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Deserts and the Sahel North and south of the rainforests are savannas, areas with
tall grasses and scattered trees and bushes. The savanna is home to large
gr Africa is home to three deserts, the Sahara, the Kalahari, and the Namib; together they comprise more than a quarter of the continent. The Sahara is the second largest desert in the world, covering part or all of eleven African countries. Sahara is derived from the Arabic word for desert. The Kalahari is a cold, rocky desert in southern Africa. The Namib, in southwest Africa, is one of the hottest, driest places on earth, with less precipitation than even the Sahara The Sahel is the strip of land that separates savanna from
the desert. Sahel comes from the Arabic word for "edge" or "border" because
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animals like elephants, lions, tigers, giraffes, and zebras. The savanna
is generally not used for farming because the topsoil is too thin.
edge
of the desert. The Sahel is shrinking at an alarming rate. Animals have
been allowed to graze on its fragile land, which has destroyed the vegetation.
The people who live along the Sahel have caused it to shrink by cutting
trees and bushes for fuel. Without the trees and bushes to hold it in
place, the thin topsoil of the Sahel blows away, leaving stony land where
neither grass nor crops can grow. The Sahara and the Kalahari Desert creep
one hundred miles closer to one another every year as desertification
and erosion spread.