Desert Landforms and Adaptations

• Trade winds are warm, dry desert winds that prevent moisture from entering the desert.
• Desertification is caused by:
  • Overgrowth of cash crops, which depletes soil nutrients.
  • Using trees for fuel, which leads to erosion.
  • Overgrazing.
• Marginal land is land unsuitable for planting crops.
• Ergs are large sand dunes that can exceed 400 feet in height.
• Regs are gravel-covered plains.
• Hammadas are rock-covered flatlands that can sometimes be tall enough to be considered mountains.
• Wadis are dried-out riverbeds that can transform into raging rivers during flash floods after rain.
• Shifting agriculture involves rotating crops to allow the soil to rest and regain nutrients.

Oasis Formation

• Oases can form through:
  • Underground streams bubbling to the surface.
  • A low dip in the land reaching groundwater.
  • Human intervention through digging or drilling.

Adapting to Oasis Life

• People adapt to living on an oasis by:
  • Constructing mud homes with few windows to keep out heat.
  • Using windbreaks to protect farmland and communities.
  • Practicing shifting agriculture.
  • Managing water resources carefully through transportation and conservation.

Date Palms

• Date palms are farmed in oases and are important because:
  • Provide shade
  • Dates are harvested as fruit
  • The trunk and branches serve as building materials
  • Fibers are used for rope-making
  • Processing date palms provides factory jobs.

Major Economic Activities of an Oasis

• Farming
• Trading
• Farming and processing dates
• Milk, cheese, meat, grain, vegetables

Pastoral Nomads

• Pastoral nomads are people who herd animals in search of food and water.
• They can pack up their entire lives in 2 hours, with their belongings fitting on one camel or two donkeys.

Adapting to Nomadic Life

• Adaptations include:
  • Using plastic or metal containers
  • Satellite phones
  • Trucks or planes for transportation

Tuareg People

• Pastoral nomads residing in the Sahal region.
• They cover their head, face, and body with long blue cloth.
• They live in groups of less than 100 people.
• They can pack up their entire lives in 2 hours and it all fits on one camel or two donkeys.