The Geographic Setting
Along the southern edge of the major desert in Africa is a semiarid grassland called...
Sahel
What is the name of the pastoral nomads who live in the Sahara Desert?
The Tuareg
The most important and most common oasis plant is the
date palm
What type of land makes up most of the land in the Sahel?
marginal land
A fertile place in a desert where there is water and vegetation.
Oasis
Tuareg traders lead camel ______ across the desert.
caravans
As the world's largest desert, the Sahara is about as same size as...
the United States
The rivers that flow through the Sahara are
the Nile and Niger Rivers.
Why are most oasis settlements small?
Their size is limited by their water supply.
List two causes of desertification.
--overgrazing of animal herds
--deforestation - cutting down too many trees
--growing crops that will deplete the soil
--long-term drought
groups of herders who move with their animals from place to place in search of pasture and water
pastoral nomads
Blowing sand and creeping dunes will rapidly cover crops unless the plants are protected by_______.
Wind breaks
What type of winds start at northern latitudes and blow across the Sahara desert keeping it extremely dry?
trade winds
How do the Tuareg protect themselves from the burning sun?
They wear long, loose clothing and cover their heads and faces.
Why are date palms so important to human life in the Sahara?
Date palms provide food, fuel, and materials for homes.
What type of land is most threatened by desertification in the Sahel?
the process by which land becomes more and more dry until it turns into desert. This may be caused by changes in climate, human activities, or both.
desertification
In the oasis environments, most people are subsistence farmers, but others grow cash crops such as ______, wheat, barley, and vegetables.
dates
What do ergs, regs, and hammadas have in common?
They are desert landforms
What is the main reason pastoral nomads move from place to place?
to find fresh pasture for their herds
List at least two ways Oases are formed.
--Springs bubble up to the surface from streams beneath the ground.
-- In low spots, the land dips down to meet an underground stream.
--People create wells using drilling machines or digging by hand.
What type of land is most threatened by desertification in the Sahel?
marginal land
Land that is not well suited for growing crops, usually located at the edge of the desert.
marginal land
In the Sahel, cooking with ___ is only one of the changes that people are making to prevent desertification.
coal
What are two major differences between the Sahara and the Sahel?
The Sahara is much larger than the Sahel
The Sahel receives more rainfall than the Sahara
How have the Tuareg people adapted to life in the desert, particularly in terms of transportation and herding?
The Tuareg people adapt to desert life by moving their herds to find water and better pasture, relying on animals for milk, cheese, and meat.
Camels are used for travel, as they can endure long distances with little food or water, while modern technology like trucks and planes has improved transportation across the desert.
What are the major economic activities at an oasis?
trading and farming
How does the system known as shifting agriculture help marginal lands?
It gives worn-out fields a chance to recover.
The practice of farming a site until the soil is exhausted, then moving on to a new site
shifting agriculture
In the Sahel, some farmers, for example, have begun to raise cash crops, like ________, which often wear out the soil faster than traditional crops. This leads to desertification.
peanuts