Life In The Deserts

The altitude in Ladakh varies from about 3000m in Kargil to more than 8,000m in the Karakoram. Due to its high altitude, the climate is extremely cold and dry. The air at this altitude is so thin that the heat of the sun can be felt intensely. The day temperatures in summer are just above zero degree and the night temperatures well below -30°C. It is freezing cold in the winters when the temperatures may remain below -40°C for most of the time.

Due to high aridity, the vegetation is sparse. There are scanty patches of grasses and shrubs for animals to graze.

The two types of deserts found in the world are the hot deserts and cold deserts.

NOTE: They are characterized by low rainfall, scanty vegetation and extreme temperatures. Depending on the temperatures there can be hot deserts or cold deserts. The people inhabit these lands wherever little water is available to practice agriculture.

The Sahara Desert is located in the African continent.

It covers a large area of Northern Africa. The Sahara Desert is the largest desert in the world. It has an area of around 8.54 million sq. km. The Sahara desert touches eleven countries. These are Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Sudan, Tunisia and Western Sahara.

Tourism is a major activity with several tourists streaming in from within India and abroad. Visits to the gompas, treks to see the meadows and glaciers, witnessing ceremonies and festivities are important activities.

The women of Ladakh are very hard working. They work not only in the house and fields, but also manage small business and shops. Leh, the capital of Ladakh is well connected both by road and air. The National Highway 1A connects Leh to Kashmir Valley through the Zoji la Pass.

The people of Sahara Desert wear heavy robes as protection against dust storms and hot winds.

The Sahara Desert despite its harsh climate has been inhabited by various groups of people, who pursue different activities. Among them are the Bedouins and Tuaregs. These groups are nomadic tribes rearing livestock such as goats, sheep, camels and horses.

Groves of willows and poplars are seen in the valleys. During the summers, fruit trees such as apples, apricots and walnuts bloom in Ladakh.

The animals of Ladakh are wild goats, wild sheep, yak and special kinds of dogs. The animals are reared to provide for the milk, meat and hides.

Besides the vast stretches of sands, that Sahara Desert is covered with, there are also gravel plains and elevated plateaus with bare rocky surface. These rocky surfaces may be more than 2500m high at some places.

The climate of the Sahara desert is scorching hot and parch dry. It has a short rainy season. The sky is cloudless and clear. Here, the moisture evaporates faster than it accumulates. Days are unbelievably hot.

In the summer season the people are busy cultivating barley, potatoes, peas, beans and turnip. The climate in winter months is so harsh that people keep themselves engaged in festivities and ceremonies.

It is an arid region characterized by extremely high or low temperatures and has scarce vegetation. The people living in desert areas have learned to cope with extreme harsh temperatures; in some places as hot as fire and some as cold as ice.

Life of people is undergoing change due to modernization. But the people of Ladakh have over the centuries learned to live in balance and harmony with nature. Due to scarcity of resources like water and fuel, they are used with reverence and care. Nothing is discarded or wasted.

The oasis in the Sahara and the Nile Valley in Egypt supports settled population. Since water is available, the people grow date palms. Crops such as rice, wheat, barley and beans are also grown. Egyptian cotton, famous worldwide is grown in Egypt.

A desert is an arid region characterized by extremely high or low temperatures and has scarce vegetation. People have learned to cope with extreme harsh temperatures; in some places as hot as fire and some as cold as ice. These are characterized by low rainfall, scanty vegetation and extreme temperatures. Depending on the temperatures there can be hot deserts or cold deserts. The people inhabit these lands wherever little water is available to practice agriculture.

Explanation- It is difficult for anyone to live in places where there is no water to drink, where there is no grass for their cattle to feed on and where there is no water to help the crops to grow.

The Sahara desert despite its harsh climate has been inhabited by various groups of people, who pursue different activities. Among them are the Bedouins and Tuaregs. These groups are nomadic tribes rearing livestock such as goats, sheep, camels and horses. These animals provide them with milk, hides from which they make leather for belts, slippers, water bottles; hair is used for mats, carpets, clothes and blankets. They wear heavy robes as protection against dust storms and hot winds.

Explanation- The cultural landscape of the Sahara is undergoing change. Gleaming glass cased office buildings tower over mosques and superhighways crisscross the ancient camel paths. Trucks are replacing camels in the salt trade. Tuaregs are seen acting as guides to foreign tourists. More and more nomadic herdsmen are taking to city life finding jobs in oil and gas operations.

Students should do this activity in the class themselves.