The Geographic Setting
The Sahara Environment
The Oasis Environment
The Sahel Environment
Vocabulary
Fill in the Blank
100

Along the southern edge of the major desert in Africa is a semiarid grassland called... 


Sahel 

100

What is the name of the pastoral nomads who live in the Sahara Desert? 


The Tuareg

100

The most important and most common oasis plant is the 


date palm


100

What type of land makes up most of the land in the Sahel?


marginal land

100

A changing of oneself to fit new conditions 


adaptations or adapt 

100

Tuareg traders lead camel ______ across the desert.

caravans 

200

As the world's largest desert, the Sahara is about as same size as... 


the United States 

200

The rivers that flow through the Sahara are 


the Nile and Niger Rivers. 

200

Why are most oasis settlements small? 


Their size is limited by their water supply.

200

List two causes of desertification. 



--overgrazing of animal herds

--deforestation - cutting down too many trees

--long-term drought

200

groups of herders who move with their animals from place to place in search of pasture and water



pastoral nomads 

200

Blowing sand and creeping dunes will rapidly cover crops unless the plants are protected by_______.

Wind breaks 

300

What type of winds start at northern latitudes and blow across the Sahara desert keeping it extremely dry? 


trade winds

300

How do the Tuareg protect themselves from the burning sun? 


They wear long, loose clothing and cover their heads and faces.

300

Why are date palms so important to human life in the Sahara? 


Date palms provide food, fuel, and materials for homes.

300

What type of land is most threatened by desertification in the Sahel? 

marginal land
300

A fertile place in a desert where there is water and vegetation.


oasis 

300

In the oasis environments, most people are subsistence farmers, but others grow cash crops such as ______, wheat, barley, and vegetables.

dates

400

What do ergs, regs, and hammadas have in common? 


They are desert landforms 

400

What is the main reason pastoral nomads move from place to place? 


to find fresh pasture for their herds

400

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. 

400

What type of land is most threatened by desertification in the Sahel? 


marginal land 

400

Land that is not well suited for growing crops, usually located at the edge of the desert. 



marginal land

400

In the Sahel, cooking with ___ is only one of the changes that people are making to prevent desertification.

coal

500

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

500

List three ways the Tuareg have adapted to life in the Sahara desert. 


---They trade milk, cheese, and some meat for the goods they cannot make or grow themselves. 

--he Tuareg wear long, loose clothing to protect them from the sun. 

--Tuareg traders use camels for transportation. 

--Drilling machines have reached underground water to create new oases. 

500

What are the major economic activities at an oasis?

trading and farming

500

How does the system known as shifting agriculture help marginal lands?

It gives worn-out fields a chance to recover.

500

The practice of farming a site until the soil is exhausted, then moving on to a new site 



shifting agriculture 

500

In the Sahel, some farmers, for example, have begun to raise cash crops, like ________, which often wear out the soil faster than traditional crops

peanuts