The Sahara is the biggest hot desert in the world.
Stretching across North Africa, the Sahara covers roughly 9.2 million square kilometres. It extends from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea and from the Mediterranean region southward to the Sahel. Its immense area makes it larger than many countries combined.
“Biggest hot desert” is important wording. Antarctica is larger overall, and the Arctic is also classified as a polar desert, so the Sahara is usually ranked third among all deserts but first among hot deserts. The Gobi, Kalahari and Arabian deserts are all smaller.
The Sahara is not one unbroken sea of sand. It includes rocky plateaus, gravel plains, salt flats, mountain ranges, dry valleys and large dune fields called ergs. Its climate has also changed dramatically over time: during the African Humid Period, parts of today’s desert supported grasslands, lakes and wildlife. The name Sahara comes from the Arabic ṣaḥrāʾ, meaning “desert.”