The Sahara is the world's largest hot desert, spanning across North Africa. It covers an area of 9,200,000 square kilometers (3,600,000 sq mi), making it the third-largest desert overall, smaller only than the deserts of Antarctica and the Arctic.
The Sahara is mainly composed of rocky hamada (stone plateaus); ergs (sand seas – large areas covered with sand dunes) form only a minor part, but many of the sand dunes are over 180 meters (590 ft) high. Wind or rare rainfall shape the desert features: sand dunes, dune fields, sand seas, stone plateaus, gravel plains (reg), dry valleys (wadi), dry lakes (oued), and salt flats (shatt or chott).
The Sahara covers 10 different countries — they are Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Western Sahara, Sudan, and Tunisia. The Sahara desert has dry valleys, mountains, salt flats, barren and rocky plateaus, and sand dunes.
Despite its harsh conditions, the Sahara is not devoid of life. Various species have adapted to the extreme conditions and call the Sahara home. However, the Sahara is also known for its extreme temperatures, which can range from freezing at night to scorching during the day.
Half of the Sahara receives less than 2 cm (0.8 in) of rain per year, making it one of the driest places on Earth. This lack of rainfall contributes to the desert's arid conditions and shapes its unique landscape.
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