Sahara Desert Map
The Sahara Desert is a desert across 9 countries, covering about 9,200,000 km² (3,550,000 sq mi). This map shows its extent on shaded relief, with the surrounding mountains, rivers, borders and cities.
How to read this map
The Sahara Desert is about 9,200,000 km² (3,550,000 sq mi) in area. It extends across Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Mauritania, Niger, Mali and Sudan.
The dashed outline marks the Sahara Desert as mapped by Natural Earth. Towns and cities on the map include Cairo, Istanbul, Lagos, Tehran, Barcelona, Khartoum, Riyadh and Abidjan. Labeled countries: Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Libya, Iran, Chad, Niger, Mali, Mauritania and Egypt.
Greens show lower elevations; tan and brown show higher land, with pale tones toward the highest terrain. Shadows emphasize the slopes, and vertical relief is exaggerated so landforms are easier to read. Dashed lines show country borders.
The relief uses Terrain Tiles (SRTM, GMTED2010 and ETOPO1 elevation data). Rivers, lakes, borders and the outline of the Sahara Desert come from Natural Earth, and the figures on this page from Wikidata. Natural Earth draws features at a small scale, so the outline is a guide to where the Sahara Desert is, not a surveyed boundary.
Blank physical map
The blank version keeps the mapped features and removes the place labels. Download it for a geography worksheet or practice identifying the features.
Sahara Desert facts
| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Length | 4,800 km (2,980 mi) |
| Area | 9,200,000 km² (3,550,000 sq mi) |
| Highest point | Emi Koussi, 3,445 m (11,302 ft) |
| Countries | Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Mauritania, Niger, Mali and Sudan |
Data sources and license
- Natural Earth (public-domain geography): Public domain.
- Terrain Tiles / Mapzen (SRTM, GMTED2010, ETOPO1): Open elevation data; source attribution retained.
- Wikidata (lengths, areas, countries and other facts): CC0 1.0.
Map design and rendered images: Atlas of Maps, CC BY 4.0. Source databases retain their own licenses; the map license does not replace them.
Maps of the countries: Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Mauritania, Niger, Mali, Sudan. Compare with the world mountain ranges map.
Frequently asked questions
How big is the Sahara Desert?
About 9,200,000 km² (3,550,000 sq mi).
Where is the Sahara Desert?
The Sahara Desert is in Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Mauritania, Niger, Mali and Sudan.
Can I download a blank map of the Sahara Desert?
Yes. The blank version keeps the relief, rivers and borders and the highlighted desert but removes the place names. Both versions are free to download as PNG and as an A4 PDF.
Use this map
You can download, print and share this map for free, in class, in school projects, in presentations and on websites, as long as you credit the source: Sahara Desert Map · Atlas of Maps (atlasofmaps.com), license CC BY 4.0.
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