What is the total area of the Sahara desert?
The Sahara spans 9.2 million square kilometers across North Africa, making it the largest hot desert on Earth and the third-largest desert overall after Antarctica and the Arctic.
Questions about Sahara
Short answers, pulled from the story.
When did the Green Sahara period occur in the Sahara region?
Between 8000 BCE and 6000 BCE more rain fell on the Sahara because low pressure areas existed over collapsing ice sheets to the north. By 4200 BCE however the monsoon retreated south leading to gradual desertification that left the region as dry as it was about 13,000 years ago.
Who were the Kiffian people found at Gobero in the Sahara?
Human remains from the Kiffian culture were discovered in 2000 at a site known as Gobero located in Niger within the Ténéré Desert. The Kiffians lived between 10,000 and 8,000 years ago during the Neolithic Subpluvial when the Sahara was verdant and wet.
How did the Garamantes civilization survive in the Sahara desert?
An urban civilization called the Garamantes arose around 500 BCE in the Wadi al-Ajal valley of Fezzan Libya by digging tunnels far into the mountains flanking the valley to tap fossil water. They brought this water to their fields and grew populous enough to conquer neighbors and capture slaves to work the tunnels until they depleted available water in the aquifers.
When did European colonialism begin in the Sahara region?
European colonialism in the Sahara began in the nineteenth century when France conquered the regency of Algiers from the Ottomans in 1830. Most Saharan states achieved independence after World War II with Libya gaining freedom in 1951 and Algeria following in 1962.