SAHARA DESERT CASE STUDY

SAHARA DESERT CASE STUDY

PEOPLE

LOCATION

-absolute location: 23.0797' N, 12.6123' E

-sahara desert is the worlds hottest desert

- second largest desert in the world

-located in the northern portion of Africa including: Algeria, chad, Egypt, Libya, mali, morocco, sudan etc.

-covers over 9000000 square km or 10% of the continent of Africa

-several mountain ranges within the sahara that are all volcanic

-landforms: sand dunes (can be as high as 600 ft) constantly shifting sand transported by winds

(interactions with the desert)

- Extract oil

- Transport goods across

- Sports such as racing and dune racing etc (kicks up sand and plants, dispersing)

How desert affects people:

-extreme heat

-lack of water/food

-no shelter

-no transport

-sand winds

PLANTS

CLIMATE

Adaptations plants: (wont apply to all plants)

-thick fleshy leaves to store water

-shallow root systems to collect small amount of moisture

-deep root systems to tap into underground water

-reflective of light colored leaves to reflect excessive light

-reduced leaves

-underground water storage systems

-The Intertropical Convergence Zone that brings convectional precipitation, in the southern sahara prevents moisture from reaching the area.

-because of this, the annual rainfall in the sahara is below 2.5 cm per year.

-sahara is one of the hottest regions in the world

-average annual temperature is 30C

-highest recorded temperature is 58C (in Libya)

ANIMALS

Adaptations of animals: (wont apply to all animals)

-good night vision

-thick skin coverings (protection from sun and cold)

-able to dig well so that they can live below ground

-able to efficiently store water in their bodies when it is available (ex.camel)

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