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The Sahara Was Once Green
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Photo of a small tree-lined lake surrounded by sand. Two side-by-side maps of Africa show the seasonal path of the African monsoon. Arrows indicate wind systems, including the northeast trade winds and the hot, dry Harmattan winds. Shaded bands in varying greens represent rainfall amounts, with the Intertropical Convergence Zone shifting northward and rainfall bands reaching farther into West Africa from June to September, and moving southward with rainfall concentrated in central and southern Africa from January to March.
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Photo of a small tree-lined lake surrounded by sand.
Umm al-Ma Lake, an oasis in the Awbari Sand Sea in Libya An oasis, a fertile tract of land within a desert, springs from the middle of the Sahara in Libya. Oases provide water and offer relief from barren desert landscapes.

The Sahara Was Once Green

Written by
John P. Rafferty
John P. Rafferty writes about Earth processes and the environment. He serves currently as the editor of Earth and life sciences, covering climatology, geology, zoology, and other topics that relate to...
John P. Rafferty
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Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
Britannica Editors
History

The Sahara, which covers the bulk of North Africa, is the world’s largest hot desert. It is a vast, desolate region of sand dunes, rocky canyons and ridges, dry lake and riverbeds, scattered oases, and salt lakes. However, not so long ago—well, geologically speaking—the Sahara was green and verdant, filled with woodlands, grasslands, lakes, and rivers, as well as plants and animals that are not found in the region today. Evidence collected by paleontologists and...

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