The Atlantic coastal desert is the westernmost

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of ...

in the

Sahara Desert , photo = Sahara real color.jpg , photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972 , map = , map_image = , location = , country = , country1 = , ...

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

. It occupies a narrow strip along the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

coast, where the more frequent fog and

haze Haze is traditionally an atmospheric phenomenon in which dust, smoke, and other dry particulates suspended in air obscure visibility and the clarity of the sky. The World Meteorological Organization manual of codes includes a classificati ...

generated offshore by the cool

Canary Current The Canary Current is a wind-driven surface current that is part of the North Atlantic Gyre. This eastern boundary current branches south from the North Atlantic Current and flows southwest about as far as Senegal where it turns west and later j ...

provides sufficient moisture to sustain a variety of lichens,

succulents In botany, succulent plants, also known as succulents, are plants with parts that are thickened, fleshy, and engorged, usually to retain water in arid climates or soil conditions. The word ''succulent'' comes from the Latin word ''sucus'', meani ...

, and shrubs.

Geography

It covers in

Western Sahara Western Sahara ( '; ; ) is a disputed territory on the northwest coast and in the Maghreb region of North and West Africa. About 20% of the territory is controlled by the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), while the ...

and Mauritania. It is bounded on the west by the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

, on the east by the North Saharan steppe and woodlands, on the north by the Mediterranean Acacia-Argania dry woodlands, and on the south by the

Sahelian Acacia savanna The Sahel (; ar, ساحل ' , "coast, shore") is a region in North Africa. It is defined as the ecoclimatic and biogeographic realm of transition between the Sahara to the north and the Sudanian savanna to the south. Having a hot semi-arid cli ...

Climate

The cool ocean current gives an even higher atmospheric stability in the desert, by cooling air at the base. This increase in atmospheric stability serves to further reduce the amount of rainfall. Therefore, the climate is extremely dry with some 30 mm of annual precipitation in

Dakhla, Western Sahara Dakhla ( ar, الداخلة, Berber: Eddaxla / ⴷⴷⴰⵅⵍⴰ, es, Dajla, Villa Cisneros) is a city in the disputed territory of Western Sahara, currently occupied by Morocco. It is the capital of the claimed Moroccan administrative reg ...

and 40 mm of annual precipitation in

Nouadhibou Nouadhibou (; ar, نواذيبو, Nwādībū, Berber: Nwadibu, formerly in French: ) is the second largest city in Mauritania and serves as a major commercial centre. The city itself has about 118,000 inhabitants expanding to over 140,000 in the l ...

, Mauritania. Several years may pass without any rainfall at all. The climate is very sunny year-round with around 3,200 hours of annual bright sunshine, though far less sunny than in other parts of the desert of North Africa due to fog and

. Air in the Atlantic coastal desert is rather moist and the

relative humidity Humidity is the concentration of water vapor present in the air. Water vapor, the gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye. Humidity indicates the likelihood for precipitation, dew, or fog to be present. Humidity dep ...

is generally over 60% while farther in the interior, it quickly lowers to 30% or less. Temperatures are also much more moderated in this coastal desert and are relatively warm to truly hot in all seasons. Averages daily temperature is 20 °C (68 °F) in Dakhla. Maximum average high temperatures are 27 °C (80.6 °F) while minimum average low temperatures are 13 °C (55.4 °F) in Dakhla.

Ecology

This bioregion is fairly rich in

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

plants but has no endemic fauna. The flora consists of a variety of lichens,

and drought-resistant shrubs. The

Mediterranean monk seal The Mediterranean monk seal (''Monachus monachus'') is a monk seal belonging to the family Phocidae. , it is estimated that fewer than 700 individuals survive in three or four isolated subpopulations in the Mediterranean, (especially) in the Ae ...

(''Monachus monachus'') is found here and the broad bays are important over-wintering grounds for large numbers of Palearctic wading birds.

Greater flamingo The greater flamingo (''Phoenicopterus roseus'') is the most widespread and largest species of the flamingo family. It is found in Africa, the Indian subcontinent, the Middle East, and in southern Europe. Taxonomy The greater flamingo was desc ...

es (''Phoenicopterus roseus'') and many other waterbirds congregate on the wetlands during their migrations. Mammals found here include the

Dorcas gazelle The dorcas gazelle (''Gazella dorcas''), also known as the ariel gazelle, is a small and common gazelle. The dorcas gazelle stands about at the shoulder, with a head and body length of and a weight of . The numerous subspecies survive on vegeta ...

(''Gazella dorcas''),

golden wolf The African wolf (''Canis lupaster'') or golden wolf, formerly known as the African golden jackal, is a canine native to North Africa, West Africa, the Sahel, northern East Africa, and the Horn of Africa. It is listed as least concern on the ...

(''Canis lupusater''),

fennec fox The fennec fox (''Vulpes zerda'') is a small crepuscular fox native to the deserts of North Africa, ranging from Western Sahara to the Sinai Peninsula. Its most distinctive feature is its unusually large ears, which serve to dissipate heat and ...

(''Fennecus zerda''),

Rüppell's fox Rüppell's fox (''Vulpes rueppellii''), also called Rüppell's sand fox, is a fox species living in desert and semi-desert regions of North Africa, the Middle East, and southwestern Asia. It has been listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List ...

(''Vulpes rueppelli''),

sand cat The sand cat (''Felis margarita'') is a small wild cat that inhabits sandy and stony deserts far from water sources. With its sandy to light grey fur, it is well camouflaged in a desert environment. Its head-and-body length ranges from with a ...

(''Felis margarita''),

honey badger The honey badger (''Mellivora capensis''), also known as the ratel ( or ), is a mammal widely distributed in Africa, Southwest Asia, and the Indian subcontinent. Because of its wide range and occurrence in a variety of habitats, it is liste ...

(''Mellivora capensis'') and striped hyena (''Hyaena hyaena'').

References

{{reflist Deserts and xeric shrublands Deserts of Africa Ecoregions of Mauritania Ecoregions of Western Sahara Flora of North Africa Palearctic ecoregions