Facts You DO NOT Want to Know about the Sahara Desert.
By Ubertramp • Oct 12th, 2007 • Category: Featured Moroccology, Moroccology
Before a trip, I invariably read up a little on my proposed destination – it’s a practice I heartily recommend. I truly believe that arming yourself with a few facts beforehand can significantly enhance your peregrinations. But a word of warning: Don’t read too much, especially if you are planning to venture into the Sahara Desert. And here’s for why:-
Before heading east into the sandy nothingness with our guide, Youssef, I desired to know a little more about this fascinating place. Previously, I had learned little apart from that gleaned during my school years. Before digging deeper I knew only that deserts weren’t among the most hospitable places on earth. ‘Grannies’ and ‘Eggs’ springs to mind when I say that desert is without doubt one of the most harsh and demanding environments on the planet. This much is clear.
I now know, however, that - as deserts go - the Sahara Desert is in a league of its own. For one, the Sahara is the largest desert on earth. Covering an area of 3 and a half million square miles, or 8% of the planet, this sprawling mass of nothingness manages to comfortably divide Africa into two regions – North Africa (or at least what’s left of it) and Sub-Saharan Africa. It’s vast. To put it bluntly, if you were to get rid of Alaska (now I’m not suggesting anything here), you could happily fit the remainder of USA into the Sahara Desert without it even touching the sides. As I say, the Sahara Desert is a big ol’ place - but that’s only half the story.
I recently learnt that to be classed as a desert an area must receive less than 10 inches of rainfall a year. Now, with most of the Sahara region receiving no more than a third of this amount, this particular daddy of a desert manages to come in way under the bar. Combine this with its sheer size and you have one magnificently lethal place. It’s a wonder how anything survives at all. Curiously, however, some things do.
Despite this lack of precipitation (and I firmly maintain that most of the Sahara Desert’s share of rain falls instead on the UK) numerous underground rivers run from the Atlas and other mountains - some of which occasionally find their way close to the surface to form naturally irrigated oases. Now, although these partially fertile oases account for only 80,000 square miles of the Sahara Desert – or just 2% of the land mass as a whole – life in these areas is good, or, more accurately, barely sustainable (fact: 15 of the 16 countries with the highest level of hunger are located in the Sahara and Sub-Saharan regions of Africa).
As for the other 98% of the Sahara Desert, well, let’s just say that the area that isn’t quite the land of plenty described above. If you were to parachute in before lunch, I dare say you wouldn’t return to civilisation in time for mint tea and tagines that evening. In fact, unless you either knew what you were doing or bumped into folk that knew what they were doing, you wouldn’t return at all.
So, in short, the Sahara Desert is big, dry and deadly. Should you happen to get lost or stranded in the Sahara – and should you happen to have the desert survival skills of, say, Nathan Richards - you die. It’s a concept unsettling in its simplicity, and one that engenders a modicum of disquiet. Especially if you happen to be Nathan Richards.
As I touched upon earlier, a little boffing up on the facts can be beneficial – knowledge is, after all, a good thing - but too much information may not be. Once armed with these alarming facts you could be forgiven for asking yourself what on earth were you thinking when you chose to sign up for such high adventure. Right now, I thought, ignorance would have been bliss - for it was into this incalculably vast, desiccated wasteland that we were imminently to depart. Anxious? Not even close, mate…and that’s without the scorpions and horned vipers.
Ubertramp is the brainchild of freelance travel writer and inveterate cheapskate Nath Richards.
On occasion, he's been known to write for cash, food or friends - but never to flash for coins or publicity. If you enjoy his articles and want one for your own publication then drop him a line. Unless hungry, he's quite approachable.
Email this author | All posts by Ubertramp
Haha, good advice, man . . .and some I should take. I seem to always just stumble around this world not really knowing what I am doing. Haha, man, Ubertramp , you are turning travel scientist on me haha. How was your jaunt out into the desert, anyway? Mira is here now (and promptly got sick and assed out in the hotel) and we may be down for a little romantic voyage into the desert. Have fun, man!
. . .and you may find two bedraggled vagaboobs on your doorstep sometime soon.
Later Gator,
Wade from
Song of the Open Road travelogue
Hey, stumbling is never a bad thing - its my one and only full time pursuit. You can’t knock it! haha.
Great news that Mira came out, and sounds like all is well in the vagabond camp! (btw - Mira, I hope you get better soon, no-one likes being icky. A 2 day Diet solely consisting of coca cola and dry bread - its a miracle cure, man!! I swear by it anyway, but what do I know?)
Ok - rest of the desert stuff coming the next few days - where does all the time go? and, one last thing, our door - as they say - is always open. It’l be good to see you both if you come down our way - and i mean that. Ubertramp: rarely he speak with fork tongue…
Good luck guys!
Nath, Hi again!
my relation with Sahara is not simple or normal, it is where i open my eyes give my cry and smile to this strange world for the first time,it’s where i know really why the teachers was making the best to understand us the necessity of water and trees in human life and for the beauty of the nature
,it(sahara) always says to me “u r welcome” at anytime i want to meet and hold the sky , welcome to increase my energy of the faith ,the hope and love of the life, welcome to reember all good and poor stages of my life of childhood , in short i like it and like who likes it too
Nath? sorry for my poorlanguage!
Majid
Ahlan Majid!
You put it so well, and no excuses for the language, please. Your English is superb - its a heck of a lot better than my Arabic, that’s for sure!
No-one knows the Sahara better than those who live there, and your description of the emotions evoked by this vast and amazing place are truly from the heart. It seems you can relay your feelings, and those of many others who have been fortunate enough to witness this extraordinary place, perfectly.
Thank you for sharing this, Majid. And until we meet again, all the very best to you and your family - Nath
Nath,
You just added another must-see place to my list.
Haha. Glad to hear it, Scott! I would try and find more places just like this, but I’ll be too busy on your hiking trails LOL!
All the best.
Great advise. It seems sometimes ignorance is the best answer to allowing yourself to let go and enjoy your trips. Great writting, can’t wait to read more on your travels.
Thanks Annette, and what you say is very true! As far as i’m concerned, the best plan is to have no plan. Great if you have enough time on your hands to make mistakes, anyway. Regards
So how was your Sahara trip?
Hi Laura - How was it? It was awesome, at least in retrospect it was. I must admit, the 5 or 6 weeks was enough in one stint though. The place does really grind you down after a while - its a feeling I’ve never experienced before. Normally you have to throw me out of a country before my visa expires - I rarely wish to depart of my own free will. Its just the touts and the rip-offs etc. There came a time for Lauren and I (fortunately around the same time) that we knew we needed a bit of respite. Lauren had to come back anyway, but I also returned as I would prefer to spend what little money I do have left elsewhere. I came back to stop paying out and to start saving up for the next jaunt away, which will hopefully be soon and in Indonesia.
As for the rest of the trip, it’s on its way, you have my word. I guess I needed a break from the Morocco writing as much as I did the place itself. But I’l be back to finish the chapter soon enough!
Thanks
Nath
thats so interesting
The Largest desert is actually Antarctica. The Sahara is the third largest desert, but the first largest hot desert
Dave, you’re 100% correct. I should have been more precise - it’s the world’s largest ‘non-polar’ desert. Just checking your awake…
I’m looking forward to your next comment already…
can you find how do horned viper live in the sahara desert?
and if are horned vipers cold blooded or warm blooded?