Commonly referred to as the ‘Sahel’—this ecoregion comprises a
grassland-dominated transition zone between savanna woodlands to the south and the
Sahara Desert to the north. The Sahelian climate is tropical, hot, and strongly seasonal.
What does savanna mean and what does the name Sahel mean?
The word “sahel” means
“shore” in Arabic
and refers to the transition zone between the wooded savannas of the south and the true Sahara Desert. The ecoregion thus lies south of the Southern Saharan Steppe and Woodland Ecoregion and north of the West and East Sudanian Savanna Ecoregions.
What are characteristics of Sahel savanna?
It is a transitional ecoregion of semi-arid grasslands, savannas, steppes, and thorn shrublands lying between the wooded Sudanian savanna to the south and the Sahara to the north. The topography of the Sahel is
mainly flat
; most of the region lies between 200 and 400 meters (660 and 1,310 ft) in elevation.
What was the Sahel?
The Sahel,
the vast semi-arid region of Africa separating the Sahara Desert to the north and tropical savannas
to the south, is as much a land of opportunities as it is of challenges.
What is Sahel made of?
Shale is composed mainly of
clay-size mineral grains
, which are usually clay minerals such as illite, kaolinite, and smectite. Shale usually contains other clay-size mineral particles such as quartz, chert, and feldspar.
Which state is Sahel savanna found?
The Sahel stretches from the Atlantic Ocean eastward through northern
Senegal
, southern Mauritania, the great bend of the Niger River in Mali, Burkina Faso (formerly Upper Volta), southern Niger, northeastern Nigeria, south-central Chad, and into Sudan.
What are the types of savanna?
- Tropical and subtropical savannas: found near the equator and bordered by tropical rainforests and deserts (e.g., the Serengeti in Africa)
- Temperate savannas: found in mid-latitude regions (e.g., temperate savanna of Southeast Australia)
What does Sahel mean in English?
The Sahel (/səˈhɛl/; ساحل sāḥil [ˈsaːħil], “
coast, shore
“) is the ecoclimatic and biogeographic realm of transition in Africa between the Sahara to the north and the Sudanian savanna to the south.
Is Australia a savanna?
Australia’s tropical savanna is
spread over the top of Australia
. It covers the northern section of Western Australia, the Northern Territory and Queensland. … There are also tropical savannas in Africa, Asia and South America. They all have tropical climates similar to that found Australia’s tropical savanna.
What is the Sahel known for?
A largely semi-arid belt of barren, sandy and rock-strewn land, the Sahel
marks the physical and cultural transition between the continent’s
more fertile tropical regions to the south and its desert in the north. Geographic definitions of the Sahel region vary.
How many countries are in the Sahel?
The Sahel, comprising portions of
ten (10)
African countries, from left to right: [northern] Senegal, [southern] Mauritania, [central] Mali, [northern] Burkina Faso, [southern] Algeria, [southwestern] Niger, [northern] Nigeria, [central] Chad, [central] Sudan and [northern] Eritrea.
What countries does the Sahel go through?
The Sahel countries—
Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso and Chad
—face many challenges, including chronic insecurity, rising extremism, a lack of economic prospects, and poor access to education, employment and essential services such as water and electricity. Climate change is weakening the region even more.
Is Savannah a Nigerian?
Nigeria is covered by three types of vegetation: forests (where there is significant tree cover), savannahs (
insignificant tree cover
, with grasses and flowers located between trees), and montane land (least common and mainly found in the mountains near the Cameroon border.
What is in the savanna?
The majority of the savanna is covered in different types of grasses including
lemon grass, Rhodes grass, star grass, and Bermuda grass
. There are also lots of trees scattered about the savanna. Some of these trees include the acacia tree, the baobab tree, and the jackalberry tree.
What is the climate in the savanna?
Climate: A
tropical wet and dry climate
predominates in areas covered by savanna growth. Mean monthly temperatures are at or above 64° F and annual precipitation averages between 30 and 50 inches. For at least five months of the year, during the dry season, less than 4 inches a month are received.
