This is a map of the location:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Map_sahel.jpg
It is the boundary zone in Africa between the Sahara to the north and the more fertile region to the south, known as the Sudan. The Sahel is primarily savanna and runs from the Atlantic Ocean to the Horn of Africa, changing from semi-arid grasslands to thorn savanna.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sahel
2006-09-11 11:41:23
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answer #1
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answered by Anonymous
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The Sahel is the term used to describe the region that runs from the southern edge of the Sahara down the coasts of Africa to the regions where warmer, wetter climates develop into tropical rainforest.
The Sahel is characterized by arid, unstable environments. Sparse savannahs and shrubs are the dominant plants, and agriculture is very difficult in this region - experienced frequent and often lengthy droughts. It includes parts of Chad, Sudan, Ethiopa, Eritrea, Somalia, and Nigeria (including what was once Biafra).
The climate of the Sahel makes life quite precarious in the region. Nomadic herding, following the rains is the most successful form of agriculture in the region, but a nomadic lifestyle is not compatible with modern lifestyles, educational requirements, or government taxation, control and immigration/border recognition. Because of these, armed conflicts, devastating droughts and unstable politics are rampant throughout the Sahel.
On top of the cultural and subsistence problems in the Sahel, it is also a zone where Islamic, Christian and traditional African religions conflict with one another. Sudan is currently involved in a major civil war in which religion plays an important role.
Over the past decades, more intensive agriculture (and possibly global warming) have resulted in increased desertification throughout the Sahel, with the result that stresses and conflicts are likely to increase in coming years.
2006-09-11 11:48:56
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answer #2
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answered by Anonymous
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The Sahel (from Arabic ساحل, sahil, shore, border or coast of the Sahara desert) is the boundary zone in Africa between the Sahara to the north and the more fertile region to the south, known as the Sudan (not to be confused with the country of the same name). there really is no sahel.
The term was first used as a geographical term, referring to the band of land between 75 and 450 isohyets (bands of precipitation). Subsequent researchers have referred to a wide range of isohyets in determining the location of the Sahel. It has also been used to refer to the countries of West Africa.
Geography
The Sahel is primarily savanna and runs from the Atlantic Ocean to the Horn of Africa, changing from semi-arid grasslands to thorn savanna. Over the history of Africa the region has been home to some of the most advanced kingdoms benefiting from trade across the desert. Collectively these states are known as the Sahelian kingdoms.
The countries of the Sahel today include Senegal, Cape Verde, Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, Chad, Sudan and Ethiopia
Environment
About 12,500 years ago, the Sahel was a part of the Saharan desert, and was covered in sand dunes which have shaped the landscape that we see today. The Sahel receives 150-500 mm (6-20 in) of rainfall a year, primarily in the monsoon season. The rainfall is characterized by year to year and decadal variability. The most important limitations to land productivity in the Sahel are water and soil fertility. Soils in the Sahel are mostly acidic (which results in aluminum toxicity to plants), and are very low in nitrogen and phosphate.
There is a strong correlation between rainfall in the Sahel and intense hurricane activity in the Atlantic.
Traditionally, most of the people in the Sahel have been semi-nomads, farming and raising cattle in a system of transhumance, which is probably the most sustainable way of utilizing the Sahel. The difference between the dry north with higher levels of soil-nutrients and the wetter south is utilized so that the herds graze on high quality feed in the North during the wet season, and trek several hundred kilometers down to the south, to graze on more abundant, but less nutritious feed during the dry period.
2006-09-11 11:44:39
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answer #3
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answered by Prabhakar G 6
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Where Is The Sahel Located
2016-10-06 12:44:03
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answer #4
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answered by ? 4
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it is south of the sahara, and it is a mix of the sahara desert up in the north and the savannahs in the south, there is probably some sahel south between the kalahari desert and the savannahs too, many nomadic african tribes lived here
2006-09-11 12:59:51
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answer #5
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answered by Anonymous
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For the best answers, search on this site https://shorturl.im/axXp6
The Kalahari Desert is a large arid to semi-arid sandy area in Southern Africa extending 900,000 square kilometres (350,000 sq mi), covering much of Botswana and parts of Namibia and South Africa, as semi-desert, with huge tracts of excellent grazing after good rains. The Kalahari Desert is the southern part of Africa, and the geography is a portion of desert and a plateau. The Kalahari supports some animals and plants because most of it is not true desert. There are small amounts of rainfall and the summer temperature is very high. It usually receives 3–7.5 inches (76–190 mm) of rain per year.[1] The surrounding Kalahari Basin covers over 2,500,000 square kilometres (970,000 sq mi) extending farther into Botswana, Namibia and South Africa, and encroaching into parts of Angola, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The only permanent river, the Okavango, flows into a delta in the northwest, forming marshes that are rich in wildlife. Ancient dry riverbeds—called omuramba—traverse the Central Northern reaches of the Kalahari and provide standing pools of water during the rainy season. Previously havens for wild animals from elephant to giraffe, and for predators such as lion and cheetah, the riverbeds are now mostly grazing spots, though leopard or cheetah can still be found. The Namib Desert is a desert in Namibia and southwest Angola which forms part of the Namib-Naukluft National Park. The name "Namib" is of Nama origin. The desert occupies an area of around 80 900 km²[1] (31 200 square miles), stretching about 1000 miles (1,600 km) along the Atlantic Ocean coast of Namibia. Its east-west width varies from 30 to 100 miles (50-160 km). The Namib Desert also reaches into southwest Angola. It is one of the 500 distinct physiographic provinces of the South African Platform physiographic division. Having endured arid or semi-arid conditions for at least 55 million years[2], it is considered to be the oldest desert in the world after the Atacama Desert in Chile. The Namib's aridity is caused by the descent of dry air of the Hadley Cell, cooled by the cold Benguela current along the coast. It has less than 10 mm (0.4 inches) of rain annually and is almost completely barren. A number of unusual species of plants and animals are found only in this desert. One of these is Welwitschia mirabilis, one of the most unusual species. Welwitschia is a shrub-like plant, but grows just two long strap-shaped leaves continuously throughout its lifetime. These leaves may be several meters long, gnarled and twisted from the desert winds. The taproot of the plant develops into a flat, concave disc in age. Welwitschia is notable for its survival in the extremely arid conditions in the Namib, sometimes deriving moisture from the coastal sea fogs. Although the desert is largely unpopulated and inaccessible, there are year-round settlements at Sesriem, close to the famous Sossusvlei and a huge group of sand dunes, which at more than 300 meters high are among the tallest sand dunes in the world. The complexity and regularity of dune patterns in its dune sea have attracted the attention of geologists for decades. They still remain poorly understood. The interaction between the water-laden air coming from the sea via southerly winds, some of the strongest of any coastal desert, and the dry air of the desert causes immense fogs and strong currents, causing sailors to lose their way. Along with the Skeleton Coast further north, it is notorious as the site of many shipwrecks. Some of these wrecked ships can be found as much as 50 metres inland, as the desert slowly moves westwards into the sea, reclaiming land over a period of many years. The Namib desert is an important location for the mining of tungsten, salt and diamonds. Access is by light aircraft from Windhoek (the capital of Namibia, about 480 km north-east of the centre of the desert), Swakopmund and Walvis Bay at the north end of the desert, or overland on gravel roads. The Sahel runs 2,400 miles (3862 km) from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Red Sea in the east, in a belt that varies from several hundred to a thousand kilometers (620 miles) in width, covering an area of 3,053,200 square kilometers (1,178,800 square miles). It is a transitional ecoregion of semi-arid grasslands, savannas, steppes, and thorn shrublands lying between the wooded Sudanian savanna to the south and the Sahara to the north.[1] The countries of the Sahel today include Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, Chad, Sudan, and Eritrea. The topography of the Sahel is mainly flat, and the region mostly lies between 200 and 400 meters elevation. Several isolated plateaus and mountain ranges rise from the Sahel, but are designated as separate ecoregions because their flora and fauna are distinct from the surrounding lowlands. Over the history of Africa the region has been home to some of the most advanced kingdoms benefiting from trade across the desert. Collectivel
2016-04-07 03:52:44
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answer #6
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answered by Anonymous
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2015-08-04 19:21:52
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answer #7
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answered by Anonymous
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