Sahara Desert Essay

When looking at Niger’s spatial distribution, many of the causes of the nation's water issues can be examined and made obvious. Niger has a geographical disadvantage, being landlocked by the countries Chad, Berkina Faso, Benin, Mali, Libya and Algeria. Eighty per cent of Niger is occupied by the Sahara desert, the largest hot desert in the world, renowned for its hot climate and lack of precipitation. According to statistics, Niger receives an average of 7 inches (17.78 cm) of rainfall a year, most of which comes in the months of July and August. Niger is in close proximity the equator, which leads to extremely sultry temperatures, averaging 29 degrees during the dry season and 40 degrees during the humid season. Compared to the climate of the neighbouring nations of Morocco and Algeria, the climate of Niger is extreme. However, Niger has a huge supply of water far underground, about three billion cubic metres of drinking. These factors of Niger’s spatial distribution, from terrain to climate, contribute to the water scarcity.

Sahel Region of Africa- A semiarid region of north-central Africa south of the Sahara Desert. That has been afflicted by prolonged periods of extensive

An impermeable surface cannot be penetrated by any element. Such a surface will not allow rain to percolate into the desert soil leaving no plants with root systems able to survive unless specifically adapted to the climate.

Now, humans have a steady food supply so they do not have to move about. Therefore, people use fences to keep their animals in one place, which causes overgrazing. Today we see many subjects being affected by desertification. Ute Schaeffer reports the affects of desertification in, Down to Earth: News & Views on Desertification,“(doc.3) It has presented a challenge for governments and aid agencies in over 110 countries for some time, and is a contributing factor in poverty and regional conflicts, for example in Sudan. It has also been a major issue in Egypt, where 90% of the country’s land mass is desert. Faced with a rising population, the government has had to undertake a number of settlement and irrigation projects to create additional living and working space.” Necessary changes were made in order to adapt to the conditions of the desert and the obstacles that have to be faced. It is always presumed that there are only negative aspects to deserts but this isn’t always the case. There is a side to the Sahara desert that acts as a home to several living organisms. The Sahara has vegetation and access to water, which allows life to exist in this region. The Nile Valley, for example, is an area that is still quite full of foliage, trees and other growing things. This area is an exception, because of the way it is fed by the Nile River. Another area of the Sahara that has some vegetation to it is in the North, along the Mediterranean where olive trees grow

Another reason for increasing its agricultural sector is to end Algeria’s dependence on imports. In 1962, when Algeria gained its independence from France, the economy was primarily based on agriculture. In the last 40 years, other industries have eclipsed the importance of farming; the main industry being crude oil (Worldmark Encyclopedia). Algeria currently imports almost half of the food it consumes, and it is the world’s fifth largest importer of wheat (Reuters). However, steps have been recently made to reverse this trend. In August of this year, the ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development launched a device to support the promotion of water-saving irrigation systems (ProQuest Newsstand/Algeria Press Service). Algeria’s agricultural production growth rate also exceeded 10% in the 2010-2011 season (Embassy of Algeria). Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Rachid Benaissa also stressed the importance of boosting agriculture. “We should make sure agriculture techniques and skills are applied more widely to achieve profitability and to make the sector’s modernization everyone’s concern” (ProQuest Newsstand/Algeria Press Service). Changes have also been emerging in fishing. Due to its location on

This land around the Nile and the Delta by the Mediterranean Sea was seasonally flooded. This part of the land was very fertile and good for growing crops because of the rich silt. Also spread out through Egypt, there were oases, quarries and mines. After 3000 BC, the population was mainly gathered along the Nile River, and the deserts became centrally used for trade and mining excursions. Dry climates in 2500 BC had forced the Egyptian populations to move towards the Nile Valley. Eventually, the dry climates caused the formation of deserts in the areas that had been abandoned. On the contrary, the land in the Nile Valley was very fertile, because of the silt brought by flooding, and caused agricultural successes. Main crops included barley, wheat, and flax. Not much else was grown due to a lack of innovation. Away from the main river, limited areas were suitable for settlement. In the Faiyum specifically, there was little area that was suitable for settlement because of too wet of land around Lake Moeris, though the Delta experienced its own share of seasonal flooding.

How Did The Nile Shape Ancient Egypt My report will explain the various ways the Nile shaped Ancient Egypt for every day life. In the middle of the desert, though rests the Nile River. Ancient Egyptians relied on the Nile's bounty to develop into a prosperous and thriving civilization. Food and papyrus, rainfall was very sparse in Ancient Egypt, so Egyptians relied on the Nile to irragate their crops.

In Africa, some places are closer to the equator than others. The equator runs through the middle of the continent. Areas north of the equator and winter and summer at the same time we do in the United States and south of the equator the seasons are the opposite. So when it is winter here, it would be summer there. Location also includes elevation. Even though Ethiopia and Somalia are about the same distnace from the equator, Ethiopia is on a very high plateau. This area has mild temperatures and abundant rain the farmers there can grow a lot of different things like

In addition, Darfur’s terrain can be classified into four individual sections: mountains, basement rock, watercourses, and sand. In Darfur a large amount of the arable land consists of goz (soil sediment where vegetation grows). Goz can be useful for farming but primarily offers land for grazing herds. Then, through a process the land around the watercourses and the goz makes the land fertile. Each year the land becomes less arable. Also desertification (process that includes arable land decreasing and the desert area increasing), deforestation, the drought and over use of the land have fueled the conflict between various tribal groups. This has caused most of Darfur’s population to become dependent on the southern region. The lack of fertile land is causing the

​The Arab Republic of Egypt is located in the northeastern region of Africa. The climate is arid and dry and most of the country receives less than one inch of rain fall per year. The widespread lack of rainfall makes it extremely difficult to grow crops. Egypt has no forests and only 2 percent of the land is arable (land that can be farmed). The Nile was the giver of life for the ancient Egyptians. The Nile River, the longest river in the world, provided water to drink and fish like

Considered the longest river in the world at about 4,258 miles, the Nile has a huge impact on Africa. This extremely long river is the source of many crops throughout the River Valley region. Many people depend on the Nile to grow their crops. This has been part of tradition of those surrounding the Nile for many centuries. The Nile’s flooding provides fertile land that is good for crops, which is why so many people farm there. Because of all the flooding, in 1970 the Aswan Dam was built to make sure that the flooding was controlled.

can irrigate to grow crops and feed the livestock so they produce food for the population and be traded for in the big cities around Bamako and Kita.In these places the population is more dense however in places like the Sahara Desert and the Northern Sahel the water supply is much lower and the sand is an infertile soil which cannot be used to grow cops as there are so many rocks.

Although it is the twenty fourth largest country in the world, it is only slightly less than twice the size of Texas (1,240,192 sq km). In that small area, it has several useful natural resources such as “gold, phosphates, kaolin, salt, limestone, uranium, gypsum, granite, and hydropower” that the government can use to enhance their economic standing and benefit their people. (Central Intelligence Agency). Its terrain is best described as “mostly flat to rolling northern plains covered by sand” with “savanna in south,’ and “rugged hills in the northeast”. Unfortunately, Mali faces several natural threats such as “hot, dust-laden Harmattan haze, recurring droughts, and occasional Niger River flooding” (Central Intelligence Agency). Another natural disadvantage Mali has, is that it is landlocked. This means that Mali does not have easy access to water via coastline or maritime claims.

Climate: Africa contains both the world’s largest desert (the Sahara) and the world 's longest river (the Nile).Temperatures are highest in desert areas, particularly the Sahara. They are cooler across the south and in mountainous areas and plateau highlands. Rainfall varies dramatically across Africa.Changing weather patterns, however patterns of weather are changing, both locally and across the continent. The Sahara is the world 's largest low-latitude hot desert. The area is located in the horse latitudes under the subtropical ridge, a significant belt of semi-permanent subtropical, warm-core high pressure where the air from the upper levels of the troposphere tends to sink towards the ground. This steady descending airflow causes a warming and a drying effect in the upper troposphere. The sinking air prevents evaporating water from rising and, therefore, prevents the adiabatic cooling, which makes cloud formation extremely difficult to nearly impossible.

Algeria is the most populous country in northwest Africa and is the largest country, in North Africa. The northern portion of the county screeches 998 km (620 mi) along the Mediterranean Sea and borders Morocco on the west, Tunisia on the northeast, and Libya on the east. Algeria is divided into three main topographical regions, coastal plains, High Plateaus, and the desert. Unfortunately, the majority of the country consists of uninhabitable desert. “Algeria has a total land area of 2,381,741 sq km (919,595 sq mi), almost three and a