Book 16, Question 4
Why Was the Sahara Green Thousands of Years Ago?
About 10,000 to 6,000 years ago, the Sahara had lakes, grassy plains, and animals like hippos! Earth wobbles very slowly as it spins around the Sun, and that wobble moved the rainy winds. When the rain faded, the green land slowly turned into desert.
More fun facts
- Between about 5,000 and 14,000 years ago, the Sahara looked nothing like it does today.
- It was full of rivers, grasslands and forests as recently as 5,500 years ago.
- Scientists studied DNA from two herders who died about 7,000 years ago in the green Sahara, in what is now Libya.
- Even today, only about a quarter of the Sahara's floor is covered in sand.
- Computer models suggest the Sahara first dried out about 7 million years ago, when moving tectonic plates changed the land and seas.
Sources: Smithsonian Magazine, Smithsonian Magazine, Smithsonian Magazine, Smithsonian Magazine
Questions kids ask
Is the Sahara all sand?
No. Even today, only about a quarter of the Sahara's floor is covered in sand.