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Physical Features
The Sahara's topographical features include shallow basins, large oasis depressions, serirs or regs (gravel-covered plains), plateaus, mountains, sand sheets, dunes and sand seas (ergs). The highest part of the desert is at the summit of Mount Koussi, which is 11,204 feet (3,415 m) high. However, the lowest point of the Sahara is 436 feet (133 m) below sea level: in the Qattera Depression in Egypt.
Over 25 percent of the Sahara's surface is covered by sand sheets and dunes. The most common types of dunes include tied dunes, blowout dunes, barchan and transverse dunes, longitudinal seirfs, and complex sand seas. Within the Sahara are several pyramidal dunes that reach over 500 feet in height while the draa, a mountainous sand ridge, reaches over 1,000 feet. Researchers have for many years tried to figure out how these dunes were formed, but the case remains unsolved.
Drainage
There are numerous rivers that originate outside of the Sahara but then enter the Sahara through underground waterways or by contributing to sources of surface water. In the southern part of the Sahara, the region referred to as the tropical highlands, the majority of the water comes from the Nile River and the other rivers that flow to the Mediterranean. Other rivers feed into Lake Chad which is also located in the southern part of the Sahara. In the north, the greater part of the water flows from the Atlas Mountains and highlands of Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco in the form of streams and wadis (ephemeral streams).
The Sahara's desert climate is believed to have been established over five million years ago during the Pliocene Epoch. Since then the Sahara has been subject to short- to medium-length dry and humid conditions, which have contributed to the unique climate of the Sahara today. For the past 2,000 years, the climate of the Sahara has remained quite consistent, except for a period of time in the 16th and 18th century when there was a "Little Ice Age" in Europe. This ice age significantly increased the amount of precipitation over the whole Sahara Desert until around the 19th century. By this time, the climate had become quite stable again and resembled the desert climate of today.
The Sahara's climate consists of basically two sub-climates, a dry subtropical climate in the north and a dry tropical climate in the south. The dry tropical climate is generally characterized by mild, dry winters, a hot dry season just before the rainy season, and an annual temperature cycle. The dry subtropical climate, however, is characterized by annually high temperature ranges, cold winters, hot summers and two rainy seasons. There is a narrow strip in the western portion of the Sahara, along the coast, which generally has cool temperatures compared to the rest of the Sahara because of the influence of the cold Canary Current.
Dry, subtropical climate
Generally, the dry subtropical climate found in the north is caused by constant high-pressure cells over the tropic of Cancer. The winters are considered cool for desert conditions, with an average temperature of 55° F (13° C). The summers are very hot, with the highest ever recorded temperature at 13° F (58° C). The average rainfall in the subtropical region is approximately 3 inches (76 mm) per year. Precipitation generally falls between December and March, with the maximum rain falling in August and almost no rain at all during May and June. The August storms have been known to cause flash floods which send water to parts of the desert that rarely receive precipitation.
Dry Tropical Climate
The climate of the southern tropical region of the Sahara is dictated by a stable continental air mass and an unstable marine air mass. The average temperature in this region is about 31.5° F (17.5° C), however in the higher elevations, the temperature has been recorded at 5° F (-15° C), which is quite typical. The average annual precipitation is around five inches and includes snow in the higher elevations. In the western part of the tropical region, the cold Canary Current reduces the amount of rainfall, lowers the average temperature, and increases the humidity and the probabality of fog.
Plant Life
The Sahara is sparsely covered with various types of vegetation ranging from grasses, shrubs, and trees in the highlands to halphytes, which are saline-tolerant plants found in saline depressions. One characteristic of the vegetation found in the Sahara is that these species must be able to adapt to unreliable precipitation and excessive heat.
In the Saharan highlands, one can find species of cypress and olive along with Acacia and Artemisia, doum palm, oleander, date palm, and thyme. The most common types of grasses found on the plains include Eragrostis, Panicum, and Aristida.
Animal Life
Some of the mammal species found within the Sahara are the gerbil, jerboa, Cape hare, the desert hedgehog, dorcas gazelle, dama deer, Nubian wild , anubis baboon, spotted hyena, common jackal, sand fox, Libyan striped weasel, and the slender mongoose. The Sahara also contains over 300 species of migratory bird populations along with water and shore birds and various other types of birds. Some of the most common birds are ostriches, raptors, secretary birds, guinea fowl, Nubian bustards, desert eagle and barn owls, sand larks, pale crag martins, and brown-necked and fan-tailed ravens.
[an error occurred while processing this directive] Numerous types of reptiles - including frogs, toads, and crocodiles - can be found within the Sahara's lakes and pools of water, while lizards, chameleons, skinks, and cobras are to be found among the dunes and rocks. Among the reptiles in the Sahara's rivers and pools can be found snails, brine and algae shrimp, plus other types of crustaceans.
The Sahara Desert covers over 3.5 million square miles and has only 2.5 million inhabitants - roughly 1 person per square mile (0.4 sq km)- which is one of the lowest population densities on earth. Wherever abundant food and water sources occur, one will find relatively large masses of people and wildlife. On the whole, the Sahara is one of the harshest environments known to man.
Many researchers have gone into the Sahara looking for clues as to how long ago humans began inhabiting the desert. According to archeologists, the Sahara was much more densely populated thousands of years ago when the desert's climate was not as harsh as it is today. Fossils, rock art, stone artifacts, bone harpoons, shells and many other items have been found in areas which today are considered too hot and dry to inhabit. This suggests that these areas were quite habitable thousands of years ago, but that the climate of the Sahara has since changed drastically. The artifacts found were located near remains of giraffe, elephant, buffalo, antelopes, rhinoceros, and warthog, as well as the remains of fish, crocodiles, hippopotamuses and other aquatic animals which suggests that thousands of years ago water was quite abundant in the Sahara.
The majority of the people living in the Sahara Desert are nomads, which means that these people continuously move from region to region in search of better living conditions. It is believed that the first nomadic peoples came to this region after domestic animals were introduced to the Sahara 7,000 years ago. Researchers believe that sheep and goats were introduced to the Sahara region by the Caspain culture of northern Africa.
Evidence suggests that the Sahara accumulated diverse groups which quickly formed dense populations throughout the region. The majority of the groups lived separately, but depended on each other for trade. External trade developed gradually and the mobility of the nomads certainly contributed to the growing success of trade with other countries and continents. For example, Mauritania contained valuable copper resources and as a result, this copper was traded to the Bronze Age Civilizations of the Mediterranean.
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Page de christian erwin andersen & profana bellica crm (Coordination des Résistances au(x) Monothéisme(s). |
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WELL BEFORE ...
well before
she had the clanking of eyelashes
for a long time
to furbish tears
the sacrificial rite
begins with the lamb
and passes through the blood
the fête has no beginning no end
in spite of the decapitated psalms
christian erwin andersen |
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BIEN AVANT ...
bien avant
elle eut des cliquetis de cils
longs
à fourbir les larmes
l'Aïd commence par l'agneau
et passe par le sang
la fête n'a ni queue ni tête
malgré les psaumes décapités
christian erwin andersen |
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Henri Rousseau dit "le douanier" |
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PROFUSION OF A SHORE
profusion of a shore
anchor chain
of the belly
face against the sand
salt to the sides of the mouth
but
without chapping
the appetite
christian erwin andersen |
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Amedeo Moddigliani |
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LUXE
luxe d'un rivage
à la chaîne d'ancre
du ventre
face contre sable
sel aux commissures
mais
sans gerçures
aux appétits
christian erwin andersen |
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Delta du Colorado (USA) |
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BIOGRAFY OF CHRISTIAN ERWIN ANDERSEN |
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Christian Erwin Andersen was born on the 21st of January 1944 in Charleroi, Belgium, of a Flemish mother and Danish father. (See the page : made in Denmark and ... Germanie ... below).
His family was of modest social standing, and he was the oldiest of three children, a brother René and sister Nicole.
ANDERSEN became interested in politics at an early age. At sixteen he took part in the Charleroi worker's demonstrations and strikes during the winter of 1960-61. During this period he became an active member of the militant Working Revolutionary Trotskyst Party, the Belgian arm of the Fourth International (Posadist).
Shortly after, at the age of seventeen, ANDERSEN took on the post of cell secretary, and was soon placed in charge of the security of the organisation and appointed as temporary member of the European Office. At the same time he was also heavily involved in the editing and publication of the "Lutte Ouvrière" (Working Struggle) group's magazine.
He was a very boisterous and stubborn student, paying little attention to his studies, which led to failure after failure. In September 1961 he finally gives up studying, and finds a job as a clerk in a bank in Charleroi, a job which he was to hold for seven years.
Following the bank job, he also worked in a wholesale food store, and then as accountant in a cable factory. In 1970 he passed the intrance examinations to allow him to become a clerk at the Ministry of Public Labours. He still works in the Ministry to this day.
Even before the events of May 1968, The Prague Spring and the invasion of Czechoslovakia by the Soviet Union, ANDERSEN stopped believing in Marxist doctrine. His rebellious personality and need for freedom forced him to distance himself from it, and he no longer felt able to support its dogmatism ans "ukases", the discipline of the party and its absurd aspects.
At this time, ANDERSEN became more radical and began to embrace anarchist politics. He remained active in politics until the end of the Vietnam War, and was a sympathiser for the RAf (Red Army Fraction) of Bader and Ulrike Meinhof (Cfr, "Eléments pour un Sacrifice" and the text he dedicated to his hero at is death.)
However, it is poetry that ANDERSEN will become most famous for. In the early 1970's he leads an almost bohemian lifestyle in Charleroi. He met regularly with poets and other creative people in this mad but merry and fertile period.
In 1973, after the painful ending of a long term romantic affair, he wrote his first poems, which were published in the collection called "EARTH BLOOD FIRE". He also set off on an ill-fated attempt to hitchhike across the Sahara desert with a Swiss friend. They get as far as El Golea, but Andersen refuses to give up. This trip was the beginning of a long series of adventurous travels through Africa.
1973 was also the start of an important period of wrinting. His first texts were scribbled on a café table at " ThE Club" which was the meeting place of the young bohemians of the area.
His first book, "EARTH BLOOD FIRE" was published in 1975 on author's account. In 1977, "ELEMENTS POUR UN SACRIFICE" was published in France by Louis Dubost's publishing house, "Le dé Bleu". Finally, in 1982, "LIGATURES & CAILLOTS, mécrits" prefaced by Werner LAMBERSY, was published, also by "Le dé Bleu".
Through these years, ANDERSEN was a voracious reader of literature, in an attempt to define his own style. Among others, he felt that Céline was a major influence on his style and language, helping to create a strong and fertile anti humanism.
Also during the 1970's, ANDERSEN set up the publishing group yBy that printed the journal "FILIGRANES"andhe contributed to the magazine "SIMULACRES" set up by the Namurois Michel GILLES.
He also established the movement "Profana bellica - crm" a place of reflection, that as recently begun to co-ordinate the groups resisting monotheism(s).
Currently ANDERSEN is the creator and manager of eight Internet sites. |
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