NOV20

Classroom lesson · Tibesti Mountains · 🇹🇩 Chad

Tibesti Mountains

Africa's highest volcanoes rise from the heart of the Sahara

The dramatic volcanic peaks of the Tibesti Mountains rising steeply above the Saharan plain

Photo · Wikimedia Commons

What is it?

The Tibesti Mountains are a dramatic chain of volcanic peaks rising from the sands of the central Sahara in northern Chad. The highest peak, Emi Koussi, is 3,415 metres tall — the highest point in the Sahara and in all of Chad. These mountains were shaped by ancient volcanoes and still have hot springs bubbling from the ground.

Tell me more

Emi Koussi sits inside a huge caldera — a wide bowl shape left behind after an ancient volcano erupted and its top collapsed inward. The caldera is about 12 kilometres wide and 1.5 kilometres deep. Imagine a bowl the size of a city, formed entirely by nature over millions of years.

Because the mountains are so tall, they catch a little more moisture than the flat desert below. This means that in the crevices and valleys, small plants can grow — grasses, ferns and even trees in the most sheltered spots. Rock hyraxes (small furry mammals related to elephants, believe it or not) live on the rocky slopes.

Hot springs and fumaroles — vents where steam escapes from underground heat — can be found in the mountains. The water from some hot springs is heated deep underground by the remnants of volcanic activity, rising to the surface warm and full of minerals. Local Toubou people have known about these springs for centuries and sometimes use them for bathing.

In the classroom

Walk your class through this in 15 minutes.

Talk together

Discussion prompts

  1. 01A caldera forms when a volcano's top collapses. Can you imagine what that moment would have looked like millions of years ago?
  2. 02The mountains are taller and slightly cooler, so different plants can grow there. Why does height affect temperature?
  3. 03Rock hyraxes are related to elephants, even though they look like large guinea pigs. What does that tell us about how animals can change over millions of years?
Try this

Classroom activity

Build a model volcano using clay or papier-mâché. When it is dry, mark the caldera at the top, a hot spring on the slope, and the flat desert below. Label each part and write one fact next to it.

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