How old is the Sahara desert?
by 
wickedwillie
ANSWERS: 3
-
READ 2.5 million years old (see below). . . . .how could one miss that? The Sahara is the world's largest desert, over 3,500,000 sq mi (9,065,000 sq km), located in northern Africa and is ****2.5 million years old****. The whole land area of United States of America fits inside it. Its name Sahara is the Arabic translation of the Tuareg word Tenere meaning desert.
-
I believe all recorded evidence indicates that it is older than recorded history making it at least 4000-6000 years. Beyond this, it is all speculation and extrapolation.
-
From the Britannica Student Encyclopedia: "The Sahara was not always a parched desert as it is today. Throughout the Ice Age, the huge glaciers and ice caps of Europe pushed the zone of temperate climate southward. The Sahara was then a rich grassland and hunting ground for prehistoric people." "By early ancient times, the Sahara was dry and hot as it is today." So apparently the Sahara began to be a desert when the last glacial period ended, about 10,000 years ago.
RELATED QUESTIONS
Copyright 2023, Wired Ivy, LLC