African Geography
Together, the African deserts cover more than a third of the continent. In between lie savanna plains, jungles, steppes and transition land called sahel.
Sahara
The largest desert in the world, the 3,500,000-square-mile Sahara covers most of the northern part of the continent, and is almost completely lacking in rainfall.
Namib
One of the oldest deserts in the world, the Namib stretches 311,000 square miles from a high inland plateau to the Atlantic coast in southwestern Africa. The wind forms some of the highest sand dunes on earth.
Kalahari
The Kalahari is a 362,500-square-mile sand basin in southern Africa. Although it is labeled a desert, the Kalahari is only semi-arid, and some parts of it receive as much as 10 inches of rain a year, according to the EyesOnAfrica website.
Desert Life
Some 4 million people make their home in the Sahara. The Namib is home to African elephants specially adapted to desert living. The Kalahari supports many animals such as lions, meerkats and brown hyenas, according to the World Wildlife Fund.
