Where is the Sahara desert?

The Sahara is the biggest desert in the world: it covers all the northern part of Africa. It spreads over 10 african states, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea. Its surface area is about 9 million km²; that’s almost as big as Europe!

But why is the Sahara called a desert?

Because there’s not much rain, in fact none at all in certain parts of the Sahara, like central Egypt. It’s often hot… Very hot… Up to 55°C! But the Sahara is not just an endless stretch of sand dunes. In fact, it’s mainly made up of mountains and reg, or desert pavement made of stones. There are however some areas with water called oases, usually with a spring. That’s where men live, or where they rest when crossing the Sahara. There are even towns in this desert like Timbuktu, Tamanrasset or Sebha, which may have over 100,000 inhabitants. To limit drought and desertification, the african countries are planning to build a Great Green Wall in the Sahara. The idea is to plant millions of trees stretching over 7,000 km across the desert!