Life in The Desert: Chapter - 9 Social Science

LIFE IN THE DESERT
CHAPTER – 9 SOCIAL SCIENCE

Desert
A desert is usually a dry, hot and horrifying place. That is

why only the nomads and camels in a small number live
there. Of course, there are green patches also near the
water spring. These places are called oases. The deserts
occupy vast areas.
There are two types of deserts found in the world are hot
deserts and cold deserts.
Hot desert
A hot desert is a part of the world

that has high average temperatures
and very low precipitation. These
areas need to have less than 250mm
of rainfall per year to be classified as
a desert.
The desert is very dry and often hot.
As can be seen there are many
months when the average
temperature is well above 30ºC and
day time temperatures can top 50ºC!
The Sahara Desert
The Sahara is the hottest desert in the world – with one of

the harshest climates. The average annual temperature is
30°C, whilst the hottest temperature ever recorded was
58°C. The area receives little rainfall, in fact, half of the
Sahara Desert receives less than 1 inch of rain every year.
It has an area of about 8.54 million square kilometres it
encompasses 11 countries including Algeria, Chad, Egypt,
Libya, Morocco, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Sudan, Tunisia
and Western Sahara.
Climate of Sahara Desert
The Sahara desert experience scorching hot and parch dry

climate. The rainy season occurs for the short time. The
sky is cloudless and clear. Days are extremely hot.
Here, the moisture evaporates faster than it accumulates.
The temperatures during the day may soar as high as
50°C, heating up the sand and the bare rocks, which in
turn, radiates heat making everything around hot. The
nights may be freezing cold with temperatures nearing
zero degrees.
Flora and Fauna of Sahara Desert
The Sahara desert has vegetation such as cactus, date

palms and acacia. In some places there are oases where
one can see green islands with date palms. Fauna. The
animals found in the Sahara desert are camels, hyenas,
jackals, foxes, scorpions, several varieties of snakes and
lizards.
People of Sahara Desert
The Sahara desert has been inhabited by various groups of

people, who pursue different activities. Among them are
the Bedouins and Tuaregs who are nomadic tribes rearing
livestock such as goats, sheep, camels and horses. These
animals provide them with milk, hides from which they
make leather for belts, slippers, water bottles; hair is used
for mats, carpets, clothes and blankets. They wear heavy
robes as protection against dust storms and hot winds.
The oasis in the Sahara and the Nile Valley in Egypt
supports settled population. Since water is available, the
people grow date palms. Crops such as rice, wheat, barley
and beans are also grown. Egyptian cotton, famous
worldwide, is grown in Egypt. The discovery of oil is
constantly transforming the Sahara desert. Other minerals
found in the area include iron, phosphorus, manganese
and uranium.
Summery
A desert is an arid land characterized by extreme temperatures and low rainfall supports only sparse vegetation.
The Sahara desert, located in North Africa, is the world’s largest hot desert. With an area of about 8.54 million square kilometres it
encompasses 11 countries including Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Sudan, Tunisia and Western
Sahara.
The Sahara landscape besides huge stretches of sand has rocky plains, elevated plateaus, sand dunes and mountains. The longest
river in the world, the Nile, flows through the north of the present day Sahara, from Sudan into Egypt making that desert region
fertile.
The Sahara desert contains underground water from the rainy mountains around it. This underground water sometimes naturally
penetrates the depressions in the sand, to form green, fertile areas called oases. People living in oases grow date palms, and crops
like rice, wheat, beans and barley.
Most of the people settled in the Sahara lives in the oasis and the Nile valley as in the other parts of the Sahara, harsh temperatures
and sandstorms make living difficult. Similar to restricted vegetation, animal variety is also limited in the Sahara. Animals like
camels, hyenas, jackals, scorpions, and varieties of lizards and snakes are the only which can survive in the Sahara.
Despite the harsh conditions, some nomadic tribes such as Bedouins and Tuaregs manage to survive in various parts of the Sahara
desert. They rear livestock like sheep, goats, horses and camels for milk, hide and hair. The consistently hot and dry climate of the
Sahara might be difficult for the nomads, but it provides favorable conditions for natural preservation of artefacts and fossils.
In addition to the preserves of animal fossils, Sahara has oil and natural gas reserves and some mineral deposits of iron, phosphorus,
manganese and uranium. Owing to the found of natural resources in the Sahara, the desert has started its way towards prosperity.
Cold desert
Cold deserts have hot

summers but extremely cold
winters. These deserts are
found in high, flat areas, called
plateaus, or mountainous areas
in temperate regions of the
world.
Temperature regions lie
between the polar regions and
tropics. Like other types of
desert cold deserts get very
little rain or snow .
The Ladakh
Ladakh is a cold desert lying in the Great Himalayas, on the eastern side
of Jammu and Kashmir. The Karakoram Range in the north and the
Zanskar mountains in the south enclose it. Several rivers flow through
Ladakh, and among them, Indus being the most important. Several
glaciers are found in Ladakh, for example, the Gangri glacier.
The altitude in Ladakh varies from about 3000m in Kargil to more than
8,000m in the Karakoram. Due to its high altitude, the climate remains
extremely cold and dry. The air at this altitude is so thin that the heat of
the sun can be felt intensely. The day temperatures in summer are just
above zero degrees and the night temperatures well below –30°C.
Ladakh lies in the rain shadow of the Himalayas, due to which it
receives little rainfall, as low as 10 cm every year. The area experiences
freezing winds and burning hot sunlight.
Flora and Fauna of Ladakh Desert
During the summers, fruit trees such as apples, apricots

and walnuts bloom. Robins, redstarts, Tibetan snowcock,
raven and hoopoe are sighted in Ladakh. Some of these
are migratory birds. The animals of Ladakh are wild
goats, wild sheep, yak and special kinds of dogs. The
animals are reared to provide for the milk, meat and hides.

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LIFE IN THE DESERT

CHAPTER – 9 SOCIAL SCIENCE

A desert is usually a dry, hot and horrifying place. That is

A hot desert is a part of the world

The Sahara is the hottest desert in the world – with one of

The Sahara desert experience scorching hot and parch dry

The Sahara desert has vegetation such as cactus, date

The Sahara desert has been inhabited by various groups of

Cold deserts have hot

During the summers, fruit trees such as apples, apricots

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