The largest arid desert in the world
The largest dry desert in the world fascinates people all over the world. With an area almost the size of the USA, it forms a wide yellow strip in North Africa. It makes up 8% of the earth’s surface.
Many people often imagine the Sahara as a vast area of sand, but this is not entirely true. Only 10% to 20% of the entire desert consists of sand. The rest is made up of rocks, stones and boulders.
The highest temperature ever measured in the Sahara was nearly 58°C. Temperatures vary greatly during the day and night. The temperature difference can be up to 40°C daily. In winter, the temperature rarely exceeds 15°C during the day and at night it can reach -20°C. The Arab proverb is absolutely right “the Sahara is a hot country where it gets very cold.”
The humidity is only 3% to 5%, making it the driest large area in the world.
The name is derived from the Arabic word for desert (Al-Sahra). In Arabic, the Sahara is called the “great desert” or the “sea without water”.
About three million people live in the endless expanses of this beautiful desert. Most of them live near oases: They are called oasis farmers. The rest of the inhabitants move through the desert with the help of dromedaries: they are nomads.
The Saharan people use dromedaries as transport animals for their goods, but also for themselves. They are the cars of the desert.
The only permanently irrigated river is the Nile, which lies to the east. There is also only one freshwater lake. The only sources of water are therefore oases.
Oases are like islands in a deserted sea. They are the life sources of the Sahara. It is the only place where it is possible for people to survive. Here also the vegetation can flourish and the few animals can survive. Except for a few scorpions and insects, there are hardly any living creatures in the desert.
