What is the largest desert in the world?

The Sahara desert in northern Africa is the largest desert in the world. The Sahara Desert extends from the Atlantic coast to the Red Sea from west to east, with a length of more than 5,600 kilometers and a width of 1600 kilometers from north to south, covering an area of 7.7 million square kilometers. The Sahara Desert includes all or part of the territories of Mauritania, Mali, Algeria, Niger, Chad, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Sudan and Western Sahara 1 1 countries and regions.

There is little precipitation in the Sahara desert, and the climate is hot and dry. If you put an egg in the sand, it will be cooked. All you can see over the Sahara desert is yellow sand, gravel, sand dunes and stone piles.

"Sahara" means "big desert" in Arabic. Animals in the desert have the function of drought and thirst tolerance. The roots of plants are very developed and can absorb groundwater from the depths of the soil. Plants have very small leaves or no leaves. Although cactus is full of thorns, it is good at storing water.

Animals are trying to reduce water consumption. For example, gerbils only need to eat dry seeds to survive. Snakes and other animals rely on summer sleep to reduce their own water evaporation. Camels are the main means of transportation in the Sahara desert.

According to the investigation of scientists, the Sahara desert was once a warm and humid area in history, with flocks of cattle and sheep and a lot of fish in the river. Later, due to human exploitation and climate change, residents fled their homes. Now, there is a small oasis in the desert. In the oasis, there are tall date palms, and flocks of cattle and sheep are eating fresh grass in the fields. Settlements are scattered around the lake.

According to exploration, this vast desert is rich in mineral resources such as oil, natural gas, iron, uranium and manganese, so the prospect of the Sahara desert is extremely broad.