Sahara desert is the world�s largest desert. Where is Sahara desert? Located in North Africa, the Sahara Desert is the world's largest hot desert. It has an area of around 8.54 million sq. km. The Sahara desert touches eleven countries. These are Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Sudan, Tunisia, and Western Sahara. Besides the vast stretches of sands, that Sahara desert is covered with, gravel plains and elevated plateaus with a bare rocky surface. These rocky surfaces may be more than 2500m high at some places.

Climate

We have covered where is Sahara desert now let's discuss what is the climate in the world's largest desert. The climate of the Sahara desert is scorching hot and parched dry. It has a short rainy season. The sky is cloudless and clear. Here, the moisture evaporates faster than it accumulates. Days are unbelievably hot. The temperatures during the day may soar as high as 50�C, heating up the sand and the bare rocks, which in turn radiates heat making everything around hot. The nights may be freezing cold with temperatures nearing zero degrees

Flora and Fauna

Vegetation in the Sahara desert includes cactus, date palms, and acacia. In some places, there are oasis � green islands with date palms surrounding them. Camels, hyenas, jackals, foxes, scorpions, many varieties of snakes, and lizards are the prominent animal species living there.

People

The hottest desert despite its harsh climate has been inhabited by various groups of people, who pursue different activities. Among them are the Bedouins and Tuaregs. These groups are nomadic tribes rearing livestock such as goats, sheep, camels, and horses. These animals provide them with milk, hides from which they make leather for belts, slippers, water bottles; hair is used formats, carpets, clothes, and blankets.

The oasis in the Sahara and the Nile Valley in Egypt supports the settled population. Since water is available, the people grow date palms. Crops such as rice, wheat, barley, and beans are also grown. Egyptian cotton, famous worldwide is grown in Egypt.

The discovery of oil � a product in great demand throughout the world, in Algeria, Libya and Egypt is constantly transforming the Sahara desert. Other minerals of importance that are found in the area include iron, phosphorus, manganese, and uranium.

The cultural landscape of the Sahara is undergoing change. Gleaming glass-cased office buildings tower over mosques and superhighways crisscross the ancient camel paths. More and more nomadic herdsmen are taking to city life finding jobs in oil and gas operations

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