LOCATION OF SAHEL ACADEMY

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In Arabic, the word 'sahel' refers to the "shore" of the sea of sand - the mighty Sahara. The transition south-to-north is from grassland to desert. Moving north, rainfall decreases, and acacia-studded savanna fades gradually to clumps or tufts of grass. Spotty vegetation patches then yield to a stark, gargantuan span of mountains, rocks, and then the sand sea - the Sahara. The Sahel spans from Senegal on the Atlantic coast, east across Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad, into Sudan, and Egypt's Nile River Valley - a distance roughly equal in width to the United States.