Sahara

High school (ages 12+)
Geography

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/sahara

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. How big is Sahara?Approximately 9,200,000 square kilometers (3,600,000 square miles)
2. What is the precipitation?Annual rainfall typically less than 25 millimeters (1 inch) in most areas
3. What is the Sahara Desert?The Sahara is the world's largest hot desert, covering 9.2 million square kilometers in North Africa. It has huge sand seas, rocky plains, and mountain ranges like the Ahaggar and Tibesti.
4. Why does the Sahara sometimes have more rain?The Sahara goes through wet and dry cycles every about 20,000 years because Earth's axis wobble changes the monsoon. During wet periods, called the Green Sahara, rivers and grasslands grew.

Erg: A vast, flat area of desert covered with sand dunes.
Reg: A flat, stony desert plain.
Milankovitch Cycles: Long-term variations in Earth's orbit and axial tilt that influence climate.
Paleoclimatology: The study of past climates using evidence from geological records.