SAHARA

the great belt of desert stretching eastward from Atlantic to Nile and southwards toward the Niger 30° E.). Practically the whole region (c. 1,544,000 sq. m.) is in the Fr. sphere of influence. Its N. edge is the hinterland of Morocco, Algeria, Tunis, and Tripoli. S. of Algeria and Morocco and in the center are important moune tain ranges, seamed with valleys in which water is found below the surface; mountains of the central plateaus— (Asben)—are covered with snow three months of the year, and reach a Height of 6,500-8,000 ft. The Sahara is cro ed by many caravan routes, which follow the oases; routes from Murzuk in Tripolf to Lake Chad and from Morocco to Cairo via Tafilet are of particulat, importancc. Vegetation is scarce except in the oases, in some of which it attains great luxuriance, fig trees and date palms being the principal trees. The camel is the chief animal used by the nomads of the desert; horses, cattle, and sheep are raised in many of the valleys. The inhabitants are chiefly Berbers, Arabs, and Tibbus; all profe Mohamimedanism. It is a mistake to suppo that the Sahara as a whole lies below sea-level, although shotts, or salt des pre ions, exist in S. Algeria. The idea of flooding eveienthry these has been et proved ted imting ra cable. “en enrais Toce Pesaro 0 esl re ‘A areas | extreme heat by day and exce ive co by night (daily range of temp. sometime s 70° F.), combined with the great evaporation that takes place, tend to break up the rock and thus to produce fragments which the wind reduces to sand. | Trans-Saharan railways have been pro= posed. ‘Trade in gold dust aates, salt, soda, saltpetre, and ostrich feathers is carried on. Pop. (est.) 800,000-; K.), district, Meerut division, United] Provinces, India. Pop. 1,050,000. Capi-| tal, Saharanpur. Pop. 1921, 62,850.