How is the Sahel region of Africa best described?

Sahel, Arabic Sāḥil, semiarid region of western and north-central Africa extending from Senegal eastward to Sudan. It forms a transitional zone between the arid Sahara (desert) to the north and the belt of humid savannas to the south. Sahel in the rain season, between Bamako and Kayes, Mali.

Is the Sahel rich or poor?

The Sahel is endowed with great potential for renewable energy and sits atop some of the largest aquifers on the continent. Potentially one of the richest regions in the world with abundant human, cultural and natural resources.

What is the climate of the Sahel like?

The climate of the Sahel is arid and hot, with strong seasonal variations in rainfall and temperature. The Sahel receives about 200-600 mm (6-20 in) of rainfall a year, which falls mostly in the May to September monsoon season.

Is the Sahel a grassland?

Africa’s Sahel region, a margin of semi-arid grassland around the southern limit of the Sahara Desert, gets most of its rainfall between June and September.

What is the Sahel region 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. The Sahel also suffers from ethno-religious tensions, political instability, poverty and natural disasters.

Why is the Sahel becoming a desert?

But since the late 1960s, the Sahel has endured an extensive and severe drought. Desertification occurs when land surfaces are transformed by human activities, including overgrazing, deforestation, surface land mining, and poor irrigation techniques, during a natural time of drought.

Why is the Sahel switched off?

Other areas can remain ‘switched off’ owing to less controllable factors. The Sahel region has experienced very little globalisation as it is remote and landlocked, thus it is difficult to access, and hinders travel and trade.

What is the definition of drought in geography?

Photograph by Keenpress. Encyclopedic Entry Vocabulary. A drought is a period of time when an area or region experiences below-normal precipitation. The lack of adequate precipitation, either rain or snow, can cause reduced soil moisture or groundwater, diminished stream flow, crop damage, and a general water shortage.

Does Sahel means shore of the desert?

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 kind of vegetation is in the Sahel?

The Sahel is mostly covered in grassland and savanna, with areas of woodland and shrubland. Grass cover is fairly continuous across the region, dominated by annual grass species such as Cenchrus biflorus, Schoenefeldia gracilis and Aristida stipoides.

What is Sahel quizlet?

Sahel. A region of semi-arid climate that borders the southern edge of the Sahara.