Sahal region of Africa looks like?

Answer 1

Niger,Mauritania,andMali are located in the Sahal. Sahal is an Arab word, meaning 'edge' and 'shore'.It is located at the southern edge of the Sahara Desert in Africa. The belt of land is 6000 kilometers long, stretches along 50 countries, and separate the Sahara Dessert to the north, and savanna to the south.It has a fairly uniform climax and soil, people living in Sahal share similar living style. Today, I would like to talk about the physical environment of the Sahal in terms of its climate, drainage and relief, as well as its soil and vegetation.

1)Climate

The Sahal is in a semi-arid climate. It is hot all over the year,and it shares some characteristics.Firstly, the annual rainfall is very scarce,about 200-600 mm only,most of the rainwater is gone through evapotranspiration. Secondly,the rainfall concentrates in summer time. Thirdly,the rainfall is very unreliable,it may be wet in one year,and very dry in another year.

2) Relief and drainage

The Sahal is mostly flat land, save for the highland found in eastern part, which are in Ethiopia and Sudan. There are two major rivers, River Nile and River Niger, but they only occupy a small area in the Sahal, there is lack of water for irrigation.

3)Soil and vegetation

Soil in Sahal is thin,infertile and brown. As the evapotranspiration rate is high in the area, much of the irrigation water is gone.In the semi-arid areas,only plants that can adapt to dry condition can survive.The most common vegetation in Sahal is grassland and scrubs.They can hold he soil and prevent the topsoil from blowing away by strong wind.