Sahel In English

The Sahel, which the Arabic means coast or border, is a range of 500 km to 700 km wide, and 5400 km long. It is situated in sub-Saharan Africa between the Sahara desert to the North, and the Sudan savanna to the South. Between the Atlantic Ocean and the Red Sea.



The Sahel straddles the following countries: Gambia, Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Algeria, Niger, Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, Sudan, South Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Somalia. Is a transition zone between the paleoártica and the afro-tropical cozened, i.e. between the aridity of the Sahara and the fertile Savannah.


It is a fitogeográfica region dominated by the steppe vegetation, which receives a rainfall varied over the years.


Might think that agriculture in the Sahel is completely doomed to misfortune. However, the region is protected by a green belt consisting of a highly diversified flora which protects it from the winds of the Sahara. The Sahel also facing long periods of drought. Between 1968-1974, the prolonged drought has led to a situation of hunger in the countries of the region, what motivated the establishment of the International Fund for agricultural development, a United Nations specialized agency

Sahara Desert

    The Sahara desert is the largest and hottest in the world. In terms of desert area just behind the Antarctica which is the largest desert area on the planet. Its surface is of 9,065,000 km ² and is located in the North of the African continent, separating it into two regions to Mediterranean Africa that lies in North and sub-Saharan Africa, located in the South. This is bordered by the Red Sea, to the West the Atlantic Ocean and on the North by the high mountains and the Mediterranean Sea, it is estimated that the desert has more than 2.5 million years ago. 


    The Sahara extends across the territory of the following countries: Tunis, Algeria, Morocco, Western Sahara, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Libya, Chad, Egypt and Sudan. The Sahara desert expands and contracts in regular cycles, in such a way that its borders with those countries are not constants. In this desert for different regions because of the differences of temperature, altitude and geology are home to different plants and animals. Among the animals that inhabit the region include: Scorpions, lizards, snakes, dromedaries and Antelope adapted desert conditions 


    The rains are extremely rare and temperatures can reach the 50° C degrees during the day and -4° C at night. With these weather conditions is virtually impossible to live in the Sahara. Few people between the Tuareg and the Bedouin inhabit this region. The Bedouin are practically mobile merchants.