The Sahara is the largest hot desert in the world. The Sahara spreads across most of North Africa, covering Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Sudan and Tunisia. Recent studies have shown that the desert might have been this way for as many as 7 million years.
Why it is special: The Sahara, meaning ‘Greatest Desert’ in Arabic is the third largest Desert in the world, after Antarctica and Arctic. 94,00,000 sq.km in size, the Desert covers a vast expanse of area, as large as the United States. With eco-regions varying over distances, the central portion of the desert is hyper-arid with a narrow steppe and woodland area running between that and the savannas. The western part comprises volcanic highlands. Tanezrouft area is said to be the harshest and driest region on the Earth.
