Terkezi Oasis in the Sahara Desert
Explanation:
Dominating the top third of
Africa is the largest band of dry land on Earth: the
Sahara Desert.
Stretching across the
Sahara are vast planes of sand and gravel, seas of
sand dunes, and barren rocky mountains.
Only 10,000 years ago, however,
grasses covered the region,
then rich in mammals such as
lions and
elephants.
Now only two percent of the
Sahara are oases,
patches of land where crops
will grow and where nearly two million people live.
Oases are usually centered on natural water springs.
Pictured above is colorful and rocky land
spanning about 50 kilometers near the Terkezi Oasis in
Chad.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
