TRANSPARENCY
6.6
UNIT 6
Description of the Sahel
LS 2
The Sahel
WHERE: Afrotropics
BIOME: Tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas
and shrublands
SIZE: 3,053,200 km2
CONSERVATION STATUS: Vulnerable
The Sahelian ecoregion stretches clear across the widest part of the
African continent, from Senegal on the Atlantic Coast to Sudan,
Ethiopia, and Eritrea on the Red Sea. This ecoregion spans from west
to east Africa. Although a few isolated mountains rise from this
otherwise flat land, they are not part of this ecoregion; the majority of
this ecoregion lies between 650 and 1300 feet (200 and 400 m).
Here in the Sahelian savanna, the temperatures are hot, the water
scarce, and the seasons distinct. Most rain falls from May to September.
The rains create temporary wetlands vital to resident and migrating
animals, but they drain quickly through the porous soil. During the dry
season, woody vegetation loses its leaves—an adaptation that enables
the plants to conserve water and thus survive drought. Dust and sand
can swirl through the savanna in the dry season, on winds that blow
south from the Sahara.
Most people think of shores as the transition zones between land and
water. But the Sahelian ecoregion is also a transition zone where the
savanna meets the Sahara Desert. In fact, Sahel means “shore”
in Arabic.
Source: World Wildlife Fund, 2001 [online]. (Accessed July 14, 2008.)
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TERRITORIES—TEACHER’S GUIDE 2 • SECONDARY CYCLE ONE
6-6