| It is often said that the Sahara Desert is inhospitable to | | | | adaptive of species, so what about the Sahara Desert |
| all living creatures. This is not particularly true as | | | | creatures that don't have the capacity to build homes |
| becomes evident when one looks at the history of the | | | | and use technology to withstand the extreme heat? |
| Sahara Desert. | | | | One of the types of creatures that were once seen in |
| The Sahara Desert, located on the continent of Africa, | | | | the Sahara Desert may surprise you. The Sahara was |
| is the world's largest hot desert. With a size that is | | | | not always the very dry place it is today; in fact, after |
| comparable to the size of the entire United States, the | | | | the last ice age, there is evidence that the area was |
| Sahara comprises a major part of the landscape in | | | | quite wet. There have been over 30,000 petroglyphs |
| Africa. The land here is not exactly friendly to those | | | | (primitive drawings) of life forms such as crocodiles |
| creatures that would choose it for a home, and in the | | | | found in the area of the Sahara that is now completely |
| Sahara Desert they have to be rugged and | | | | arid. Dinosaur fossils were also found in the Sahara, |
| well-evolved in order to survive. Although most of the | | | | meaning that there had to be at least a minimal water |
| Sahara Desert is made up of bleak hamada (rocky | | | | source here at the time of these large land lizards. |
| terrain that is compact and formed into plateaus), there | | | | More recently (but still over 8000 years ago), some of |
| are enough spots of oasis and other landforms to | | | | the most populous Sahara Desert creatures were |
| allow the creatures to find a home. | | | | cattle. Predynastic Egyptians used to herd cattle |
| One of the most important of the Sahara Desert life | | | | through the Sahara and allow them to graze on what |
| forms is actually man. Around 2.5 million people call the | | | | vegetation was available. Today, many smaller life |
| Sahara Desert their home, with most of this population | | | | forms populate the Sahara, such as gerbils, hares, the |
| being centered in Egypt, Morocco, Mauritania and | | | | desert hedgehog, gazelles and foxes. Additionally, |
| Algeria. The largest city within the Sahara Desert | | | | there are over 300 migratory bird species that call this |
| region is Cairo, the capital city of Egypt. The Sahara is | | | | area home. The Sahara is far from a dry and |
| home to many different types of African peoples, | | | | animal-free climate - many different creatures call this |
| from Berber tribes to Moors and various "black | | | | place home. |
| African" ethnicities. Man is undoubtedly the most | | | | |