The Namib Desert
The Namib Desert is a parched and rippled desert, an endless expanse.
It stretches along the wouthwest coast of Africa from Angola in the north,
through Namibia, into South Africa. The name Namib means “emptiness.” About
1,700 km (1,060 mi long and 100 km (60 mi) wide, the desert is bordered on the
west by the Atlantic Ocean. The Namib has an approximate area of 170,000 sq km
(65,640 sq mi). It rises from sea level 914 m (3,000 ft). Temperatures average
16 deg C (60 deg F). Sands, varying from yellow to red in color, form dunes
reaching 240 m (800 ft) in height. The annual rainfall averages only 25 mm (1
in), but high humidity results in fog and dew. In the north deeep canyons have
been cut by streams. The area's main rivers, the Orange and the Cunene, follow
the southern and northern borders, respectively, of Namibia. One river, the
Queeseb, is made of water collected from over 160 km (100 mi) inward. The
Queeseb causes water holes, for which many organisms rely on for water besides
the actual river itself. Acacia trees grow along the rivers, and short grasses
and succulents thrive everywhere. One of the most important animals of the area
is the baboon. The baboons excavate for underground water that many other
animals depend on. There are many other animals that have adapted to live in
the Namib desert farther away from the rivers and streams including 45 species
of lizards and more than 200 species of beetles. The nocturnal gecko, like many
other animals, burrows in the sand to escape the days heat, 77 deg C (170 deg F).
The palmado gecko drinks the moisture that forms on its own body from the fog
and dew, as does the sidewinder snake. The sidewinder has adapted a special way
of moving in the loose sand which gives it its name.
In chapter 8 titled "Radium (Ra)" of The Poisoner's Handbook by Deborah Blum, the most interesting story developed within this chapter was the death of dial workers at Orange, New Jersey after been exposed to radium every day. It was interesting due to the fact that radium was used everywhere in the community and was never thought it could harm anyone. Radium was a super element that was used everywhere, but its continuous use unmasked its fatal habits. As it was stated in the text, "Radiant health, the ads proclaimed-beautiful skin, endless vigor, and eternal health—ingesting radium seemed the next best thing to drinking sunlight." (Blum 179). People were accepting radium as a natural gold element but they haven't realized constant contact
Desertification to The Sahel The region known as the Sahel is a wide stretch of land running from the Atlantic ocean to the African "Horn", an area that contains the countries of Ethiopia, Djibouti, and Somalia And it is the strip of land that separates savanna from the desert, the issue I have been researching is Desertification to the Sahel, in other terms, The Sahel is shrinking at an alarming rate. Animals have been allowed to graze on its fragile land, which has destroyed the vegetation. The people who live along the Sahel have caused it to shrink by cutting trees and bushes for fuel.
In the poem Desert Places by Robert Frost, the author describes the scenery in which he came across with. It was on a winter day, and the day was turning into a night. As he went across a field, he saw that the ground was almost all covered in snow. But then he noticed a few weeds and stubble on the ground.
Niger is eighty-percent desert which doesn't provide natural resources or availability of water, even though the Niger River is a huge resource for Niger. With its beautiful, sparkling water flowing southwest in a sort of crescent shape it is a place of relief. Along this river, they have wonderful areas for farming and grazing and one can find the most populous city and the capitol Niger called Niamey. This Sub-Saharan country not only has the Sahara desert to deal with, but the Tener...
A Miracle Mineral Solution is being attempted to be sold by an online ‘church’ as a cure-all for many of the world’s diseases, such as cancer, autism, and HIV/AIDS. The Miracle Mineral Solution is a diluted bleach mixture that is being prompted and sold in Canada, regardless of all the Health Canada warnings. Health Canada is saying that MMS is unsafe for human consumption because it contains sodium chlorite, which poses serious health risks if ingested. MMS is usually taken orally or through enemas. In some cases the mixture is being used by parents who are looking for a cure for their children that have autism. The founder of the online ‘church’, Jim Humble claims that “up to 95 per cent of all diseases caused by pathogens can be cured with
In the article, “The Great American Desert”, Edward Abbey (1977) is trying to convince the general public that the desert is not a place for humans to explore. He talks a lot about the dangers of the desert and tries to convince the readers that the desert is not worth wasting your time and going and visiting. I disagree with Abbey. Anyone who has some knowledge about the desert and takes a class or is accompanied by an expert who knows a lot about the desert should be able to venture out in the many great American deserts.
...ightly to allow some air to pass underneath it. Snakes can regulate their temperature by placing different proportions of their bodies in sun or in shade. The variations are numerous, but the end result is the same ¡V some degree of temperature regulation in reptiles.
The Desert's, Oasis', and Sahel's environment of Sahara determine how people in that area survive. The Sahara desert has one of the harshest environments in the world. The Oasis has so many living things that could not survive without it, including humans. And finally, the Sahel which may not be as bad as the Sahara but still shapes the way some humans live. In order for humans like us to survive, they have to adapt, to survive on any resource they can get and use.
Reptiles have a low metabolic rate and many physiological attributes that enable them to adapt to an arid environment. Reptiles have to contend with varied climates, sustaining consistent temperatures in extreme heat throughout the day but also surviving the cold nights. To survive the cold nights, they bask at sunrise the next morning. Many Australian reptiles utilise
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most-populous continent. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers six percent of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4 percent of the total land area, Egypt is a country in northeastern Africa. There are many interesting facts about Egypt like The Natural World, History, Culture, Geography, and Economy.
This climate region is a very happy but boring place to be. The arid climate region has some cool spots that have a cool breeze come threw but most of it is just hot and humid. The State I chose to do this climate region on was Arizona. Arizona is one of the hottest states in the United states. Most of Arizona is desert like climate with dead bushes and hard dried dirt. In the northern part of Arizona there are trees that are lush and green. The reason the bushes and trees up in the northern part of Arizona
Great herds travel across the land for months, anticipating an event that will ultimately save their lives. When and where the Okavango flood affects the lives of millions of animals, creating one of natures most amazing events. When the flood comes, it turns the dry land into a watery paradise teeming with many diverse kinds of wildlife. For some, the flood is utter paradise for crocodiles, hippos, sitatunga and even herds of elephants, while others have to cope with the unusual conditions such as cheetahs, giraffes, lions and others. In the heart of Southern Africa lies the Kalahari Desert.
United Nations Environment Programme, 1994: Earth Summit Convention on Desertification, United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 3-14 June 1992, Report DPI/SD/1576, United Nations, New York.
The whole region consists of vast deserts and semi-arid lands (See Attachment 2. Geographical ... ... middle of paper ... ... /aralsea/ asa_dis.htm Operational Research http://www.msf.org/aralsea/op_res.htm
In many instances a value for the potential evapotranspiration is calculated at a close by climate station on a reference surface, conventionally short grass. This value is known as the reference evapotranspiration, and can be changed to a potential evapotranspiration by multiplying with a surface coefficient. In whatever way, this particular procedure is depend on the assumption that PET is affected only by meteorological circumstances, does not take into account the effect of vegetative density and maturity. The Thornthwaite method is known to methodically underestimate PET in more arid regions and seasons. Quantifying of the potential evapotranspiration, calculated on monthly principles, is given