The Death of Sahara: The Perfectly Preserved Skeleton of a Once Fertile and Thriving Country.

Sahara was once a fertile country where men and animal lived. It is the home for Negroid race of people, where they hunted and tended many species of aquatic and domestic animals.

But Why did the Sahara die? What has caused it to become today the perfectly preserved skeleton of a once fertile and thriving country?

Was it because of earthquake, volcanic eruption or is it man that caused his downfall? We are yet to find out… Or are you convinced that life never existed in Sahara.



The Monsoon Rain from West and Central Africa.

Scientist believe that the reason why Sahara died lives in the history of the monsoon rain that bring moisture from the west and central Africa into the Sahara.

The flourishing of late prehistoric cultures in the Sahara was originally made possible when the Monsoon rain expanded northwards.

The End of the Monsoon Rain



The Monsoon rain for unknown reason began to diminish over the Sahara. There was an irreversible imbalance between rainfall and the rate of evaporation of water.

That is, more of moisture was soaked from the ground than it fell from the clouds. The Mediterranean plants quickly died off and the tropical species replaced them. These tropical plants gradually filled the whole plateaux.



Man Contributed to his Own Downfall


The end of Monsoon rain was not the only cause of the death of Sahara. Man, also contributed to his own downfall for the increasing numbers of domestic animals destroyed plants life.

The devastating overgrazing process can still be seen in Sahara today. Century by Century the vegetation degenerates going from Savannah to steppe, from steppe to desert, leaving only the paintings and artifacts' that strew the Sahara surface as evidence that man once thrived there.



Sahara was once a fertile country with men and beast moving at will. As a result of human activities( Overgrazing) the desert gradually degenerates to a desert. Scientists also believed that the Monsoon rain which used to fall in Sahara and later vanished also contributed to the death of Sahara.



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