan.
11. Last but not least… Did you know that it snowed in the Sahara for the first time in 1979?! After all, snow is almost the last thing one expects to see in the Sahara desert. After that first big snowfall in the Sahara (it lasted a full 30 minutes), it didn’t snow again until 37 years later! Specifically, in 2016, on December 19, residents of the town of Ain Sefra in Algeria saw snow for the first time since February 1979.