Facts for Kids

Sahara is the largest hot desert on Earth. It covers about 9.2 million square kilometers across North Africa, which is nearly one third of the whole continent. Because of its huge size, the Sahara feels like a world of its own with long sandy plains, rocky plateaus, and lonely mountains.

The name comes from an Arabic word that means “desert.” The Sahara reaches from the Mediterranean and the Red Sea in the north and east all the way to the Atlantic Ocean in the west. It can look empty, but it hides many kinds of places and stories—what do you think lives there?

The Sahara is one of the hottest places on Earth. In the hottest months daytime temperatures often climb above 38–40 °C (100–104 °F). The desert has very clear skies and little moisture, so it gets strong sunshine. Because there are few clouds, nights cool down a lot, sometimes by 13–20 °C (23–36 °F). High places can even drop below freezing on winter nights.

Rain in the Sahara is rare and uneven. The center is hyper-arid, getting almost no rain. Edges get more, maybe 100–250 mm a year, and plants grow there. Evaporation is huge, so any water that falls usually disappears fast. Snow has even fallen once or twice in some high towns.

The Sahara is not the same everywhere. Along the Atlantic coast a narrow strip gets fog and supports succulents and lichens. The northern edge has steppe and woodlands that receive winter rains. The central part is a very dry desert with only a few hardy plants and lots of bare rock or sand.

Highlands like the Tibesti and Aïr are cooler and can support more trees and shrubs. Wadis and oases collect water and allow palms, grasses, and small farms to grow. Animals like camels, fennec foxes, addax antelope, and many birds have special ways to live with heat and little water.

Most of the Sahara is not endless sand but hard, rocky ground called hamada. Big areas of loose sand called ergs make up only part of it. Some sand dunes in these ergs grow taller than a 50-story building—over 180 meters high. Between these features are gravel plains, salt flats, and dry lake beds.

You also find narrow dry riverbeds called wadis that fill with water after rare rains. In the middle of the desert rise mountain ranges like the Aïr, Ahaggar, and Tibesti. Their peaks can be cooler and hold more plants than the flat desert around them.

Long ago the Sahara was wetter and had lakes and rivers. People lived there in societies that hunted, fished, and later farmed. The Kiffian culture lived around 10,000–8,000 years ago near a large lake and left big graves at a place called Gobero. Later, after a dry time, the Tenerian people lived there and buried their dead with jewelry and pots.

Other early people built stone circles at Nabta Playa that show careful planning of the sky and seasons. By about 500 BCE a desert kingdom called the Garamantes used deep tunnels to reach underground water and farm in the Sahara. When water ran out, their towns slowly changed.

Many different groups live in and near the Sahara. The Berber peoples, including the Tuareg, are long-time desert dwellers who travel, herd animals, and trade across the sands. Arabic is widely spoken because people in the region use it for trade and religion. Near the desert edges other languages like Hausa and Songhai are common in towns.

Several cities sit on the Sahara’s edges or inside it. Timbuktu grew into a famous center for trade and learning. Other important towns include Nouakchott, Tamanrasset, Agadez, Ghat, and Faya-Largeau. Life in these places mixes desert traditions with modern ways of living.