deserts library

Did you know that deserts occupy more than 25% of the total geography of Africa? Learn what differentiates the Gobi from the Sahara, northern deserts from southern, and more.

Featured Article: Western Sahara

Western Sahara, formerly Spanish Sahara, a region in northwestern Africa. It makes up the southernmost provinces of Morocco. See more »

Atlas Mountains

Atlas Mountains, a mountain system of northwestern Africa. It extends generally northeast-southwest for about 1,500 miles (2,400 km) across Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia.

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The Kalahari Desert

Kalahari Desert, a semiarid to arid region in southern Africa, mainly in Botswana, South Africa, and Namibia.

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The Libyan Desert

Libyan Desert, part of the Sahara. It covers some 500,000 square miles (1,300,000 km2) in Libya, Egypt, and Sudan and consists mainly of gravelly plains, rock outcrops, and vast areas of shifting sand dunes.

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The Namib Desert

Namib Desert, an arid coastal region in Namibia (South-West Africa). It extends about 1,000 miles (1,600 km) from Angola in the north to South Africa in the south.

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The Sahara Desert

Sahara, the vast desert of northern Africa, and the world's largest arid region. It occupies much of the broad northern half of Africa and covers some 3,500,000 square miles (9,000,000 km2), an area only slightly less than that of the United States.

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The Tanezrouft Desert

Tanezrouft, a large, stony section of the Sahara. It is a flat expanse, stretching from northern Mali to the Ahaggar mountains of Algeria.

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Western Sahara

Western Sahara, formerly Spanish Sahara, a region in northwestern Africa. It makes up the southernmost provinces of Morocco.

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