Great Desert. What is buried under the sands of the Sahara? Sahara Desert in Tunisia

Sahara, the most great desert world, has become inaccessible to researchers: along its borders bloody conflicts smolder, or even burn with a bright flame - in Mali, Egypt, Libya ...

Russian scientific group, which included Nikolay Sologubovsky, historian of the Eastern Vedas, a member of the Imperial Right-Glorious Palestinian society, a writer and cinematographer, a member of several scientific expeditions to the Sahara, was one of the last to reveal the secrets of the Great Desert - the legacy of peoples dissolved in time.

Genies of the Volcano

“Nature lets not everyone here, and the unwary can absorb forever,” says N. Sologubovsky. - Our guides told: recently a car with Italians “emerged” from the dunes, which the wind moves across the desert. They disappeared more than ten years ago. Apparently, trying to wait for a sandstorm in the car, they were buried alive under the sand ... But there is something else in these places that stands guard over secrets.

One French explorer went to a high plateau near the ruined capital of the ancient Garamantes, the city of Garama (now the Libyan city of Jerma. - Ed.). The locals refused to go with her, saying that they live on the plateau evil spirits- genies. She went alone and a few days later returned scratched, with a dull mind. "

Another mysterious place in the desert is the dormant volcano Vau-an-Namus - not a mountain, but a giant, dozen kilometers in diameter, "hole" in the sand about 200 m deep. Below are three lakes: blue, green, red. “People who fly over the Sahara sometimes see this amazing place,” continues N. Sologubovskiy. - One of our routes lay through Wau-an-Namus. We decided to spend the night at one of the lakes. The answer of our guides was: "No way!" At first they said that there was a huge number of mosquitoes ("namus" - "mosquito"), and then they said that it was dangerous to stay at night below: ... a monster emerges from the lakes. The guides went upstairs to spend the night, and we settled down for the night. In the absolute silence of the desert, frightening sounds, groans, and hum were really heard coming from the belly of the volcano. Suddenly, in the light of a huge - half-sky - moon, large circles went over the surface of the lake ... "

Not all nooks and crannies have been explored yet. Photo: From personal archive / Nikolay Sologubovsky

Living stones

The sugar is huge. But this is not a dull sea of ​​sand: there are mountains and rocky plateaus cut by the beds of dried up rivers. When Europe was covered with glaciers during the global cooling, rivers apparently flowed and forests turned green in the areas of the present desert. Today, among the dunes, there are rare oases with lakes, in which you can sometimes find crocodiles. And the dunes themselves are replaced by huge patches of sand that is smooth, like a good road - you can drive on it in a jeep and at a speed of 150 km / h.

Researchers in the Sahara are attracted by the still little-studied "museums under open air»- rocks and caves with petroglyphs. Most often these are huge, up to two meters high, petroglyphs - engravings carved on stone up to 14 thousand years ago with images of wild animals and hunters with bows. “There are many such engravings, for example, in the town of Wadi Matkhandush in the south of Libya,” says N. Solo-Gubovsky, for whom the study of Sahara painting has become a part of his life. - The drawings on the rocks along the dry river bed stretch for 60 km, creating an ensemble that has no equal anywhere in the world.

The lines of the petroglyphs are so harmonious that it seems that a very educated person worked. On the same stones, you can find frescoes painted after thousands of years with herds of cows and goats carefully painted in different colors, and everyday scenes. There were also drawings of a sexual nature: orgies with the participation of creatures who had hypertrophied genitals, and on their faces there were masks, like spacesuits on astronauts! Our guides had a simple explanation: these are the genies that live around us - there are good genies, there are evil ones. One of the hypotheses about the “dancing of animals” is that hunters performed some rituals in which a shaman with the head of an animal took part - the one they went to hunt. Among the petro-glyphs were images of humanoid creatures, similar to bears, on the rocks there are images of elephants and even penguins, which in itself should be a subject for study. "

Cave drawings different eras can often be found on the walls of the same cave. Photo: From personal archive / Nikolay Sologubovsky

Disappeared cities

Meanwhile, the ruins of the capital of the kingdom of the Garamantes, which existed since the 5th century. BC e., testify: the peoples who lived here were developed in engineering terms. Are the ruins of this and some other cities abandoned for reasons unknown to us - this is all that was built on the vast expanse of the Sahara, where the climate was milder thousands of years ago? “Recently I drew attention to the mention of the results remote sensing Earth from space, says N. Sologubovsky. - Allegedly, one of the studies showed that outlines are guessed in the desert under the sand at a depth of 100-150 m ancient city... More precise information could not be found, I do not exclude that the information was hidden. Meanwhile, researchers are still looking for traces of the mysterious Atlantis in the ocean. And why could not she, during climate change or relief, plunge not into a sea of ​​water, but into a sea of ​​sand? What if, on one of the expeditions, we will find drawings in which the inhabitants of the cities that had flourished until then captured some pictures of their death? Far from all human sites have been studied, even in well-known open-air museums. But there are still completely unexplored sites in the inaccessible mountains in the north of Chad and Niger. I am sure that the Great Desert hides from us many secrets of the past, but in fact it is just waiting for the discoverers. "

It is no secret for many that the north of ancient Africa in the past was a rather fertile area. WITH large quantity rivers, both crossing the current territory of the Sahara Desert, and flowing into the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic.

Map of 1688 Clickable.

Could medieval cartographers be wrong in drawing this? Or were they all copied from one more ancient source?
But whether this unknown to us North Africa was in ancient times, or in times closer to us - is not so important yet. Moreover, when there was such a change in climate and the accumulation of such an amount of sand - it's hard to say. I will dwell on the question - where does the Sahara have so much sand from? And how did it happen, what processes took place, what is now a lifeless desert in this place?

Official science says that the Sahara is in the past the bottom of a huge ancient ocean... There, even the skeletons of whales are found:

Excavations in Eastern Sahara.
Thirty-seven million years ago, a 15-meter flexible beast with a huge mouth and sharp teeth died and sank to the bottom of the ancient Tethys Ocean.

And the age of the whale was invented and the ancient ocean has a name. If I dwell on this fact in more detail, then I have the following question for the scientific world: in 37 million years, how thick should the soil-soil cover accumulate over the skeleton? Officially, the growth rate of soil averages 1–2 mm per year. It turns out that in 37 million years the skeleton should be at a depth of at least 37 km! Even allowing for various erosion, erosion and swelling of rocks, uplift of the earth's crust - with such an age, it is impossible to find skeletons on the surface.
Egypt even has a Valley of Whales, which is included by UNESCO in the list of sites with the status of " World heritage":

Wadi al-Hitan: Valley of the whales in Egypt. They write that even the contents of the stomachs of some samples have been preserved. This means that not everyone is in a state of skeletons, but in a mummified or petrified state. We, of course, will not be shown this.

Remains of other animals found in Wadi al-Hitan - sharks, crocodiles, sawnuts, turtles and rays

So how did the skeletons of whales end up on the surface of the desert? Following this path, the skeletons of dinosaurs are not terry antiquity in (at least) 65 million years. Their skeletons are also found on the surface of other deserts, in the Gobi, Atacama (Chile), for example.

Many readers are probably already guessing about my answer. The whale (or his remains) was brought here by a flood, water from the ocean. By the source link, you can look at the photo (it is small, I did not lay it out) of the shell rock, in the same place in the desert.

Below I want to show some photos of space images with Google programs Planet Earth:

The territory of the Sahara is not all covered with sand. But we are presented with the image of this desert: solid sands, dunes with rare rocky massifs.

For example, such plateaus with a rocky desert landscape are often found:

Libya. Link

From a height, these places appear like such a spot-hill, surrounded by sands:

And somewhere there are endless sands, dunes:

But where did so much sand come from in much of the Sahara? In addition to the official version "the ocean floor Tethys" there are fantastic ones, like the version of V. Kondratov in his films: Fabric of the Universe. Mine and

In his opinion, all this sand is dumps from the processing of underwater ores by giant alien mechanisms and the discharge of soil from their aircraft. I will not defend or refute this version, but I will put forward my own, within the framework of one of the topics of this blog - the flood and its manifestations.

First, let's take a look at some of the Sahara landscapes that few people know about:

Egyptian desert

You think it's somewhere in North America? You are wrong, this is the Sahara, landscapes in Mali. 21 ° 59 "1.68" N 5 ° 0 "35.15" W

This is Chad. 16 ° 52 "24.00" N 21 ° 35 "31.00" E

There are a lot of such outliers.

Mali. Link

These rock massifs are composed of sedimentary rocks. Their tops are flat

This is what this place looks like from above:

These are remnants in the approach to the surface. It can be seen that these are remnants, islands from the ancient surface. What happened to the rest of the territory? And all the rest of the soil was carried away by the flood as the wave passed through the continent. All washed away soil is the sands of the Sahara. Soil, rocks washed out by water erosion of a grain of sand flow to a grain of sand.

V this place there are such traces of erosion. But they are parallel, as if washed by streams of water. Maybe this is so?

And here, too, the same "furrows" going to the northeast (or southwest). Link

Of course, a version of their formation is possible, as the deposition of erosion products along the wind rose.

But when approaching, it is clear that these furrows in the rock could only be made by water erosion:

Erosion marks on a rocky hill

This is my conclusion about the origin of the sands of the Sahara Desert.
But in the process of creating this material, another conclusion emerged. It is possible that mud, mudflow masses appeared from the depths in the course of one event. But more about that next time ...

The Sahara Desert is the largest of the sultry sandy deserts on the planet.

The huge area covers about a dozen different countries and takes up almost a third of all African continent... Hot mysterious dunes attract and enchant with a huge number of mysteries and interesting facts.

A harsh arid climate, sandstorms, temperature fluctuations, combined with ancient rock paintings, colorful oases, amazing natural formations and enchanting secrets - all this is about the great, unsurpassed Sahara.

Geographic location on the map

The majestic sandy Sahara, located on the territory North Africa... The area occupied by it is about 9 million square kilometers. The length of the desert from west to east is about 5000 kilometers, and from north to south is about 1000 kilometers.

Sahara Desert on the map

Climate

• tropical belt - in the southern part;
• subtropical belt- covers the northern part of the region.

Relief

The relief of the Sahara is predominantly flat, but slightly more than a quarter of the area is mountainous. The highest point of the desert is the active volcano Amy-Kussi, which is 3415 meters high. The volcano is located in the central part of the desert on the Tibesti Highlands.

Flora and fauna

Due to the arid hot climate and low humidity, vegetation and animal world The Sahara is not very diverse. Near the oasis zones you can find date palms, olive trees, figs, and sometimes even fruits and vegetables. However, predominantly all flora consists of perennial shrubs, grasses and trees, adapted to dry climates.

flora of the sahara desert photo

Desert dunes so lifeless at first glance, in fact, hide about a thousand species variety of plants... The most common is environmental group plants - ephemera.

fox in the sahara desert photo

While the number of mammals totals a little more than fifty species, among them you can find: hedgehogs, sand cats, mongooses, donkeys, hyenas, hares, jackals, foxes, cheetahs, as well as a large number of various rodents and other animals capable of withstanding such a difficult climate.

scorpion in the sahara desert

Also, the Sahara is home to about 300 species of various birds and a large number of reptiles. Naturally, most of the fauna lives near water bodies.

Characteristic

• The desert is located in the northwestern region of the ancient African plate, on the Sahara plate;
• The desert territory is rich in large deposits of minerals, such as: copper ore, iron ore, gas, oil, uranium, gold, as well as other valuable and rare metals;
• Area 8.6 million square kilometers;
• The soil is predominantly sandy, with a minimum amount of organic matter;
• Water resources: rich groundwater, among the surface waters, there are many small streams, lakes and tributaries, the largest full-flowing river is the Nile. It is in those places where the water comes to the surface to form colorful oases;
• Population about 2.5 million;
• Temperature readings during a hot period can reach + 57 degrees Celsius. V winter period, the minimum recorded temperature reached -18 degrees;
• The difference between day and night air temperatures can reach 50 degrees, so the nights are cold here;
• During the day, the temperature of the sand warms up to 80 degrees Celsius.

Description

The Sahara is generally divided into certain main regions:

• Libyan Desert - northeastern Sahara, covering several million square kilometers
• Desert Tenere - is located between the highlands of Ahaggar, Air and the highlands of Tibesti. Desert area of ​​about 400,000 square kilometers
• Tibesti Highlands - a mountain plateau, it is here that the highest point of the desert, Mount Emi-Kussi, is located
• The central highlands of Ahaggar, a highland of volcanic rocks located in the south of Algeria, Western Sahara, are characterized by rocky sandy soil and an arid climate. Not adapted for housekeeping. It is famous for its large deposits of phosphates.

History of origin

After numerous studies, scientists have come to the conclusion that people lived in the Sahara more than ten thousand years ago. Previously climatic conditions the area was more like a savannah.

The climate was more humid and comfortable for mammals, and the desert was not as lifeless as it is now. This is also evidenced by the large number of rock carvings of many different animals discovered during the expeditions.

pictures of the Sahara rock paintings

Mentions of the great desert were first found in texts from the 1st century AD. For many centuries, the desert has been a permanent habitat for the Tuareg people. Nowadays, Tuaregs are still inhabitants of North Africa, they are considered the best guides for traveling in the Sahara Desert.

• The Sahara is considered the largest hot desert in the world, but it ranks second in size. The primacy belongs to the Antarctic Ice Desert;
• Sand dunes of the Sahara move annually, covering from several to ten kilometers of new southern territories;
• Rishat is the main mystery of the desert, also called the "Eye of the Sahara". This amazing geological formation has the structure of many rings, due to its huge size, the mysterious formation is noticeable even from space;
• In the heart of the Sahara, you can find many of the oldest rock carvings;
• During the year, less than a few tens of millimeters of precipitation falls on the territory of the desert;
• In Egypt, there is the famous Valley of the Whales, on the territory of which a large number of whale skeletons have been discovered, since presumably the desert area used to be the seabed. The valley is part of the World Heritage Program well-known organization UNESCO;
• The height of the sand dunes can sometimes reach more than three meters.

28.04.2014

Great Sahara Desert is located in North Africa and partially or completely covers the territory of almost eleven countries. This largest desert in the world covers an area of ​​over 9,000,000 square meters. km, quite comparable to the area of ​​the United States. It stretches 1,600 km wide and about 5,000 km long from east to west. It is said that a thousand years ago the climate in the desert was more humid. The fact is that in the distant past, the territory of the Sahara underwent various atmospheric changes, which led to a change in climatic conditions. The desert divides the African continent into two parts - North and Sub-Saharan Africa. After reviewing the below interesting facts, you will learn more about this desert.

The Sahara Desert is the second largest desert in the world (after Antaktida) and the largest hot desert on the planet.

It covers almost all parts of North Africa. It stretches from the Red Sea, including sections of the Mediterranean coast, to the outskirts of the Atlantic Ocean. In the southern region, its border is the semi-arid Sahel savanna, separating the desert from Sub-Saharan Africa. However, the boundaries of the desert are not clearly defined; moreover, they have undergone significant changes over the past thousand years.

The Sahara passes through the following countries: Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Sudan, Tunisia, Western Sahara.

The history of the desert is at least 3 million years old.

The climate of the Sahara is combined: in the north it is subtropical, and in the south it is tropical.

The relief is quite varied, but in general it is a plateau lying at an altitude of 400-500 m above sea level. There is underground rivers, which sometimes flow to the surface, forming oases. Vegetation develops well in such natural oases. The soil of these regions of the Sahara is very fertile, so where irrigation is possible, an excellent harvest grows.

Part of the desert territory is occupied by sand dunes that reach a height of 180 meters .

The central region is more elevated above sea level compared to the rest of its regions. The central plateau stretches for 1600 km from northwest to southeast. Its height ranges from 600 to 750 m, some peaks reach the level of 1800 m and even 3400 m. high points- Emi Koussi peaks 3415 m high, Tahat - 3003 m, Tibetsi massif and Ahaggar highlands.

It may seem strange, but in winter time there are snow caps on the mountain peaks... In the eastern part of the Sahara - the Libyan Desert - the climate is the driest, so there are very few oases. This part contains sandy areas with large dunes, the height of which reaches 122 meters or more.

The climate of the Sahara Desert is very hot and dry. It can be very hot here during the day and cool at night.

On the territory of the Sahara, only 20 cm of precipitation falls per year. It is for this reason that a very small number of people live here, only 2 million people.

The desert used to be a fertile land where elephants, giraffes and other animals grazed. Gradually, it became more and more arid, and the fertile landscape turned into the barren region as we know it today.

The central part of the Sahara is extremely dry, with little or no vegetation. In places where moisture accumulates, there are sometimes meadows, desert shrubs, trees and tall shrubs.

During the last ice age the desert was larger than it is now, extending south beyond its present borders.

The climatic conditions here are considered the most severe in the world. The prevailing northeasterly winds often cause sandstorms and dust devils micro-tornadoes.

Arabic is the most spoken language in the Sahara, from the Atlantic to the Red Sea.

Sahara is divided into several regions: Western Sahara, Central Ahaggar Highlands, Tibesti Mountains, Aïr Mountains (region of desert mountains and high plateaus), Tenere Desert and Libyan Desert (driest region).

The Nile River Valley and the mountainous regions of the Nubian Desert east of the Nile are geographically part of the Sahara Desert. but the waters of the Nile transformed this territory of Egypt from a barren desert into a fertile agricultural area.

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Sahara Desert- the largest desert in the world, which covers an area of ​​almost 10 million square kilometers and occupies almost a third of the entire territory of the continent. The desert territory affects 10 neighboring African states. The Sahara is the hottest and driest place on the planet. Temperature regime here it rarely drops below 30 degrees. Rain is extremely rare here. But the storms are powerful, lifting eddies of sand to a height of 1 kilometer here are not uncommon.

The most ancient information about the desert dates back to the beginning of our era. Residents of countries neighboring the desert often refer to the desert as an endless sea of ​​sand. Here you can find only dark sand, clay and stone scorched by the sun. Everything that can be found here except sandy expanses is a handful of oases and the only river.

The Sahara is an endless sea of ​​sand.

Sahara (Sahra) translated from Arabic means a brown monotonous empty plain. When pronouncing the name of the desert several times aloud, a slight wheezing is felt, which intensifies with each new time of continuous pronunciation. Perhaps in this way the Arabs wanted to show that the further a person goes into the desert and the longer he wanders through it, the more the wheezing of an exhausted person is heard, who is subject to incinerating heat and is weakened without water and humid air... In our country, the word "Sahara" is pronounced somewhat softer than among the Africans, but the formidable charm of the desert atmosphere is still felt in it.

It is difficult to deny that the Sahara is the hottest place on the planet. Here, the air temperature reaches over 55 degrees annually, and once a maximum of 73 degrees was recorded.

But you are probably curious to know how the average Russian or European who visits the Sahara feels. We invite you to familiarize yourself with the words of one tourist who spent 3 days in the desert:

"Morning. A huge scorching sun rises over the horizon and in a few minutes heats up the sand. After a few more minutes, it is impossible to become barefoot on him, his legs are burning and very strong. The air is incredibly dry and hot, the lips burn, as soon as you lick them, they immediately begin to dry out and crack. It is worth mentioning the proverb that says that in the Sahara the wind rises with the sun and dies down with it. Indeed, in daytime the wind can be very violent and bring strong sandstorms, which to an ordinary person extremely difficult without special devices. At night, the unbearable heat subsides, and the wind blows with a noticeable coolness. Even stones and stone structures can hardly bear such drops. They burst here, emitting a barely audible crack. Because of this nuance with the stones, they were even given the name “Shooting”, and among the local population there is a saying that even stones scream from the heat in sugar ”.

However, sugar cannot be called deserted either. It is not uncommon to find nomadic Tuaregs here, especially in uninhabited territory. Local residents called them blue ghosts, since their main attribute is a blue veil that completely covers the face, leaving only a thin strip in the eye area to see the route. It is customary to hand such bandages-bedspreads at the age of 18 to young men who have become men. From that moment on, he can put on the bandage at any time, however, when the accessory is on his face, it cannot be removed until his death. It is only allowed to move the mask to the level of the nose when eating.

Where is the desert located?

The endless desert is easy to find by focusing on the area between the Atlantic Ocean and the Red Sea. In a north-south direction, it spreads across the entire territory from the foot of the Atlas to Lake Chad, along the savannah zone. The territory of the desert in different sources is indicated to be different and is in the range of 7-10 thousand square kilometers.

Weather.

The desert climate is expected, but let's deal with it in more detail. The climate of the Sahara Desert is referred to as extra-arid. Dry weather prevails here with tropical hot days. High humidity with rainfall more than 1-2 times a year can be seen only in the northern part. This fact explains that the main part of the desert is influenced by the northeastern trade wind, which "walks" through it throughout the whole year.

The northern mountain range Atlas, which stretches across almost the entire territory of the African continent, has an active influence on the climatic conditions of the desert. He prevents the clouds from penetrating into the desert. In the southern part of the Sahara, it rains regularly, but they dry up and do not reach the central parts of the desert.

A very high coefficient of dryness of the air and excessively active evaporation do not allow rain to fall normally on the ground in any corner of the desert. Although, the Sahara is still divided by the amount of precipitation into three zones:

• South (precipitation periodically falls, but very scarce);
• Central (no precipitation, except 1-2 times a year);
• North (there is practically no precipitation, as the clouds linger in the mountains).

The direction of the desert from west to east also has its own characteristics. Fog can be occasionally encountered near the Atlantic Ocean, but rain is also not worth waiting for, since the Canary Current cools the west wind.

Air humidity - 30-40%. On the outskirts of the desert, rates may be slightly higher. Active evaporation of precipitation (6000 millimeters per year) already speaks a lot about the desert itself. On the territory of narrow coastal strips precipitation is slightly higher and evaporation can drop down to 2500 millimeters. The earth reaches only 50-200 millimeters of precipitation per year. There are also areas where not a single drop of rain has been observed over the past hundred years.

The desert comes to life only during heavy rain... At this time, stormy streams of water lead to flooding in all neighboring villages. Only then does the desert truly come to life. Unfortunately, these facts are very rare. There is little rainfall in the desert, but it is full of underground waters, which are actively used by the inhabitants of many African villages.

Due to the large temperature differences between day and night, dew falls in most parts of the Sahara. But on Ahaggar and Tibesti several years ago, snowfall was recorded.

Critical temperature in summer time can reach 70 degrees, however, forecasters say that the maximum summer temperature constantly hovers around 57 degrees. Average annual temperature in the Sahara - 37 degrees. The minimum indicators in the mountains can reach subzero temperatures, but with strong January cold weather average temperature throughout the desert is in the range of 15-17 degrees.

Sandstorms can be found here almost daily, as well as long-term strong winds... Sometimes violent storms can drag on for several days. The wind speed in these cases can be over 50 meters per second, which is almost twice stronger than a hurricane... Caravan drivers and Bedouins often talk about how saddles with a camel can fly 200 meters away, and stones with a fist calmly roll on the ground like a pea.

Strong winds are often accompanied by sand dust. Visibility becomes zero, looking at the sun resembles an eclipse, and the wild animals of the Sahara Desert are completely disoriented.

The Sahara is a place of eternal sands and hurricanes that can carry dust and sand to Europe and the Atlantic Ocean.

Sahara - cities walled in sand

According to historians, the Sahara has not always been a dry and lifeless land. During the Paleolithic period, which falls on the period 10,000 years ago, there were more than humid climate and instead of endless sands there were savannas and steppes. The local population was engaged in agriculture, hunting, fishing, cattle breeding. In support of these words, there are many rock paintings in all corners of the desert.

Since that time, many large cities and villages of today's Sahara have been buried under the sand. Archaeologists still find elements of houses and various structures under a large thickness of sand.

Boston scientists argue that in the west of Sudan, in the place where the desert is now, there used to be a huge lake similar to Lake Baikal. According to them, the lake was at the level of 570 meters. Scientists believe that several rivers originated from this reservoir. Now, like many villages, the lake is hidden under a layer of sand.

It is very difficult to determine the age of the buried lake, but in the old days it was regularly replenished from heavy rains.

The drought in what is now the Sahara began 5,000 years ago. At first, the grass here dried up because of the scorching sun, the waters gradually evaporated and absorbed into the ground for replenishment. Herbivores instinctively began to flee to places of better feeding. They were followed by the predatory groups of animals of the Sahara Desert. Most of the animal species of those times are still intact. They took refuge in Central Africa, where they live today.

The last to leave the territory, which was already unsuitable for existence, were the people. Only a few decided to stay, claiming that this is their home. Centuries later, they began to be called nomads or Tuaregs.

The only place that now reminds of a former valley on the site of the Sahara is a plateau of many rivers. It was in this form that life once flourished here.

Sahara - a vast sandy plateau pierced by a river

The Sahara is far from one huge desert, as we used to think. For Africans, the Sahara is a generalized name for a huge number of small areas that are connected by the relief space and climate features of the Sahara Desert. The eastern part of the Sahara is called the Libyan Desert, the emptiness from the right bank of the Nile to the Red Sea is called the Arabian. South of Arabian - Nubian. In addition to the above-mentioned deserts of the Sahara, there are many small ones that we will not mention. Most of them are separated by mountain ranges and massifs.

The Sahara has several high mountains, with heights of up to 3.5 kilometers and the dried crater of the Amy-Kusi volcano. Its diameter is 12 kilometers. But most of the territory is occupied by sand dunes, hollows, occasionally decorated with salt marshes and oases. Do not forget about dry depressions, one of which is located in the Libyan Desert. Its bottom is 150 meters below the ocean level.

All of these elements complement the desert perfectly. When viewed from above, an unimaginable horizon opens up, which causes tremendous delight.

But in general, the Sahara is huge plateau, which is disturbed only by the depressions of the Nile valleys and Lake Chad. Mountain ranges are located only in three places, the rest of the territory is a once-existing plain covered with sand.

Plants of the Sahara Desert

The northern part of the desert is much richer in flora than the southern one and is categorically different in plant species. The northern part is more typical of Mediterranean flora. southern part The Sahara has rare patches of paleotropic flora.

Most of the plants here belong to the endemic genus of plants, which, in turn, are classified as red, asteraceae and haze families. In drier and extra-arid areas, vegetation is very sparse.

Southwest Libya is rich in only nine plants of the Sahara Desert, which can exist in European countries... If you drive along the southernmost border of the Libyan Desert, you may not see a single plant. But in Central Sahara, the diversity of flora is wider than in other regions. A wide variety of vegetation is achieved here only through the two desert highlands Ahaggat and Tibesti. Near the Tibetsi highlands, near water bodies, willow ficus and fern grow. The territory of Ahaggat is rich in relic specimens of the Mediterranean cypress.

Ephemerals sprout in the desert after light rains. Grass-shrub formations, tiers in the form of acacias, low-growing randonia and kornulak can often be found. Zizyphus can be found in the northern belt.

The extreme west of the desert is rich in large succulent plants. Here you can quite often find cactus euphorbia, sumac, wolfberry, acacia. The Atlantic coastline is covered with Afghan trees. The mountain ranges are dominated by grasses of the Sahara Desert, feather grass, mallow, wild rose, bonfire, etc.

Date palms can be found throughout the desert, which grow near rivers and oases.

Sahara Desert Animals

The fauna of the desert is very rich, in contrast to the flora. More than 500 species representatives of different groups live here, including:

• About 70 species of mammals;
• More than 300 representatives of beetles;
• More than 200 representatives of birds and winged animals;
• There are approximately 80 species of ants.

Concerning species endemism, it is worth noting that in some groups it can reach 70%, for example, in insects. There are no endemics among birds, and only 40% among mammals.

Rodents are the most common among mammals. In particular, the families of squirrels, jerboas, hamsters and mice are widespread. Large ungulates in the Sahara are only partly widespread. Harsh conditions survival in the desert does not allow them to exist normally here. Moreover, the population of neighboring countries actively catches them for their needs.

There are a lot of antelopes in the Sahara. The largest antelope is the Arix. Maned rams can be found on the plateau and on the coasts.

From the class of predators, striped jackals, of which there are a lot, Egyptian mongooses, miniature chanterelles and velvet cats, can be distinguished.

Birds are very rare in the Sahara. Hazel grouses, larks, desert sparrows are habitants of the desert. Less common are the desert crow, eagle owl, runner sandpiper. Representatives of lizard-like and snake-like animals adapted very well in sugar.

The camel remains the most important symbol of the Sahara Desert for a long time and still remains.

Mirages - the most mysterious phenomenon of the Sahara

A rare inhabitant of the planet earth dares to travel to the Sahara. Along the way through the sandy expanses, you may encounter mirages more than once. It is worth noting that she always appears in the same places. Some desert travelers even managed to draw up a map of the appearance of mirages. Now mirage maps contain about 160 thousand marks of their location. Maps contain a detailed description of what is seen at these points: oases, wells, mountain ranges, groves, etc.

The sunset in desert lands looks no less beautiful. The sky, decorated with the rays of the setting sun, daily creates a new harmony of shades of blue, red and Pink colour... All this beauty gathers on the horizon in several layers, sparkles, burns and changes in form, gradually fading away. After a couple of minutes comes gloomy night, in which the brightest stars are barely visible.

Now a trip to the Sahara is available to anyone. If you leave Algeria, you can get to the Sahara on a good road in one day. Along the way, you can see the stunning El Kantara Gorge. The gorge got this name because it connects the inhabited area and the desert. It is translated from the African dialect as the Gateway to the Sahara. The road here runs through a clay and rocky plain, as well as small rocks. When viewed from afar, the rocks resemble a fortress or tower.

Guell Rishat - The largest structure in the world

The facility is located on the territory of the Sahara in Mauritania. Its diameter is almost 50 kilometers. According to ancient legends, this ring was formed more than one and a half billion years ago. No one knows the reasons for the appearance of the structure, but some scientists believe that Guell Er Rishat arose as a result of a meteorite fall. Today, research teams continue to study this piece from space and cannot explain how the perfectly flat shape was preserved.

The company website offers you excursions to the Sahara. These are short trips of 3-4 days to the sweltering desert lands. You will be able to ride camels together with the overseer. The most daring travelers and extreme lovers can go through the entire desert. Before committing such madness, consult a doctor.