The Sahara wasn’t always the endless sandscape we know today—it used to be lush and green! 🌿 Around 6,000 to 7,000 years ago, it was covered in grasslands, rivers, and even lakes, supporting animals like elephants and hippos. Scientists say the shift happened because of changes in the Earth’s orbit, which messed with the monsoon rains that kept the region fertile. As the rains moved south, the Sahara dried up, turning into the desert we see now. But what’s really wild is that this cycle of greening and desertification has happened multiple times over millions of years. Who knows—maybe the Sahara will be green again someday! 🌎 Credit:
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QanatFiraun: by Pafnutius, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:QanatFiraun.JPG
Animation is created by Bright Side.
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For more videos and articles visit:
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This video is made for entertainment purposes. We do not make any warranties about the completeness, safety and reliability. Any action you take upon the information in this video is strictly at your own risk, and we will not be liable for any damages or losses. It is the viewer's responsibility to use judgement, care and precaution if you plan to replicate.
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FunTranscript
00:00When you think of an epic desert scene with blazing sun, endless dunes, and those magical
00:06little oases, you probably picture the legendary Sahara, right?
00:10But what if I tell you that 11,000 years ago, this vast expanse of hot sand looked totally
00:16different than it does today?
00:18Eh, I don't know, I wasn't around then.
00:20But I'm told that back then, what we now call a desert was a lush paradise brimming
00:26with lakes, rivers, grassy plains, and even woodsy forests.
00:30So where did all this water go?
00:34There are many stories about the distant past of our planet, when deserts were covered with
00:38jungles and forests.
00:40And then something happened, like changing climates or colossal earthquakes, and it all
00:45turned green lands into dunes.
00:47But how about a theory that Sahara became a desert because of humans and goats?
00:54The Sahara has seen its fair share of wet and dry drama throughout the ages, mostly
00:59thanks to little shifts in Earth's orbital tilt, causing variations in how much solar
01:04radiation hits the atmosphere.
01:06There were even times called the African Humid Periods, when the rain would pour in and transform
01:11the dry landscape into a bright green haven.
01:16But between 8,000 and 4,500 years ago, something really funky happened to this region.
01:22Rain areas went from humid to dry way too fast to explain it by just orbital changes.
01:28In the blink of an eye, the lush Sahara turned into the Sahara we know today.
01:34If you ask scientists why it happened, they will tell you, oh, it's just poor parameterization
01:40of the data.
01:41Bet you didn't get it, did you?
01:43Well right, let me translate it from scientific to common human.
01:47It means they really don't know the answer themselves, and they got a bunch of missing
01:51puzzle pieces.
01:53But as scientists sifted through ancient dirt and pollen samples, they spotted a quirky
01:58trend.
01:59Wherever there were pastoralists, also known as humans with their domesticated animals,
02:04the plant life seemed to shift.
02:07It was as if every time humans and their furry friends meandered through the greenery, they
02:11turned it into scrub and desert right behind them.
02:15Oops.
02:16Yep, chances are that by overgrazing, humans were sapping moisture out of the atmosphere,
02:22since plants give off moisture, which helps make clouds and making things even sunnier,
02:27leading to a quicker end of the humid vibes.
02:30Plus, our ancestors may have been getting a little too cozy with fire for land management,
02:36further speeding up the desert takeover.
02:39Anyway, scientists are sure that this lush Sahara would've turned back into desert
02:44eventually, even if humans hadn't shown up, thanks to Earth's natural rhythms.
02:50So there's no need to pin this abrupt change solely on humans.
02:53It could simply be about nature getting feedback from vegetation and dust cycles.
02:59It's difficult to determine what caused these changes, as it's all interconnected.
03:06During the last humid period, the Sahara was filled with hunter-gatherers.
03:10As things got a little drier, they started herding animals for food.
03:14The weather pushed people to herd cattle.
03:17It's also possible that grazing sped up the landscape degradation.
03:21So which came first, the chicken or the egg?
03:24Or in this case, the human or the cow?
03:26It's tough to tell with the evidence we have now.
03:29Today, it's safe to say that water is no longer that big of a problem in the Sahara,
03:35even though it's a huge desert and the times of lush forests there are long gone.
03:41But technology's got us covered.
03:43For example, the Nubian Sandstone Aquifer System, the biggest underground water stash
03:48on the planet.
03:49It's nestled beneath the Sahara Desert's eastern edge and stretches across four northeastern
03:54African countries – Sudan, Chad, Libya, and Egypt – covering a whopping 770,000
04:02square miles and holding around 36,000 square miles of groundwater.
04:07Just look at the pipes transported when it was being built.
04:10It's the world's largest irrigation project.
04:13No wonder it's feasible to thrive in the Sahara today!
04:18But imagine thriving in the Sahara Desert with just one water source.
04:23Sounds like a tough gig, right?
04:24But the ancient Garamantes did just that, surviving and even thriving for nearly a thousand
04:30years without monsoons or rivers flowing to their desert paradise.
04:35These clever folks were the trendsetters of urban life in the sands, and even the Romans
04:40couldn't help but notice their genius.
04:42While many thought they were just desert-dwelling savages, the Garamantes were busy building
04:47an empire in one of the toughest climates on Earth.
04:51But how did they do that?
04:52Well, they got crafty and dug a whole bunch of underground tunnels to tap into a massive
04:58sandstone aquifer.
04:59They were literally squeezing every drop of life from under the dunes.
05:04But recently, research showed that the Garamantes weren't just hardworking – they were pretty
05:08lucky too.
05:10The Garamantes had an underground aquifer that brought water up to a hill where they
05:15built over 500 fagras, which are irrigation systems, some stretching as long as 2.5 miles.
05:22It was like sipping water through a straw, which let them irrigate their crops for nearly
05:26a century.
05:27Especially since even a little rain would help recharge the system.
05:32But eventually, due to rain insufficiency, the aquifer ran low, and reaching it again
05:38would've meant digging more tunnels and relying on more people.
05:41That's a tough problem, considering these people were in the middle of food and water
05:45shortages.
05:46Guess I don't need to tell you what happened to the Garamantes, do I?
05:51The fall of the Garamantian culture might be linked to several factors.
05:55It may have been due to climate changes, or they may have simply used their water resources
06:00too much.
06:01Back in the day, the Sahara Desert was actually fertile agricultural land, thanks in part
06:06to the cool irrigation system the Garamantians created.
06:10But since fossil water isn't something you can replenish over time, the groundwater levels
06:15dropped pretty low.
06:16This likely played a big role in the kingdom's decline by the late 7th century CE.
06:22That sounds like someone who hit a lottery jackpot, used up all the money, and went back
06:26to their original not-so-cool job once the bank account got fully drained.
06:32Oh, by the way, even if the Garamantians left some secret wisdom messages for us, the chances
06:38are we'll never get what they wanted to tell us.
06:41Nobody really knows what language they used, and their texts are nearly indecipherable to
06:46us today.
06:49But let's go back to the Green Sahara.
06:51So it transformed into a desert about 4,500 years ago.
06:55But today, we can understand how people lived in those times in the Sahara thanks to natural
07:00parks in Africa that have the ultimate outdoor art gallery.
07:05There are well over 15,000 ancient paintings and carvings depicting everyday life from
07:10around 11,000 years ago.
07:13However, if the carvings aren't enough for you, and you feel like visiting an actual
07:17green desert, all you have to do is book a flight to California.
07:21One of the most beautiful phenomenon in the world, the super bloom takes place here.
07:26Look at all these colors – orange, green, pink – it's a miracle!
07:32Wildflowers bloom right in the middle of a hot desert after several years of rainfall
07:36and dry places.
07:37It's such a bright and colorful landscape that super blooms can be seen from space.
07:44This rare phenomenon can be observed in other arid places and deserts in Western and Southern
07:49Africa, Western Australia, and Chile.
07:52In all these places, the weather is very hot and dry in summer.
07:56Mild humid air comes in winter, and this is the ideal environment for mass flowering.
08:02Flower seeds that lie in desert sands can wait for decades before starting to produce
08:07flowers.
08:08When the hot sun destroys all the weeds and grass, and the rainfall becomes enough to
08:12moisten the soil, the seeds are kinda like, well, okay, now it's our turn to play a
08:17big game!
08:19And then hundreds of thousands of tourists come to take photos and post these beautiful
08:23pictures on social media.
08:26And this, unfortunately, is one of the main dangers for flowers.
08:30Therefore, if you find yourself in a place like this, don't pick the flowers and don't
08:34trample on them.
08:35Stay on the path, don't litter.
08:38Take only pictures and leave only footprints.
08:41You get it?
08:42Good.
08:43That's it for today, so hey, if you pacified your curiosity, then give the video a like
08:48and share it with your friends.
08:49Or if you want more, just click on these videos and stay on the Bright Side!