Chapter 10 - Life in the Deserts

1. Desert is an arid area characterised by extremely high or low temperature and having scarce vegetation.
2. The desert can be hot or cold, depending on the temperature.
3. Many people around the world have adapted to life in the deserts and they also practice agriculture wherever water is available.

Sahara - The Hot Desert

• Sahara Desert in Africa is the world's largest desert having an area of around 8.54 million sq. km.
• It touches 11 countries - Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Sudan, Tunisia and Western Sahara.
• Apart from vast stretches of sands the Sahara Desert also has gravel plains and elevated plateaus with rocky surface.
• Tafilalt Oasis is the largest oasis in Morocco with an area of about 1300 sq. km.

Climate

• The climate of the Sahara is very hot and dry and the temperature can reach as high as 50°C during the day.
• The nights can be freezing cold with temperature nearing zero degrees.
• The rainy season is very short in Sahara.
• The days are extremely hot because the moisture evaporates very fast. The high temperature heats up the sand and rocks, which, radiate heat and make everything around them hotter.
• In 1922, Al Azizia in the Sahara desert, south of Tripoli, Libya recorded the highest temperature of 57.7°C.

 

Flora and Fauna

• Vegetation includes cactus, acacia and date palms.
• In some places, Oasis, green islands with date palms surrounding them, can also be found.
• Camels, hyenas, jackals, foxes, scorpions and many varieties of snakes and lizards are found here.

 

People

• Many groups of people such as the Bedouin and the Tuaregs live in the Sahara.
• They rear animals like goats, sheep, camels and horses.
• Belts, slippers, water bottles, mats, carpets, clothes and blankets are made out of the hides and hairs of these animals.
• To protect themselves from hot winds and dust storms, these people wear heavy robes.
• People live around the oasis in the Sahara and in the Nile valley where water is available and grow date palms.
• Crops such as wheat, rice, barley and beans are also grown here and the world famous Egyptian cotton is grown in Egypt.
• The discovery of oil in Algeria, Libya, and Egypt and availability of minerals like iron, phosphorous, manganese and uranium have transformed the economy of the Sahara Desert.
• The cultural landscape of the Sahara is changing rapidly, with the construction of glass-cased buildings that rise above mosques and superhighways that crisscross the ancient camel paths.
• Camels have been replaced by trucks in the salt trade and the Tuaregs have started guiding tourists in the desert.
• Nomadic herdsmen are moving to and settling down in the cities, taking up jobs in oil and gas companies.

Ladakh - The Cold Desert

• Two words, La (mountain pass) and Dak (country), combine to form Ladakh.
• It is a cold desert lying in the Great Himalayas to the east of Jammu and Kashmir, enclosed by the Karokaram Range in the north and the Zanskar mountains in the south.
• Ladakh is also known as Khapa-chan which means snow land.
• Many rivers flow through Ladakh, with Indus being the most important one. Rivers form deep valleys and gorges.
• Glaciers such as the Gangri glacier are also found there.
• Manali - Leh highway that opens only between July and September crosses four passes - Rohtang la, Baralacha la Lungalacha la and Tanglang la.
• The Tibetan antelope (Chiru) is an endangered species and is hunted for its wool known as shahtoosh.
• The finest cricket bats are made from the wood of the willow trees.

Climate

• The altitude of Ladakh varies from around 3000m in Kargil to more than 8,000m in the Karakoram Range.
• The temperature here is very cold and dry and the air is so thin that the heat of the sun can be felt very strongly.
• During the day time temperature is mildly cold, just above zero degree, but at night it can go below -30° C.
• During winters the temperature here can fall below -40° C.
• Because Ladakh is in the rain shadow region of the Himalayas, there is very little rainfall, as little as 10 cm a year.
• Ladakh area experiences both freezing winds and burning hot sunlight.
• The coldest inhabited place on earth, Drass, is located in Ladakh.

 

Flora and Fauna

• Because of the high dryness, vegetation is rare, with a very few patches of grasses and shrubs.
• Groves of willows and poplars can be seen in the valley and in the summer season fruit trees like apples, apricots and walnuts grow.
• Birds like robin, redstart, Tibetan snowcock, raven and hoopoe can be seen here.
• Animals like wild goats, wild sheep, yaks and some special kinds of dogs are found.
• In Ladakh, animals are reared for their milk, meat and hide. Yak’s milk is used to make cheese and butter and the hair of the sheep and goat is used to make woolens.

 

People

• The people in Ladakh are either Muslims or Buddhists.
• Many monasteries like Hemis, Thiksey, Shey, and Lamayuru, with their traditional gompas, are found in Ladakh.
• In summers, the people here cultivate barley, potatoes, peas, beans, and turnip.
• In winters, because of the very cold climate, they keep themselves busy in festivities and ceremonies.
• The women here are very hard-working and work at home, in the fields and also manage shops and small business.
• Leh is the capital of Ladakh and is well connected with airways and roadways.
• The NH 1A connects Leh to Kashmir valley through the Zoji la pass.
• Tourism is a major activity in this area and tourists flood in every year to see the gompas, meadows and glaciers and to witness the celebrations and festivities.
• Life of the people in Ladakh has improved due to modernization. Due to scarcity of resources people use everything efficiently and do not waste anything.