Sahara
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The Sahara is a desert spanning across North Africa. With an area of 9,200,000 square kilometres (3,600,000 sq mi), it is the largest hot desert in the world and the third-largest desert overall, smaller only than the deserts of Antarctica and the northern Arctic.
The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972
A satellite image of the Sahara by NASA WorldWind
An oasis in the Ahaggar Mountains. Oases support some life forms in extremely arid deserts.
Sand dunes in the Algerian Sahara
Sahel
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The Sahel region or Sahelian acacia savanna is a biogeographical region in Africa. It is the transition zone between the more humid Sudanian savannas to its south and the drier Sahara to the north. The Sahel has a hot semi-arid climate and stretches across the southernmost latitudes of North Africa between the Atlantic Ocean and the Red Sea. Although geographically located in the tropics, the Sahel does not have a tropical climate.
Image: Mud Mosque Bani Sahel Region Burkina Faso 02
Image: Sahel Scene Dori Sahel Region Burkina Faso
The lush green of the Sahelian acacia savanna during the rainy summer season in Mali. Note the large baobab amongst the acacia.
Herders with livestock and azawakh dogs in the Sahel