The
Sea of Sand: In ancient times, Egypt and Kush did very little
trade with West Africa. They had heard that West Africa had wonderful
things – gold, salt, ivory. They
knew that West Africa needed iron. They wanted to trade with West Africa,
but the Sahara Desert was in the way.
The
Sahara Desert was (and still is) the largest desert in the world. The
Sahara Desert is about the same size as the 48 consecutive states in the
continental United States. Can you imagine a desert that runs from New
York City to Los Angeles, California? Or one that runs all the way from
Maine to Mexico?
The
Sahara Desert is not only big - it's also hot. It's one of the hottest
places on earth. During the day, the temperature can be 130 degrees. As
miserable as you would be from the heat, it’s the dryness that makes it
a desert. There is so little water. It hardly ever rains. The Sahara
perhaps enjoys three inches of rain a year, and even that is speckled. It
might rain in one place and not rain again in the same place for years.
It’s no wonder that the Sahara Desert is called the Sea of Sand.
Oasis:
An oasis is a wet rest stop. It’s a small section of desert that is fed
by underground streams of water. In these tiny sections of the desert,
there are green plants and cool water. Even though there are many oases in
the Sahara, the Sahara is so big that you might have to travel a day or
even weeks to reach one. In the meantime, you are exposed to hot, very hot
shifting sand dunes that seem to run forever.
Desert
Life: In spite of the horrible conditions for humans, there is life in the
desert. There are poisonous snakes and poisonous spiders. There are many
animals and plants in the desert, but the Sahara is not a geographically
friendly place for humans. You
can see why people were a bit reluctant to cross the Sahara in search of
trading partners.
Sahara Desert