Jump Links: ________Physical Features----------------Climate------------------Plants----------------------People
 
 

The desert is more than just sand. When many people think about desert they think of a sea of burning sand, but the landscape is actually much more diverse.

There are three principal types of landforms: ergs, regs, and hammadas. Ergs are large seas of sand with tall sand dunes that can reach heights of over 400 feet. Most dunes are slowly blown across the desert by winds. Regs are gravel covered plains. Hammadas are high rock covered flatland.

 

Physical Features

 
  Temperatures can vary greatly in the desert often reaching above 100°F during the day and dropping below freezing at night. There can be sandstorms, which stir up huge amounts of dark clouds of dust and sand from the desert floor. The Harmattan in the Sahara desert is one of the most extreme sand storms in N. Africa. Rain is unpredictable throughout the desert. During a rainstorm it may rain three inches in one spot while in nearby areas the will be no rain. When the rain does fall the water may quickly fill dry river beds called wadis, resulting in flash floods. Desert frogs, turtles, and snakes especially like to come out when it rains. So do the bugs!  

Climate

  
   
     
  Plants are able to adapt to these changing conditions. Some plants with short roots sprout rapidly after a rain and then set seeds and die. The seeds lie in waiting, sometimes for years, until the next rainfall. Other plants send deep roots into the ground to find water, such as the African Welwitchsia in the Namib Desert. Deep roots anchor these plants in places during sandstorm and flash floods. Most desert trees and shrubs have small waxy leaves that lose little moisture. When there are long periods of time without rain (a drought) they may shed their leaves to help reduce the amount of water loss. Most vegitation is located near river banks, wadis, or oases. One typical plant found at oases in N. Africa is the date palm.

Plants
 
     

People

A common desert people living in North Africa's Western Sahara are the Tuareg. The Tuareg are known as the “Blue Men of the Desert” because of their flowing blue robes which stain their skin blue. These nomadic people raise camel, goats, cattle or sheep. Some will also make a living by caravanning huge slabs of salt across the desert. The Tuareg trade salt, cheese, and milk for grain, vegetables, fruit, and water.

In the Southern and Southwestern part of Africa , there are also the Namib and Kalahari deserts. Here, you will find the Bushmen, also known as the San and Basarwa. These people are hunter-gathers. Here, you will find large parts of the Kalahari are covered in scrubs and small bushes while the smaller Namib has more sand dunes. The bushmen may make temperary shelters out of the grass and small brush from the environment.