Social Science VSQ (2 Marks)

The climate of Ladakh is extremely cold and dry due to high altitude. The air at this altitude is so thin that the heat of the sun can be felt intensely.

The famous monasteries of the Laddakh are Hemis, Thiksey, Shey and Lamayuru.

Ladakh is cold desert lying in the great Himalayas on the eastern side of Jammu and Kashmir. The Karakoram Range in the north and the Zaskar Mountain in the south enclose it.

The hot desert are found mainly on the western margins of the continent between latitudes 15 to 30 degree both north and south of the equator.

Al Azizia in Sahara, south of Tripoli (Libya) recorded the highest temperature of 57.7°C in 1922.

The two words with which Ladakh is made up of are La meaning mountain pass and Dak meaning country.

Countries are- Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Sudan, Tunisia and Western Sahara.

Due to high altitude the climate is extremely cold and dry. The day temperature in summer is just above zero degree and night temperature well below –30 degree.

Ladakh is a cold desert lying in the Great Himalayas, on the eastern side of Jammu and Kashmir. The Karakoram Range in the north and the Zanskar mountains in the south enclose it.

The day temperature- It may soar as high as 50°C.
The night temperature- Nearing zero degrees.

Vegetation in the Sahara desert is comprised of cactus, date, palms and acacia. Green islands with date palms can be seen near the oases.

Sahara once used to be a lush green plain. Cave paintings in Sahara desert show that there used to be rivers with crocodiles. Elephants, lions, giraffes, ostriches, sheep, cattle and goats were common animals. But the change in climate has changed it to a very hot and dry region.

The climate of a desert is either very hot and dry or very cold and dry. The vegetation is sparse.

Relief of the Sahara Desert:

• Sahara desert is a vast expanse of sand and sand.
• But besides the vast stretches of sands, there are also gravel plains and elevated plateaus with bare rocky surface.
• These rocky surfaces are more than 2500 metres high at some places.
• Big boulders of stones and gravels are found all over the desert.

The cultural landscape of the Sahara is undergoing change.

• Gleaming glass cased office buildings, tower over mosques and superhighways criss-cross the ancient camel paths.
• Trucks are replacing camels in 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.

Nomadic tribes of Sahara desert rear livestock because 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.

Every year about 1, 22,000sq.kms of agricultural land is made worthless. This process is called desertification.

Vegetation in the Sahara desert includes cactus, date palms and acacia. In some places there are oasis – green islands with date palms surrounding them. Camels, hyenas, jackals, foxes, scorpions, many varieties of snakes and lizards are the prominent animal species living there.

In Laddakh, due to high aridity the vegetation is sparse. There are scanty patches of grasses and shrubs for animals to graze. Grove of willows and poplars are seen in the valleys.

The Sahara desert touches eleven countries- Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Sudan, Tunisia and Western Sahara.

Ladakh is located in the Great Himalayas, on the eastern side of Jammu and Kashmir.

The climate of the Sahara desert is scorching hot and parch dry. It has a short rainy season. The temperatures during the day may soar as high as 50°C and the nights may be freezing cold with temperatures nearing zero degrees.

The oasis in the Sahara and the Nile Valley in Egypt support settled population.

• Since water is available people grow date palms.
• Other crops like rice, wheat, barley and beans are grown.
• Egyptian cotton is famous worldwide. It is grown in Egypt.

The discovery of oil in Algeria, Libya and Egypt is constantly transforming the Sahara desert.
Other minerals of the area are iron, phosphorus, manganese and uranium.

There is scanty vegetation in the deserts because:

1. Climate of deserts is extremely hot and dry or cold and dry.
2. There is short rainy season or little rainfall, as low as 10cm every year.

Flora and Fauna of Sahara Desert:

• Vegetation in the Sahara desert comprises of cactus, date, palms and acacia.
• In some places there are oasis-green islands with date palms surrounding them.
• Camels, hyenas, jackals, foxes, scorpions, numerous varieties of snakes and lizards are the prominent animal species which inhabit the Sahara Desert.

It is an arid region with extreme temperatures and scarce vegetation. For example, Sahara and Ladakh.
The Hot Desert– Sahara.

It is an arid region characterized by extremely high or low temperatures and has less vegetation.