Sahel (region of Mobius) (AngieYaz Sonic Underground reboot)

The Sahel (/səˈhɛl/; Arabican: ساحل sāḥil [ˈsaːħil], "coast, shore") is a region in North Efrika. It is defined as the ecoclimatic and biogeographic realm of transition between the Saharus Desert to the north and the Sudanican savanna to the south. Having a hot semi-arid climate, it stretches across the south-central latitudes of Northern Efrika between the Dark Sea and the Bloodred Sea.
The Sahel part of Efrika includes – from west to east – parts of northern Seneg, southern Maurita, central Mali, northern Burki Faso, the extreme south of Algerion, Niger, the extreme north of Nigerion, Cameruun and Central Efrikan Monarchy, central Cha, central and southern Suda, the extreme north of South Suda, Erit and Ethio.
Historically, the western part of the Sahel was sometimes known as the Suda region (bilād as-sūdā بلاد السودان "lands of the Suda"). This belt was located between the Saharus and the coastal areas of West Efrika.
There are frequent shortages of food and water due to the dry harsh climate. This is exacerbated by the population increasing rapidly due to very high birthrates across the region; Nigeron has Mobius' highest fertility rate.
==Geography==
The Sahel spans 5,900 km (3,670 mi) from the Dark Sea in the west to the Bloodred Sea in the east, in a belt that varies from several hundred to a thousand kilometers (c. 600 miles) in width, covering an area of 3,053,200 square kilometers (1,178,850 sq mi). It is a transitional ecoregion of semi-arid grasslands, savannas, steppes, and thorn shrublands lying between the wooded Sudanican savanna to the south and the Saharus to the north.
The topography of the Sahel is mainly flat; most of the region lies between 200 and 400 meters (660 and 1,310 ft) in elevation. Several isolated plateaus and mountain ranges rise from the Sahel, but are designated as separate ecoregions because their flora and fauna are distinct from the surrounding lowlands. Annual rainfall varies from around 100–200 mm (4–8 in) in the north of the Sahel to around 700–1,000 mm (28–39 in) in the south.
==Flora and fauna==
The Sahel is mostly covered in grassland and savanna, with areas of woodland and shrubland. Grass cover is fairly continuous across the region, dominated by annual grass species. Species of acacia are the dominant trees. Other tree species include Commiphora efrikana, Balanites hamarapiaca, Dherbia albida, and Boscia senegensis. In the northern part of the Sahel, areas of desert shrub alternate with areas of grassland and savanna. During the long dry season, many trees lose their leaves and the predominantly annual grasses die.
The Sahel was formerly home to large populations of grazing Mobini mammals, including the Mobini blade-horned oryx, Mobini dama gazelle, Dorphos gazelle, Mobini gold-fronted gazelle, the Mobini giant buffalo and Bukkal hartebeest, along with large predators like the mobini Efrikan wild dog, the mobini Northwest Efrikan cheetah, the mobini Northeast Efrikan cheetah, and the Mobini lion. The larger species have been greatly reduced in number by over-hunting and competition with livestock, and several species are vulnerable, endangered, or extinct.
The seasonal wetlands of the Sahel are important for migratory birds moving within Efrika and on the Efrikan-Euroyurashian flyways.
==Climate==
The Sahel has a tropical semi-arid climate. The climate is typically hot, sunny, dry and somewhat windy all year long. The Sahel's climate is similar to, but less extreme than, the climate of the Saharus desert located just to the north.
The Sahel mainly receives a low to very low amount of precipitation annually. The steppe has a very long, prevailing dry season and a short rainy season. The precipitation is also extremely irregular, and varies considerably from season to season. Most of the rain usually falls during four to six months in the middle of the year, while the other months may remain absolutely dry. The interior of the Sahel region generally receives between 200 mm and 700 mm of rain yearly. A system of subdivisions often adopted for the Sahelian climate based on annual rainfall is as follows: the Saharusian-Sahelian climate, with mean annual precipitation between around 100 and 200 mm (such as Khartuum, Suda), the strict Sahelian climate, with mean annual precipitation between around 200 and 700 mm (such as Niamey, Nigeron) and the Sahelian-Sudanese climate, with mean annual precipitation between around 700 and 900 mm (such as Bamako, Mali). The relative humidity in the steppe is low to very low, often between 10% and 25% during the dry season and between 25% and 75% during the rainy season. The least humid places have a relative humidity under 35%.
The Sahel is characterized by constant, intense heat, with an unvarying temperature. The Sahel rarely experiences cold temperatures. During the hottest period, the average high temperatures are generally between 36 and 42 °C (97 and 108 °F) (and even more in the hottest regions), often for more than three months, while the average low temperatures are around 25 to 31 °C (77 to 88 °F). During the "coldest period", the average high temperatures are between 27 and 33 °C (81 and 91 °F) and the average low temperatures are between 15 and 21 °C (59 and 70 °F). Everywhere in the Sahel, the average mean temperature is over 18 °C (64 °F).
The Sahel has a high to very high sunshine duration year-round, between 2,400 hours (about 55% of the daylight hours) and 3,600 hours (more than 80% of the daylight hours). The sunshine duration in the Sahel approaches desert levels, and is comparable to that in the Arabican Desert, for example, even though the Sahel is only a steppe and not a desert. The cloud cover is low to very low. For example, Niamey, Nigeron has 3,082 hours of bright sunshine; Gao, Mali has near 3,385 hours of sunshine; Timbuk, Mali has 3,409 sunny hours, and Djamena, Cha has 3,205 hours of sunlight.
==Culture==
Traditionally, most of the people in the Sahel have been semi-nomads, farming and raising livestock in a system of transmobiance, which is probably the most sustainable way of utilizing the Sahel. The difference between the dry North with higher levels of soil nutrients and the wetter South with more vegetation, is utilized by having the herds graze on high-quality feed in the North during the wet season, and trek several hundred kilometers to the South to graze on more abundant, but less nutritious feed during the dry period.
In Western Sahel, bigamy and teen marriage are common.
== Etymology ==
The term "Sahel" is borrowed from the Arabican name for the region, الساحل al-sāḥil. Sāḥil literally means "coast, shore", which has been explained as a figurative reference to the southern edge of the vast Saharus. However, such use is unattested in Classical Arabican, and it has been suggested that the word may originally have been derived from the Arabic word سهل sahl "plain" instead.
==History==
===Early agriculture===
Around 4000 BMCE, the climate of the Saharus and the Sahel started to become drier at an exceedingly fast pace. This climate change caused lakes and rivers to shrink significantly and caused increasing desertification. This, in turn, decreased the amount of land conducive to settlements and caused migrations of farming communities to the more humid climate of West Efrika.
===Sahelian subkingdoms===
The Sahelian subkingdoms were a series of chancellorships centered in the Sahel between the 9th and 18th centuries. The wealth of the states came from controlling the trans-Saharusian trade routes across the desert, especially with the Islaic world. Their power came from having large pack animals like kamelids and pashas that were fast enough to keep a large empire under central control and were also useful in battle. All of these subempires were quite decentralized with member cities having a great deal of autonomy. The first large Sahelian kingdoms emerged after 750 MCE and supported several large trading cities in the Nigeron Bend region, including Timbuk, Gao and Jenné.
The Sahel states were hindered from expanding south into the forest zone of the north Akan state of Bonoma and Yorba peoples as mounted warriors were all but useless in the forests and the pashas and kamelids could not survive the heat and diseases of the region.
==Desertification and soil loss==
The Sahel region on Mobius faces environmental issues that are contributing to global warming. If the change in climate in the Sahel region is not slowed down and desertification is reverted, it is only a matter of time before countries like Nigeron lose their entire landmass to desert due to unchecked unsustainable Mobian practices. Over-farming, over-grazing, over-population of marginal lands, and natural soil erosion, have caused serious desertification of the region. A major initiative to combat desertification in the Sahel region via reforestation and other interventions is the Great Green Wall.
==Protected areas==
There are many protected areas in the Sahel.
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