Sahara Desert facts

Few places on earth provide such powerful imagery of human-landscape interaction as the Sahara and Sahel regions (Figure 1). Together, the Sahara and Sahel cover nearly 3.85 million square miles in Africa, approximately one third of the continent’s 11.7 million square miles and slightly larger than the 3.6 million square miles that comprise the lower 48 states of the U.S. From east to west across the northern bulge of the African continent, and straddling the tropics between about 10° and 35° north latitude, these two regions exemplify the eternal struggle between humans and their environment. The ‘tragedy of the commons” plays out along the Sahel transition zone as societies try to maximize their economic opportunities, and thus their survival, in competition with each other and with the physical landscape. To the north, camel caravans and modern trucks connect remote Saharan destinations across vast and inhospitable distances. Artificial political boundaries drawn on government maps seem at odds with the desert dwellers’ lifestyles as they move from oasis to oasis along pathways well worn by generations past. Tuareg families, for example, in Niger’s Aïr Mountains, across southern Algeria, in Timbuktu, Mali, or on the southwestern sands of Libya, seem oblivious at times to the larger geopolitical forces at play. Yet from time to time they take up arms to exert their independence from distant and uncaring governments. The Sahara is their raison d’être, their milieu.

Africa’s spectacular Sahara and Sahel regions are just two of the myriad destinations visited in recent years by the American Geographical Society’s (AGS) educational travel program. Designed around exciting themes and places, the AGS travel program aims to focus attention on the planet’s most pressing challenges through lectures, discussions, and experiences. On the recent AGS Great Sahara and West Africa educational expeditions issues such as economic development, climate change, global influences on local cultures, regional geopolitics, and environmental change were just a few of the many topics presented that helped participants better understand the peoples and places visited.

From its birth in 1851, the American Geographical Society has always pursued exploration with a passion for science, discovery, and education. At its inception, the AGS led American scientific efforts to explore the Arctic, as much was left to discover in 1851. In the mid-19th century, world maps still contained sizable swatches of terra incognita. Although the general public wasn’t convinced of the value of filling those blanks, scholars, businesspeople, and statesmen at the AGS certainly were. The Society sponsored expeditions, helped to train and prepare explorers, published findings, and presented results through seminars and conferences. As just one example, Robert Peary led several Arctic expeditions with AGS support, one of them while serving as AGS President; and he finally reached the North Pole in 1909. Black explorer Matthew Henson reached the Pole with Peary, and Henson himself was publicly honored by the AGS at its centennial banquet in 1951.

Although traditional exploration no longer is a key component of the AGS mission, the Society has continued its passion for science and discovery through its popular educational travel program. In recent decades, the American Geographical Society has sponsored over 200 educational lecture tours for the general public. The AGS Travel Program is distinguished by the fact that its lecturers are professional geographers. They are Fellows of the Society and authorities on the regions explored, often having done field work there or having traveled previously to the program’s destinations. They bring a geographer’s holistic and unifying interpretation to the description and analysis of landscape, history, customs, cuisine, art, architecture, politics, music, religion, literature, resources, economy, and all the other riches of the places visited on each trip. Indeed, few places on the globe have not been visited by the AGS travel program!

The following images were created in November 2006 and 2007 during two such AGS travel programs and represent just a fraction of the myriad human-environment stories that unfold each day in the Sahara and Sahel regions.

Wodaabe and Tuareg frequently participate in a ceremony that extols the virtues of male beauty. Wodaabe men greet arriving passengers at Agadez airport in Niger.

Access to water in the Sahara has always presented challenges to nomadic peoples. Several miles outside Agadez, a semi-permanent settlement of Tuareg has grown around several productive water wells. The man is drawing water for the goats, which are often cared for by young children.

The road from Agadez into the Aïr Mountains that leads to the Tuareg village of Timia is more suited to camel trains than modern vehicles. A convoy of jeeps and landrovers meets a southbound camel train, and everything grinds to a halt while passing protocols, and information about the route ahead, are discussed.

Many visitors to the Sahara are surprised to learn that sand only comprises about 15 percent of the desert landscape: most of the surface is a hard, stony pavement. Moving goods across the gravelly environment is still today easiest and cheapest by camel train. In the background rise the foothills of the Aïr Mountains of northwestern Niger, a fascinating and formidable range. The mountain range consists of nine almost circular massifs rising from a rocky plateau, bordered by the sand dunes and plain of the Ténéré Desert to the east.

Distances are huge in the Sahara region and paved roads are the exception. This truck was heading south towards Agadez from Arlit (founded in 1969 during the uranium boom) on one of the few paved roads in the northern part of the Sahara. Trucks move cotton and rice along the major arterials of the Saharan region, along with other staple goods and minerals. These transportation corridors are also major vectors for the spread of HIV-AIDS, one of Sub-Saharan Africa’s deadliest diseases.

Tuareg family groups are scattered throughout the Sahara region, giving rise to geopolitical questions about state-based identities that can frequently lead to armed conflict. On regular occasions Tuareg clans gather in the Timia region to celebrate their culture and to discuss issues of importance. This three-day gathering took place in November 2006 and featured live music, camel racing, political speeches, and exhibitions of food and crafts.

Flying over the Niger River towards Timbuktu, the inland delta appears like a green carpet, giving life to the many villages that line the banks of its myriad channels. This area, just south of Timbuktu, marks the end of the transition zone between the Sahel and the true Sahara desert.

At the northeastern edge of the Sahara lies the oasis of Siwa, located between the Qattara Depression and the Egyptian Sand Sea in the Libyan Desert, nearly 30 miles east of the Libyan border and 350 miles from Cairo. In recent years several eco-lodges have sprung up around the fringes of its lakes and dunes, providing a comfortable and visually stunning base from which to explore the shifting sands that surround the oasis.

Timbuktu in northern Mali is the quintessential Saharan trade town, where past glories can only be imagined from the current human landscape. Situated strategically where the northern desert trade routes meet the Niger River, modern development is being funded in part by Libya’s Ghaddafi. A modern hotel resort complex and a canal connecting the city to the river are just two of the projects underway in the city. The main road featured in this picture links the airport to the town, and it suggests that modernity is still some way off.

Within the oasis of Siwa lies the Oracle Temple of Amun. According to legend, Alexander the Great, before his campaign of conquest in Persia, reached the oasis, supposedly by following birds across the desert. The Oracle is said to have confirmed Alexander as both a divine personage and the legitimate Pharaoh of Egypt.

Street vendors are ubiquitous throughout North African towns and cities. In Siwa, this vendor and his young assistant were hopeful of selling twenty bar-b-que chickens during the afternoon, enough to provide a meager profit of a few dollars.

The Sahara region is a significant repository of pre-historic rock art, dating back nearly 8,000 years to the desert’s last major wet cycle, when large animals roamed the region. Nearly 3,000 rock art sites have been discovered throughout the region.

At a Tuareg encampment outside Timbuktu, women of all ages gathered around male dancers to sing colorful yet haunting melodies about life, love, and the environment. Although this presentation may have appeared somewhat touristy, the artistic foundations of dance and song are embedded in Tuareg culture and have tremendous symbolic meaning.

Transportation challenges abound in the Sahara/ Sahel region. Crossing the Bani River to get to the markets and villages in and around Djenné, Mali, requires patience, ingenuity, and not a little bravado, as no roads exist and formal ferries are few and far between.

The Great Mosque of Djenné arguably is the biggest mud brick building in the world. Many architects consider this mosque to be the greatest achievement of the Sudano-Sahelian architectural style, although Islamic influences can clearly be seen in the layout. The current structure dates from 1907, but has its foundation in the 13th century. It is located in the center of Djenné, Mali, on the flood plain of the Bani River, which is part of West Africa’s Niger river system.

Many of the Dogon dances are entertainment spectacles, encouraged by the recent growth in tourism. Almost all of the masks used by the Dogon for religious rituals are known only to them, with their meanings kept secret. These religious masks can only be worn by members of the Awa, a secret Dogon masking association.

Scattered along the Bandiagara escarpment in the Sangha region of Mali’s Dogon country, lie several villages best known for Dogon mythology, mask dances, sculptures, and fascinating architecture. Regional insecurity after centuries of murder and enslavement by Islamic jihadists encouraged the mostly animist Dogon to locate their villages in defensible positions along the escarpment walls.

This young Dogon boy was very curious about the foreign visitors to his village who were enjoying a mask dancing performance. What are the life options possible for this young Malian? How will his village and culture change in the face of increasing contact with the global capitalist world?

Ouagadougou is the administrative, political, economic, and cultural center of Burkina Faso, with approximately 1.6 million inhabitants in the metropolitian area. The National Museum, shown here, has a wonderful collection of masks, artifacts, and other artistic examples from the myriad vibrant culture groups that make up Burkina.

Situated north of Bobo-Dioulasso along the main road to Ouagadougou, the villages of Boni and Pouni are famous for their mask dancers. The polychrome masks in these villages represent animals such as buffaloes, antelopes, monkeys, and birds. All of the masks embody spirits of fertility and health and are celebrated usually after the harvest.

Along the paved road from Ouagadougou southeast to Tiebele, vendors plied their wares from roadside markets. With an abundance of local vegetables and fruits for sale, these open-air mini-markets did a brisk business with passing truckers, buses, and families on the move.

Population growth continues to present enormous challenges for African nations. With a net annual growth rate of nearly three percent, Burkina Faso’s rural populations especially are characterized by large numbers of children. What does the future hold for these Tiébélé youngsters and will difficult physical environments force many of them to migrate to the towns and cities?

Located approximately 100 miles south of Ouagadougou near the Ghanaian border, Tiébélé village is representative of Gurundsi architecture and cultural practices. This community of about 450 inhabitants is famous for its wall paintings and fetish representations that link religion, fertility, and economic practices in an intricate set of relationships.

Decorative wall paintings are one of the culture traits of the Gurundsi communities in southeastern Burkina Faso. Village women work in teams to prepare community walls and the external parts of private houses with geometric and other designs.

Moving people and goods around the Sahara/Sahel region is extremely challenging. Road infrastructure is poor and speeds are slow, but people find a way to overcome transportation barriers. On the road towards Ghana’s border with Burkina Faso, this bus loaded with goats, baggage, vegetables, and people made its way along the highway averaging not more than 25 miles per hour.

Cotton and cattle are ubiquitous in the Sahel region of Burkina Faso. Herding the cattle is often the responsibility of young boys or old men, which leaves little time for the children to attend the local school. Many of these youngsters attend school for a few hours in the morning and then take up their agricultural duties in the afternoon.

Often called the Venice of Mali, Mopti is build on three islands connected by dikes, and is located at the confluence of the Bani and Niger rivers. From the air, the irrigated rice fields stand out in stark contrast to the compact urban environment, home to about 120,000 people. Important research is underway in this region to understand the relationship between malaria and irrigated agriculture. Although irrigated areas sometimes have more anopheline vectors of malaria than adjacent non-irrigated villages, overall malaria prevalence appears to be substantially lower.

The river is an important social and economic lifeline for tens of thousands of Malians who live along the banks of the Niger and Bani. The pirogue is a small, flat-bottomed boat most often associated with West African fishermen, but widely used as the main form of transportation along the Malian river system.

Sunset over the Bani River from the Mopti side. Hazy conditions are often a consequence of Sahara dust moving across the region, and recent research has suggested an important correlation between concentrations of atmospheric dust and the formation of Atlantic hurricanes.