El Djouf ( ar, الجوف) is a desert, an

arid A region is arid when it severely lacks available water, to the extent of hindering or preventing the growth and development of plant and animal life. Regions with arid climates tend to lack vegetation and are called xeric or desertic. Most ...

natural region A natural region (landscape unit) is a basic geographic unit. Usually, it is a region which is distinguished by its common natural features of geography, geology, and climate. From the ecological point of view, the naturally occurring flora and ...

of sand dunes and rock salt which covers northeastern Mauritania and part of northwestern

Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mal ...

. El Djouf is a part of the

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

in the north. El Djouf is 320 meters (1,050 feet) above sea level. A meteorite of a rare type of carbonaceous chondrite was found in El Djouf in October 1989.

Geographic features

The El Djouf consists in a typical

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

n type of broad shallow

sedimentary basin Sedimentary basins are region-scale depressions of the Earth's crust where subsidence has occurred and a thick sequence of sediments have accumulated to form a large three-dimensional body of sedimentary rock. They form when long-term subside ...

, separated by divides formed by fault blocks,

plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides ...

s and

mountain ranges A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have arise ...

, where rock waste eroded from higher surfaces has been deposited at the base. Other significant basins of this type are those of Lake Chad and the

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

- Kyoga lake basin, as well as the Congo and

Zambezi The Zambezi River (also spelled Zambeze and Zambesi) is the fourth-longest river in Africa, the longest east-flowing river in Africa and the largest flowing into the Indian Ocean from Africa. Its drainage basin covers , slightly less than hal ...

rivers.Martins, Lina, Krecek, Josef (Eds.), ''Environmental Reconstruction in Headwater Areas''. p. 201

References

External links

El Djouf 001 in the World Meteorite Catalogue Database
Sedimentary basins of Africa Geology of Mali Geology of Mauritania Landforms of Mali Landforms of Mauritania Deserts of Africa Ergs of Africa Basins of Africa Sahara {{Mauritania-geo-stub

Geographic features

See also

References

External links