Sahara Desert, North Africa

The Sahara is the largest hot desert in the world, spanning over 3.6 million square miles and running through several countries in Northern Africa including Egypt, Morocco, Niger, Chad, Mauritania, Western Sahara, Sudan, Mali, Algeria and Tunisia. It’s name, ‘Sahara’, is derived from the Arabic word for ‘desert’. The hottest temperature ever was recorded in the Sahara Desert - an astonishing 58 degrees Celcius. The vast majority of the Sahara is a large expanse of sand, though some mountain ranges and grasslands are present, sparse though they may be.