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The Sahara Desert was formed about 2.5 million years ago and is the largest in the world
sandiness
desert
With an area of about 9.32 million square kilometers, it is located
Africa
North. The climate in the region is extremely harsh, making it one of the most inhospitable places on Earth for life.
"Sahara" is
Arabic
The transliteration of "Sahara" in Arabic means the great desert, derived locally
nomad
The Tuareg
The original meaning of the language is "Great desert".
[1]
- Chinese name
- Sahara Desert
- Foreign name
- Sahara Desert
- Area product
- Approximately 9,320,000 km²
- Geographical position
- North Africa
- Maximum air temperature
- 57.7 ℃
- peak
- Koussi (3,415 m)
- nadir
- Kadalla Lowland (−133 m)
- length
- 4800 km
- breadth
- 1800 km
catalogue
- 1Origin of name
- 2Historical evolution
- ▪Prehistoric period
- ▪Buffalo age
- ▪Cattle period
- ▪Equine age
- ▪Camel age
- ▪Sailing period
- ▪History and culture
- 3Formation reason
- 4Geographical environment
- ▪position
- ▪landform
- ▪climate
- ▪drainage
- ▪soil
The name "Sahara" comes from
Arabic
The axle is imported from the local station
The nomadic Tuareg people
In its language, it means "desert". This desert was formed about 2.5 million years ago.
In the previous
Ice age
The Sahara is not yet a desert, with a climate similar to
East Africa
There are about 30,000 ancient rock paintings found in the desert, about half of which are in the desert
Algeria
south
N 'Ajer Plateau
All depicted river animals, such as
crocodile
Let's wait.
Satellite: Fengyun III D satellite location: Mauritania Sahara Desert [9]
According to the content of rock paintings in the Sahara Desert, they can be divided into several periods:
Prehistoric period
in
Pleistocene
Before and after. The Sahara was not very dry at that time, but a vast river alluvial plain. No signs of human activity have been found in this period, hence the name prehistoric, and there are rock paintings in North Africa at that time.
Buffalo age
From about 35,000 years ago to about 8,000 BC. The petroglyphs are mainly found in southeastern Algeria, Chad and Libya. They were painted between 10,000 and 8,000 BC,
rhinoceros
. The figures in the paintings often wear round helmets, use clubs, axes, bows and arrows, and throw clubs to strike prey, but no javelin is seen.
Cattle period
From about 7500 to 4000 BC. Local residents began to engage
Nomadic life
Herd cattle and sheep. Pottery and Neolithic axes, grinding stones and arrowheads have been found, as well as some hunting bows and arrows. Grazing animals were imported from Asia. Later, some remains of villages where people and livestock gathered together were found.
Equine age
From about 3000 to 700 BC. There are signs of the introduction of horses, camels and cows, and of large-scale agriculture. Learned to use and forge iron from the Phoenicians, probably around 1220 BC.
Phoenicians
At that time, a great imperial alliance was established in the region that spanned the entire Sahara to Egypt.
Since 2500 BC, the Sahara has become as large a desert as it is now, becoming an insurmountable obstacle for humans at that time, only a few inhabitants in the oasis, commercial traffic can rarely cross the desert. One exception is the Nile Valley, which, thanks to its abundant water supply, has become a lush area of plant growth and one of the birthplaces of human civilization. however
The Nile
There are several large waterfalls that are not navigable, which also pose great obstacles to commercial trade. But Egypt was able to spread iron technology, and perhaps imperial ideas, to the south
Nubia
And further south.
By 500 BC,
Ancient Greek
As the Phoenicians and Greeks began to influence the region, Greek merchants exploited the eastern edge of the desert and established many commercial colonies along the Red Sea coast.
Carthage
They developed in the western desert along the Atlantic coast, but because of the stormy Atlantic Ocean and the lack of sufficient markets, their exploration never extended beyond the territory of Morocco. Centralized states were located only on the northern and eastern edges of the desert, and their power did not reach the desert hinterland, so these people living on the edge of the desert were often attacked by the Berber people who nomadic in the desert.
The biggest changes in the history of the Sahara came from the invasion
Arab
brought
Camel
They enabled trade to travel across the desert, and northern Mediterranean chiefs brought horses and crafts to the south, where the kingdom of Sahel became rich and powerful by exporting gold and salt. The oasis in the desert became a commercial center, which gradually came under the control of the northern chiefs.
This state of affairs lasted for centuries until the Europeans invented the galleon, first of all
Portuguese
Round the Sahara to plunder
Guinea
Then other European countries followed suit, and the Sahara soon lost its commercial value. Although the colonists ignored the value of the Sahara Desert, many valuable mineral deposits have been discovered in modern times, including
Algeria
and
Libya
Of oil and gas resources,
Morocco
and
Western Sahara
The phosphate rock.
The Sahara desert is hot and dry. However, it is puzzling that in this extreme drought and water shortage, the land is cracked, and the plants are rare in the mine, there was once a prosperous ancient civilization. Many beautiful and colorful large frescoes on the desert are the crystallization of this ancient civilization.
Although the Sahara Desert (excluding the Nile Valley) is the size of the United States, it is home to an estimated 2.5 million inhabitants, less than 0.4 people per square kilometer. The vast area is empty, but as long as there is thin vegetation to support livestock, or a reliable source of water, scattered populations will survive in one of the world's most difficult and precarious environments
Ecological environment
Next to survive.
Archaeological evidence shows that the Sahara Desert has been settled by a variety of people, the cultivation and domestication of plants and animals led to professional specialization. Foreign trade also developed, and copper from Mauritius found its way into the Bronze Age civilizations of the Mediterranean by 2000 BC.
The exodus of nomads facilitated their involvement in trade throughout the Sahara. The inhabitants of the oasis in the Sahara Desert are vulnerable to the Sanhaya (
The Berber people
) and other camel-riding nomads, many of whom had fled into the desert to escape the chaos and warfare of the late Roman period in North Africa. Many of the remaining oasis inhabitants, among them the Haratin, were conquered by nomads. Between the 7th and 11th centuries
Islam
Expansion into North Africa spurred more Berbers and Arab groups eager to preserve their traditional beliefs to move into the Sahara Desert. Islam eventually expanded through trade routes and became a major social force in the desert.
Sahara Desert landscape
Within the desert, fixed occupations are limited to oases, where irrigation permits limited cultivation of dates, pomegranates, and other fruit trees; Grains such as millet, barley, wheat, and vegetables; And specialty crops such as spittle. Water sources have severely limited the expansion of oases, and in some places, excessive use of water has severely reduced water levels in Mauritania
Adrar
This is the case with the oasis in the Adrar area. The salinization of the soil by severe evaporation and the burial of eroded sand is another hazard; The latter, as in the case of the oasis of Souf in Algeria, requires constant manual clearance.
On September 22, 2014,
Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences
The latest research shows that about 7 million to 11 million years ago,
The Tethys Sea
The idea that the shrinkage of the Sahara Desert led to the formation of the Sahara Desert in Africa overturns the traditional view that the Sahara desert formed in the Quaternary period (about 3 million years ago).
[2]
It is generally believed that the formation age of the Sahara Desert is not earlier than the Quaternary. The vast geological record shows
Quaternary glacial period
At the beginning there was a significant drought in the Sahara. The degree of drought in the Sahara is mainly influenced by the African summer monsoon.
Before the Quaternary period, the variation of the African summer monsoon showed a clear precession cycle (about 20,000 years period). After the onset of the Quaternary glacial period, interglacial cycles (about 40,000 or 100,000 year cycles) began to influence the intensity of the African summer monsoon.
[2]
Researchers from the Institute of Atmospheric Sciences of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, in collaboration with foreign scientists, have found that the late Miocene Tortonian stage (about 7 million to 11 million years ago) was a key period of time when drought in North Africa intensified the formation of the Sahara Desert. Using Norwegian Earth system models and common atmospheric models, the scientists revealed that the contraction of the Tethys Sea in the Toltonian stage led to a significant weakening of the African summer monsoon and the formation of arid desert conditions over large areas of North Africa.
The contraction of the Tethys Sea not only led to the change of the mean climate state in North Africa, but also strengthened the response of the African summer monsoon to the change of the orbit, and subsequently became the main factor controlling the change of the extent of the Sahara Desert.
[2]
(1) North Africa is located
The Tropic of Cancer
Both sides, perennial
Subtropical high pressure belt
Control, prevailing dry heat
downdraft
, and
African continent
Narrow in the south and wide in the north
Subtropical high pressure belt
The control range is large, and the dry heat area is wide.
(2)
North Africa
with
Asia
Close proximity to the mainland,
Northeast trade wind
Blowing from the eastern land, it is not easy to form precipitation, making North Africa even drier.
(3)
North Africa
The shoreline is flat, with a stretch to the east
Ethiopian plateau
It blocks the moist air flow, so that the vast inland areas are not affected by the ocean.
(4)
North Africa
On the west coast there is
The Canary cold
Through, the western coastal areas play a cooling and dehumidification effect, so that the desert approaching the west coast.
(5)
North Africa
The terrain is single, flat, undulating, and the climate is single, forming a large area of desert.
[3]
The Sahara Desert is the largest desert in the world outside of Antarctica and is located in northern Africa from the Mediterranean Sea to the south
Sudan steppe
. It is located south of the Atlas Mountains and the Mediterranean Sea (about 35° N) and north of about 14° N (250 mm isohyet).
The Sahara Desert runs west
Atlantic
Start along the coast, end north
The Atlas Mountains
and
Mediterranean
To the Red Sea in the east and to the south
Sudan
and
Niger river
valley-bound
Sahel
-- A transition zone of half desert and half grassland.
The Sahara Desert is the largest desert in the world, covering almost all of it
Africa
North. The desert is about 4,800 km (3,000 mi) long from east to west and between 1,300 and 1,900 km (800 to 1,200 mi) from north to south, with a total area of about 9,320,00km ².
Across the northern part of the African continent, it is 5,600 kilometers long from east to west and about 1,600 kilometers wide from north to south, accounting for about 32% of the total area of Africa.
The Sahara Desert is divided into several parts:
Western Sahara
; Central Plateau mountain (including located
Algeria
the
The Ahagar Plateau
, located in
The Niger
The Eyre Plateau and located
Chad
the
Tibes raised the original
); To the east is the most inhospitable region, the Tenere Desert and the Libyan Desert. The highest point of the Sahara Desert is in the Tibesti Plateau
Koussi
It is 3415 meters above sea level.
The main topographic features of the Sahara Desert include shallow, seasonally flooded basins and large oasis depressions, rocky uplands, steep mountains, and sandy beaches,
dune
And the sand sea.
The highest point in the desert is the 3,415 m (11,204 ft) summit of Koussi, located in Chad
The Tibesti Mountains
; The lowest point is 133 m (436 ft) below sea level, in Egypt
The Qatara Depression
(Qattara Depression).
The Sahara Desert appeared as a climatic desert about 5 million years ago, in the early Pliocene (5.3 to 3.4 million years ago). Since then, it has been undergoing changes in dry and wet conditions.
[4]
The climate conditions are extremely harsh, and it is one of the most inhospitable places on Earth for biological growth. Sahara means "Sahara" in Arabic
Great desert
". The Sahara Desert is the sunniest place in the world. It is also the largest and harshest desert in the world.
The climate of the Sahara Desert is governed by the north-south shift of the trade wind belt, which often has many extremes. It has one of the highest evaporation rates in the world, and has a record for the largest area without rain for several years at a time. Temperatures can reach frost and freeze at higher elevations, while at lower elevations there can be the hottest weather in the world.
The Sahara Desert divides the African continent into two parts, North Africa and Southern Black Africa, which have very different climates and cultures, and the southern border of the Sahara is semi-arid
The tropical savanna
It is called "Sahel" in Arabic, and further south it is full of rain and lush plants
Southern Africa
It is called "Sudan" in Arabic, which means Black Africa.
The Sahara Desert is dominated by two climatic regimes: the arid subtropical climate in the north and the arid tropical climate in the south. The arid subtropical climate is characterized by a wide range of annual and daily temperature variations, cold to cool winters and hot summers with the highest precipitation.
The annual average daily temperature ranges about 20 ° C (68 ° F). The average winter temperature is 13 ° C (55 ° F). Summer is extremely hot. The highest temperature in Al-Aziziyah, Libya, was a record 58 ° C (136 ° F). Annual precipitation is 76 mm (3 in), although rainfall is highly variable, with most precipitation occurring between December and March. Another high rainfall is in August, characterized by thunderstorms.
Such heavy rainfall can cause massive flash flooding into areas where there is no rainfall. Arid tropical climates are characterized by a strong annual temperature cycle depending on the position of the sun; Mild, dry winters and hot, dry seasons are followed by changeable summer rains. The average annual daily temperature difference in the arid tropics of the Sahara Desert is 17.5 ° C (31.5 ° F).
The average temperature of the coldest month is basically the same as that of the northern subtropical areas, and sometimes the daily temperature difference is particularly large, in a meteorological station south of Tripoli, North Africa, on December 25, 1978, the hottest day reached 37.2 ° C, and the lowest temperature at night fell to a record of -0.6 ° C, and the daily temperature difference reached 37.8 ° C, which can really be described as "wearing fur jacket at noon wearing yarn". It is burning during the day, freezing at night (although -0.6 ° C is not cold, but the temperature difference reached 37.8 ° C, from hot to cool between the instant conversion, the cold can be imagined), to late spring and early summer is very hot, 50 ° C (122 ° F) high temperature is not rare.
[5]
Although rainfall on dry tropical hills is small throughout the year, it can be highest in the lowlands in summer. In the north, most of this rainfall occurs as thunderstorms. Annual precipitation averages about 125 mm (5 in), and snow sometimes falls on the central hills.
The cold Canary current on the western edge of the desert cools temperatures, which reduces convective rain, but increases humidity and occasionally fog. Winter in the southern Sahara is the Hamedan season, a dry northeasterly wind that carries sand and other small dust particles.
How many
headwater
From outside the Sahara desert, for the desert provided
Surface water
And groundwater, and absorb the water released by its network.
The main tributaries of the Nile gather in the Sahara Desert, and the river flows north along the eastern edge of the desert into the Mediterranean Sea; Several rivers drain into Lake Chad south of the Sahara Desert, and a considerable amount of water continues northeast to refill the region
aquifer
; The water of the Niger River is
Guinea
The Futajaron region rises, flows through the southwestern Sahara Desert and then flows south to the sea.
From the Atlas Mountains and Libya,
Tunisia
The coastal uplands of Algeria, Algeria and Morocco provide additional water from flowing streams and dry riverbeds (seasonal streams).
Particularly striking is the integrated network of dry riverbeds, lakes, and ponds associated with the Tibetis Mountains, as well as
Tarsili N 'aye
(Tassili-n-Ajjer) and
The Ahajjar Mountains
Similar networks such as the Tamanrasset River. The sand dunes of the Sahara Desert store a considerable amount of rainwater, and there are seeps and springs throughout the desert cliffs.
The soil of the Sahara Desert is low in organic matter and often devoid of biological activity, although nitrogen-fixing bacteria are present in some areas. The soil of the depression is often salty. The soil on the edge of the desert contains a higher concentration of organic matter.
Sahara Desert
Arid landform
There are many types. by
Stony desert
(rock desert), gravel desert and desert. The stone desert is mostly distributed in the higher terrain of the central and eastern Sahara,
The Nile
east
Nubian desert
Mainly stone desert. Gravel desert is common between stone desert and desert, mainly distributed in the stony area of the Libyan desert,
The Atlas Mountains
,
Koussi
Mountain front alluvial fan zone.
The area of the desert is the broadest, except for a few higher mountains and plateaus, there are large areas of distribution everywhere. Be famous for
Desert of Libya
,
The Rebjana Desert
,
Aubari desert
,
Algeria
the
Great eastern desert
and
Great western desert
,
Shesh desert
,
Jufu Desert
, Awana Desert,
Birma Desert
Let's wait. The larger area is called the "sand sea". The sand sea is composed of complex and regular dunes of different sizes, with complex and diverse forms, including tall fixed dunes, low mobile dunes, and large areas of fixed and semi-fixed dunes. Fixed dunes are mainly located in the south near the grasslands and along the Atlantic coast. From Libya west to the west of Algeria is a region of quicksand. Mobile dunes move downwind. In the Sahara Desert, mobile sand dunes have been observed to move up to 9 meters a year.
Vegetation in the Sahara is generally sparse, with patches of grass, shrubs, and trees scattered around the highlands, oases, and dry riverbeds. Found in salt depressions
halophyte
(Salt-tolerant plants). In the water-scarce plains and the high plains of the Sahara Desert there are certain heat-tolerant grasses, herbs, small shrubs and trees.
Important woody plants in the highlands of the Sahara Desert are olive, cypress and horse tree. Other woody plants found in the highlands and other parts of the desert are
Acacia
and
Artemisia L.
(Artemisia) plants, Egyptian ginger palm, oleander, dates and thyme. The west coast has saline soil plants such as
tamarisk
(Tamarix senegalensis). Grasses are widely distributed in the Sahara Desert, including the following species
Trimiscanthus L
(Aristida),
Teff
Eragrostis and Panicum.
Atlantic
Along the coast there are horse companion grasses (Aeluropus littoralis) and others
halophyllum
. Various kinds of
Ephemeral plant
The combination forms an important seasonal grassland, called a short-lived vegetation area.
Kerzaz Oasis on the Saura River in the western Sahara Desert
Mammal species in the Sahara include the gerbil, jerboa, Cape hare, and desert
Hedgehog
; Berberi sheep and sickle-horned oryx, Doras antelope, Dama deer and Nubian wild donkey; Annubis baboon,
Spotted hyena
,
Fox
(Leucosus leucosus, Red Fox, fennec Fox, Blue Fox)
[10]
, general
jackal
And the sand fox; Libya
White-necked mustela
And the long, slender mongoose.
There are more than 300 species of birds in the Sahara Desert, including non-migratory and migratory birds. The coastal strip and inland waterways attract many species of waterfowl and shorebirds. Inland birds have
ostrich
Various snatch birds, heron eagles, beaded chickens and Nubian bustard, desert eagle owls, barn owls, sand larks and limeswallows, and brown-necked and fantail ravens.
Frogs, toads and crocodiles live in lake pools in the Sahara Desert. Lizards, herders, skitters, and cobras roam the rocks and sand pits. The Sahara Desert's lakes and ponds are filled with algae, saltwater shrimp, and more
crustacean
. Snails, which live in deserts, are an important food source for birds and animals. Desert snails survive through summer sleep, where they remain inactive for several years before rainfall awakens them.
[6]
Since the 1950s, rich oil, natural gas,
uranium
Iron, manganese, phosphate and other minerals. with
Mineral resources
Large-scale exploitation has changed the economic landscape of some countries in the region, such as Libya and Algeria have become major oil producers in the world, and Niger has become a famous oil producer. Road networks, air routes and new settlements have also sprung up in the desert.
Metallic mineral
It's economically important. Algeria has several large iron ore deposits and considerable reserves at Mount Ijill in western Mauritania; Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, the Western Sahara Desert and Niger have slightly lower reserves.
Southwestern Mauritania
Akru
There is a considerable amount of copper ore buried near Akjoujt, Algeria
Bechard
There is a large amount of manganese ore in the south of Bechar. Uranium is widely distributed in the Sahara Desert, and is particularly important in Niger. Morocco and the Western Sahara desert are extremely rich in phosphates.
Fuel sources include coal, oil and natural gas. Sources of coal include smokeless coal seams in Morocco and smokery fields near Beshar.
World War II
After that, with the cause in Algeria
Salah
(I-n-Salah) oil was discovered in large reserves in the western desert of Egypt, northeastern Libya, and northeastern Algeria. Tunisia and Morocco have smaller reserves, as do Chad and Niger.
[7]
Oil shale has also been found in the Sahara. Large gas fields have been developed in Algeria, and smaller ones exist in Egypt, Libya and Tunisia.
The Sahara is sparsely populated, with an average of less than one person per square kilometer. The majority are Arabs, followed by Berbers and so on. Inhabitants and agricultural production are mainly distributed in
Nile valley
And oases, partly nomadic.
Since half a million years ago, humans have lived on the edge of the Sahara Desert. About 2.5 million people still live in the Sahara today, mainly in
Mauritania
,
Morocco
and
Algeria
Arabic
The Berbers
,
The Tuareg
,
The Sahawians
and
Moor
. The largest city in the Sahara is the capital of Mauritania
Nouakchott
And, more importantly, Algerian
Taman Rasset
,
Mali
the
Timbuktu
Nigerien
Agadez
Libyan
Gath
And Chadian
Falla
.
[7]
The economic development of the desert is extremely difficult, and there is little change to the traditional Sahara desert. During the colonial rule of the Sahara Desert, the colonial authorities showed no interest in the economic development of the region.
The people of the desert derive almost nothing from mining, and perhaps the opposite. The decline of nomadic life began with the policy of pacification and accelerated as economic conditions changed and formal settlement policies were introduced (because nomadic life was difficult to manage). The prevailing poor environmental conditions further encourage the flow of nomads into oases and towns, resulting in overcrowding and poverty.
Oil field
High wages in China attract workers, but traditional life is being destroyed, and job opportunities are few and not permanent. Of the traditional desert products (such as hides and wool, excess fruit, salt) only dates, especially from the northern oases, remain commercially important. Salt, though, is still being refined and sent south
Sudan
The West now competes with cheap imported salt.
Tourism has grown considerably since 1950, but is limited to the edge of the Sahara Desert due to difficulties in transportation and provision of accommodation.
The Sahara Desert, traditionally by camel train, is slow, hard and dangerous. There are risks of getting lost, overheating, choking sandstorms, starvation, thirst, and looting. Despite these dangers and difficulties, the trans-Saharan trade along the caravan routes connecting the oases has continued since very early times.
Most of the main routes are in the western part of the Tibesti Mountains, the easternmost of which runs from the Chad River north to Bilma (present-day Niger)
Fezzan
(Fezzan) district to
Tripoli
(Tripoli), is a route that has been used for centuries. There are few oases east of the Tibetis Mountains, but
The Nile
The darb al-arbain (Forty Days Road) to the west was originally a slave route. Gold, ivory, slaves and salt were the main items of the early trade, but today, camel caravans are mostly out of business, only from Igil, Birma and
Mali
The residual salt trade from Taoudenni still uses camel caravans. The main routes, however, are still in use, but are driven by specially equipped motor vehicles, often with escorts. Year after year, modern roads have been extended further along ancient trade routes in the desert.
France
The first was the creation of the Pan-Sahara bus service, which is still in operation today. Off the main route there is a network of approved trucks for cars, which must be driven with caution of course; But in this open desert
Four-wheel drive
It is really necessary to have at least two cars, enough spare parts and plenty of supplies in the event of an accident, fuel, food and water - especially in the summer, with all the special rules applicable to all travellers. In large areas, maps are not enough, navigation methods are necessary.
The lack of ground tourism is complemented by the many scheduled flights of international airlines across the Sahara Desert, with local airlines connecting the main residential centres. The railway has seen little development since it was abandoned in the "Pan-Sahara desert" at Abadla (near Beshar, Algeria), with only one line built to carry it
Mauritania
Of minerals.
Ancient accounts of the Sahara Desert are similar to what we see today - a vast and formidable obstacle. The Egyptians controlled only their adjacent oases, and sometimes the lands to the south; The Carthaginians apparently continued commercial relations with the interior that had been established as early as the Bronze Age. Roman interest in the Sahara Desert is documented in the literature of expeditions from 19 to 86 BC. Geographical exploration continued throughout the Middle Ages.
Medieval tourists were motivated by religion and commerce to contribute to a better understanding of the Sahara and its people.
Rare tombs of ancient tribes found in Sahara Desert
Since the military occupation of the Sahara by various European colonial powers, more detailed explorations have been carried out, and by the end of the 19th century, the main features of the desert have been mastered. Although political, commercial, and scientific activities during the 20th century greatly increased knowledge of the Sahara Desert, the vast expanse remains remote, poorly understood, and difficult to reach.
The discovery of rock paintings
In 1850, the German explorer Baals came to the Sahara Desert to investigate, accidentally found that the rock wall engraved with ostriches, buffaloes and a variety of figures. In 1933, the French cavalry came to the Sahara Desert, accidentally in the middle of the desert
Tassili
The mural group of several kilometers long was found on the Tai and N 'Azel plateau, all painted on the rock Yin formed by water erosion, colorful, elegant and harmonious, depicting the scene of ancient people's life.
[8]
There are a lot of animal images in the murals group, with various forms and characteristics. The tense scenes of animals flying with four hooves in the air after being frightened, like flying, and running wildly everywhere are lifelike in image and excellent in creative skills, which can be compared with the outstanding mural art works of any country at the same time. These animal images provide a fairly reliable estimate of the nature of the ancient Sahara. For example, some murals have canoes hunting hippos, which indicates that the Sahara once had a continuous river.
People are not only difficult to check the painting age of these murals, but also ignorant of those strange shapes in the murals, which has become a mystery in the history of human civilization.
Several stages of rock painting
Based on petroglyphs found in the Sahara Desert, these different petroglyphs can be divided into several stages:
1. The Buffalo period, from about 35,000 years ago to about 8000 B.C. Rock paintings of this period were produced from about 10,000 to 8000 B.C. They were painted on the rocks with mixed pigments from the milk of animals that had become extinct in the area, such as buffalo, elephant, hippopotamus and rhinoceros. The figures in the paintings use clubs, axes, bows and arrows, and strike prey with clubs, but no javelin is seen, and they often wear round helmets. These petroglyphs are mainly distributed in
Algeria
The southeast, as well
Chad
and
Libya
Within the borders.
2. The Yellow Bull Period, from around 7500 BC to 4000 BC. During this period, local residents began to engage in nomadic life, grazing cattle and sheep, and once found pottery and Neolithic stone axes, stone grinds and arrowheads, as well as some bows and arrows for hunting. Grazing animals were imported from Asia. Later, some remains of villages where people and livestock could gather together were also found.
3. The Horse Period, from about 3000 BC to 700 BC. There are already signs of the introduction of horses, camels and cows, and of large-scale agriculture. Probably around 1220 BC
Phoenicians
Where they learned to use and forge iron. A coalition of great empires was established that stretched across the Sahara to Egypt.
[8]
Researchers are using it
Google Maps
When, inadvertently in
Egypt
One of the best-preserved has been found in the Sahara Desert
Meteor crater
Even after thousands of years, the traces of the impact are still visible.
According to the American journal
National Geographic Magazine
The website reported that in February 2010, a report by
Egypt
and
Italy
A research team composed of experts in use
Google Earth
When they accidentally discovered a huge crater in a remote part of the Sahara Desert. The team arrives at the crater site. The crater measured 45 meters at its widest point and 16 meters at its deepest point. Based on this data, the researchers estimate that the meteor that hit the Earth weighed about 5,000 to 10,000 kilograms, was only 1.3 meters in diameter, and fell at a speed of more than 3.5 kilometers per second.
What surprised the researchers most was that the crater had retained its original appearance. In general, craters are gradually eroded or buried under the "destruction" of nature, but the traces of the impact of this crater are still visible. This unusual phenomenon is more common in other planets with thin atmospheres, such as the Moon, than on Earth, where humans live.
The researchers estimate that the crater was formed thousands of years ago and may be one of the best-preserved to date.
For a long time, the Sahara Desert was like a natural danger that prevented travelers from exploring further. Today, several routes across the desert have been opened, making the dreams of adventurers come true. Traveling in the desert is physically and mentally challenging, but it is strange and exciting: traveling in the desert, far away from the hustle and bustle of the city. It's one of the top 10 amazing Tours in the world.
Start from
Tunisia
or
Morocco
. Before going deep into the desert, you can visit the ancient city first, and then take a special vehicle, integrate into the travel team, and set off with great strength and strength. Travel through undulating sand dunes and visit pristine
African tribe
Treasure hunt at the oasis bazaar. The trip date can be adjusted, but it is basically more than three weeks, and some can continue for two months. Cost: $2,500 to $4,000.
