About the Sahara desert

The Sahara Desert is the sunniest place in the world and the largest desert in the world.

general situation

The Sahara Desert is the largest desert in the world except Antarctica. It is located in the north of Africa, with extremely harsh climatic conditions, and it is one of the most unsuitable places for biological growth on earth. Sahara means "big desert" in Arabic. Located in the southern Atlas Mountains and the Mediterranean Sea (about 35 N), about14 N (250 mm isohyet), it starts from the Atlantic coast in the west and reaches the Red Sea coast in the east. Spanning the northern part of the African continent, it is 5,600 kilometers long from east to west and 1.600 kilometers wide from north to south, with a total area of about 9.065 million square kilometers, accounting for about 32% of the total area of Africa. You can put the whole of America in. The name "Sahara" comes from Arabic. It was introduced from the language of Tuareg, a local nomadic people, which means "desert" in their language. This desert was formed about 2.5 million years ago.

The Sahara desert starts from the Atlantic coast in the west, reaches the Atlas Mountains and the Mediterranean Sea in the north, the Red Sea in the east and the Sudan and Niger River basins in the south. The Sahara desert is divided into several parts: Western Sahara; Central plateau mountainous areas (including Ahagar Plateau in Algeria, Aier Plateau in Niger and Tibesti Plateau in Chad; The eastern part is the most desolate area, especially the Tenare Desert and the Libyan Desert. The highest point of the Sahara Desert is Kuxi Mountain in Tibesti Plateau, with an altitude of 34 15m.

The Sahara desert divides the African continent into two parts, North Africa and Southern Black Africa. The climate and culture of these two parts are completely different. The southern border of the Sahara desert is semi-arid savanna, which is called "Sahel" in Arabic, and then it is called "Sudan" in Arabic, which means black Africa.

Sahara, which means big desert in Arabic. The Sahara desert starts from the Atlas Mountains in northern Africa in the north and reaches the grassland belt in Sudan in the south, with a width of 1, 300-2,200 km. West to the Atlantic Ocean and east to the Red River, with a total length of 4,800 kilometers and an area of more than 7.7 million square meters.

cause

(1) North Africa lies on both sides of the Tropic of Cancer. Controlled by subtropical high pressure belt all the year round, dry and hot downdraft prevails. The African continent is narrow in the south and wide in the north, controlled by the subtropical high zone, with a wide dry-hot area.

(2) North Africa is adjacent to the Asian continent, and the northeast trade wind blows from the eastern land, making it difficult to form precipitation and making North Africa drier.

(3) The coastline of North Africa is straight, and there is an Ethiopian plateau in the east, which acts as a barrier to the humid airflow, so that the vast inland areas are not affected by the ocean.

(4) There is a canary cold current passing through the west coast of North Africa, which plays a role in cooling and dehumidifying the western coastal areas and makes the desert approach the west coast.

(5) North Africa has a single terrain, flat terrain, little ups and downs and a single climate, forming a large area of desert.

Ethnicity

Since 2500 BC, the Sahara has become the same big desert as it is now, and it has become an insurmountable obstacle for mankind at that time. There are only a few residents in the oasis, and business rarely crosses the desert. Only the Nile valley is an exception. Because of its abundant water resources, it has become a region where plants flourish and one of the cradles of human civilization. However, there are several navigable waterfalls on the Nile, which has also caused great obstacles to commercial trade. However, Egypt can still spread iron technology and perhaps the concept of emperors to Nubia in the south and even further south.

By 500 BC, the ancient Greeks and Phoenicians began to have an influence on this area. Greek merchants developed business opportunities along the eastern edge of the desert and established many commercial colonies along the coast of the Red Sea. On the other hand, Carthage developed in the western desert along the Atlantic coast. However, due to the sinister Atlantic storm and insufficient market, their exploration has never exceeded the scope of Morocco. Centralized countries are only distributed in the northern and eastern edges of the desert, and their power cannot reach the hinterland of the desert, so these people living on the edge of the desert are often attacked by Berbers wandering in the desert.

The biggest change in the history of the Sahara desert came from camels brought by the invading Arabs, which enabled trade to cross the desert. Chiefs along the Mediterranean coast in the north transported horses and handicrafts to the south, and the kingdom of Sachl in the south became rich and strong by exporting gold and salt. The oasis in the desert became a commercial center and was gradually controlled by the chiefs in the north.

This state lasted for centuries until Europeans invented the galleon. First, the Portuguese bypassed the Sahara and plundered Guinea's resources. Later, other European countries followed suit. The Sahara desert soon lost its commercial value.

Although the colonists neglected the value of the Sahara desert, many valuable mineral deposits were discovered in modern times, including oil and gas resources in Algeria and Libya, and phosphate rocks in Morocco and Western Sahara.

Since 500 thousand years ago, human beings have lived on the edge of the Sahara desert. In the last ice age, the Sahara was not a desert, and the climate was similar to that of East Africa now. About 30,000 ancient rock paintings were found in the desert, about half of which were on Acer Plateau in southern Algeria, depicting animals in rivers, such as crocodiles. At the same time, dinosaur fossils were also found. However, since 3000 BC, there has been almost no large area of vegetation in the Sahara except the Nile valley and oases scattered in the desert.

There are still about 2.5 million people living in the Sahara region, mainly in Mauritania, Morocco and Algeria, including Berbers, Tuaregs, Saharans and Moors who belong to Arabic. And some black people, such as Tubu, Nubia, Sahrawi and Kanouri. The largest city in the Sahara Desert is Nouakchott, the capital of Mauritania, and there are Taman lasseter in Algeria, Timbuktu in Mali, Agadez in Niger, Gat in Libya and Fa Ya in Chad.

geomorphic type

There are many types of arid landforms in the Sahara desert. It consists of rocky desert (rocky desert), gravel desert and desert. Rocky deserts are mostly distributed in the high-lying areas in the central and eastern Sahara, and the Nubian desert east of the Nile River is dominated by rocky deserts. Gravel desert is more common between rocky desert and desert, mainly distributed in the rocky area of Libyan desert, Atlas Mountain, Kuxi Mountain and other piedmont alluvial fan areas. Desert is the most extensive, except for a few mountains and plateaus, which are widely distributed everywhere.

ingredient

The famous deserts are Libyan Desert, Leibuyanai Desert, Obari Desert, Eastern and Western Algerian Desert, Shesh Desert, Zhu Fu Desert, Alvana Desert and Bilma Desert. The larger area is called "sand sea", which consists of complex and regular sand dunes with complex and diverse shapes, including tall fixed sand dunes, low flowing sand dunes and large areas of fixed and semi-fixed sand dunes. Fixed dunes are mainly distributed in the south near grasslands and Atlantic coast. From Libya to Algeria, it is a quicksand area. The flowing sand dunes are constantly moving with the wind. In the Sahara desert, it is observed that mobile sand dunes move 9 meters every year.

environmental climate

The Sahara region is vast and sparsely populated, with an average of less than 1 person per square kilometer. Mainly Arabs, followed by Berbers, etc. Residents and agricultural production are mainly distributed in the Nile valley and oasis, and some are mainly nomadic. Since 1950s, abundant minerals have been found in the desert, such as oil, natural gas, uranium, iron, manganese and phosphate. With the large-scale exploitation of mineral resources, the economic outlook of some countries in this region has changed. For example, Libya and Algeria have become the world's major oil producers, and Niger has become a famous uranium producer. Road networks, air lines and new settlements have also appeared in the desert.

The climate in the Sahara desert is hot and dry. However, it is puzzling that there was a prosperous ancient civilization in this extremely arid and water-deficient mining area with cracked land and few plants. Many exquisite large-scale murals in the desert are the crystallization of this ancient civilization.

Rock paintings in the Sahara desert

The discovery of rock paintings

/kloc-in 0/850, the German explorer barrs visited the Sahara Desert and accidentally discovered ostriches, buffaloes and various figures carved on the rock wall. 1933, the French cavalry came to the Sahara desert, and accidentally discovered several kilometers of murals on the Tahisi and En asir plateaus in the middle of the desert. They are all painted on the rock shadow formed by water erosion, colorful, elegant and harmonious, depicting the life scenes of ancient people.

There are many animal images in the mural group, with various types and characteristics. The tense scene of animals flying in the air after being frightened is vivid and superb in creative skills, which can be compared with the excellent mural works of any country in the same era. From these animal images, we can infer the natural characteristics of ancient Sahara quite reliably. For example, some murals have canoes to hunt hippos, which shows that there used to be rivers flowing in the Sahara.

People are not only puzzled by the drawing date of these murals, but also ignorant of the strange shapes in them, which has become a mystery in the history of human civilization.

Several stages of rock painting

According to the rock paintings found in the Sahara desert, these different rock paintings can be divided into several stages:

1. Buffalo period, from about 35,000 BC to about 8,000 BC. Rock paintings in this period were made from about 10000 BC to 8,000 BC, and were painted on rocks with mixed pigments from the milk of some extinct local animals (including buffalo, elephant, hippo and rhinoceros). The characters in the painting use sticks, axes and bows and arrows. These rock paintings are mainly distributed in the southeast of Algeria, as well as Chad and Libya.

2. Ox period, from about 7500 BC to about 4000 BC. During this period, local residents began to engage in nomadic life and graze cattle and sheep. Pottery and Neolithic polished stone axes, stone mills and arrows have all been found, as well as some hunting bows and arrows. Herbivores were introduced from Asia. Later, some village ruins were found that could gather more people and livestock.

3. Horse period, about 3000 BC to 700 BC. During this period, horses, camels and cows have been introduced to the local area to engage in large-scale agriculture. Probably learned to use and forge iron from Phoenicians around 1220 BC. Across the Sahara to Egypt, a great imperial alliance was established.

Cross the Sahara desert

For a long time, the Sahara desert has been like a natural barrier, which hinders travelers from further exploration. Nowadays, several routes across the desert have been opened one after another, making the dreams of adventurers come true. Traveling in the desert is a physical and intellectual challenge to people, but it is strange and exciting: traveling in the endless desert, away from the noise of the city. This is one of the 10 wonderful journeys in the world.

The starting point is Tunisia or Morocco. Before going deep into the desert, you can visit the ancient city first, then take a special bus, join the travel team and set off in a mighty way. Cross the undulating sand dunes, visit primitive African tribes and treasure in the oasis market. Travel dates can be adjusted, but they are basically more than three weeks, and some can last for two months. Cost: 2,500 to 4,000 dollars.

China participated in the first operation across the Sahara desert.

The Sino-British Sahara Desert Environmental Science Investigation Team set out from Urumqi, Xinjiang Autonomous Region, China on June 4th, 2006, 5438+0, 1. There was a China member in the expedition, which was the first time that China participated in the operation across the Sahara desert.

This exploratory scientific expedition is to commemorate the centenary birthday of Hans Westcher, the first British explorer who crossed the Sahara desert, and to arouse the global attention to the world's rare animal, the wild bactrian camel.

The expedition consists of one China, two British and five American geography magazines. Members include Dr. Jane Haier, founder of the British Wild Camel Protection Foundation, Yuan, director of the Chinese Ecological Society and researcher of Xinjiang Institute of Environmental Protection Science, representing China.

/kloc-in late October, the expedition crossed the 2,400km Sahara Desert along the ancient camel road from the Atlantic coast of Nigeria in central Africa to the Mediterranean coast of Tripoli, Libya, North Africa. The whole journey is 3000 kilometers and it is planned to be completed in three months. The expedition team will also compare the Sahara desert with the Taklimakan desert, the second largest mobile desert in the world, and study their desert types, characteristics, animal and plant species and distribution differences.

Song of the same name

Ci: Ke Qu: Lu /VJ-James

Arranged by Lu

You tried your best to ask for help in the scorching sun and strong wind.

In order to love you, I rushed into the desert regardless of the danger

Greedy vultures, scorpions and rattlesnakes

Stare at me and see how long it can last.

Finding your way is particularly lonely and sad.

Miss you, a person loves you, and is about to collapse.

Mistake quicksand for oasis camel.

Next thing you know, this is a disaster.

Vaguely see that familiar smile.

At this moment, I can only be moved

Never mind if love is like a whirlpool.

If you are not careful, you will never go back.

I risked my life to go into the Sahara desert to love you.

Eager to hear you say you love me again.

In order to love you, I decided to fight blindly

Even if it all ends in a mirage.

Rolling yellow sand covered anxious eyes.

My love is just a moment to hug you.

If you love someone, you are not afraid of bones everywhere.

Take one last look at me.

The gray sky keeps falling.

I seldom get rid of my desire.

Believe in love, and you will see a rainbow after the rain.

That moment is enough.

Vaguely see that familiar smile.

At this moment, I can only be moved

Never mind if love is like a whirlpool.

If you are not careful, you will never go back.

I risked my life to go into the Sahara desert to love you.

Eager to hear you say you love me again.

In order to love you, I decided to fight blindly

Even if it all ends in a mirage.

I risked my life to go into the Sahara desert to love you.

Eager to hear you say you love me again.

In order to love you, I decided to fight blindly

Even if it all ends in a mirage.

Movie of the same name 1

Starring: humphrey bogart, humphrey bogart and Bruce Bennitt.

Film and television introduction:

During World War II.

After being defeated by the Germans, Joe Gunn, commander of the American Third Tank Unit, and two surviving soldiers, Jimmy and Volko, struggled to find water in the Libyan desert. On the way, they met a broken team composed of a military doctor, a British sergeant, several soldiers and an Italian prisoner.

The two groups supported each other and finally found a clean water source in an abandoned mosque after a long journey. At the same time, however, a large group of enemy troops arrived angrily. Around the only clear spring in Fiona Fang for hundreds of miles, a cruel contest between less and more is inevitable.

Evaluation:

With Chinese and English subtitles, 1944 was nominated for Best Supporting Actor, Best Photography and Best Recording. Describing World War II is a gripping and fascinating film masterpiece, and it is also the first film starring Humphrey Bowe. The story of Sahara is smooth without procrastination. Every scene strives for perfection, and editing technology is necessary.