QESOSA Tong Kwok Wah Secondary School
 Taming the sand 
Unit 9.2
Name:
2014-2015 S2 Geography
(
)
S.2 (
)
What is desertification? What is a sandstorm? (Textbook P. 9-15)
Key Questions:
1.
2.
3.
4.
What is desertification?
Where are the major desertified areas in the world?
What are sandstorms?
What is the global distribution of sandstorms?
Preparatory task
Find out the meaning of the BOLD words. Write down the definition in Chinese in the boxes below.
Passage A
In the world, there are places with low rainfall and high (1) evaporation rates. They are called
(2) drylands. Examples are (3) semi-desert, (4) grassland and (5) savanna. When these drylands lose
productivity, they become degraded. Vegetation becomes spares and soil is exposed to (6) erosion. The land
becomes desert-like. The process of (7) land degradation in these drylands is called (8) desertification.
Desertification is serious in (9) the Sahel in Africa. In the past 50 years, about 650,000 square kilometers of
land has become desertified. Areas around deserts have a high risk of desertification.
(10) Sandstorm is a severe windstorm that sweeps clouds of dust or sand across an extensive area. It
is a natural hazard. Deserts and areas around deserts have more sandstorms. Strong winds can carry sand and
dust over a long distance. Places far beyond the source region will be affected. Sandstorms are now
threatening many areas in the world.
English
1. evaporation rate
2. dryland
3. semi-desert
4. grassland
Chinese
蒸發率
旱地
半荒漠
草原
5. savanna
熱帶稀樹草原
6. erosion
侵蝕
7. land degradation
土地退化
8. desertification
荒漠化
9. the Sahel
薩赫勒
10. sandstorm
沙塵暴
1
QESOSA Tong Kwok Wah Secondary School
 Taming the sand 
2014-2015 S2 Geography
Name:
(
)
S.2 (
)
1. What is desertification? (Textbook, p.9-10)
Task 1: The following photos show some examples of drylands. Name the examples and
describe place and the climatic conditions.
Example 1
Example 2
Name
Example 3
Description
Climatic conditions
Example 1 semi-desert
 covered by scrubby vegetation
Example 2 savanna
 covered by grassland with
scattered trees
 covered by grass
Example 3 grassland






high / low rainfall
high / low evaporation rate
high / low rainfall
high / low evaporation rate
high / low rainfall
high / low evaporation rate
Task 2: The following photo shows the dryland that has become desertified area and faced
desertification. Describe the desertified area and define desertification.
 Vegetation becomes sparse and soil is exposed.
 Land is degraded and the dryland becomes desert-like.
Dryland loses productivity
Vegetation becomes sparse
Soil is exposed to erosion
Land is degraded and becomes desert-like
The process of land degradation in these drylands is
called desertification
2
QESOSA Tong Kwok Wah Secondary School
 Taming the sand 
Name:
2014-2015 S2 Geography
(
)
S.2 (
)
2. Where are the major desertified areas in the world? (Textbook, p.10-11)
The following map shows the areas at high risk of desertification. Study the map and identify
the area at high risk of desertification and the Sahel.
 Areas at high risk of desertification are mainly located around deserts.
 Desertification is serious in the Sahel in Africa.
 The Sahel is a degraded dryland which is located on the southern edge of Sahara Desert and
covered with many countries in Africa such as Ethiopia and Sudan.
 Degradation of dryland in the Sahel is manily caused by rapid population increase.
 The increase in population has led to the misuse of land resources including (i) overgrazing,
(ii) Overcultivation, (iii) overcutting and (iv) misuse of water resources.
 Besides, rainfall in the Sahel is (high / low) and (reliable / unreliable), with most of the rain falls
in summer. Rainfall can be lower than average for several years.
3
QESOSA Tong Kwok Wah Secondary School
 Taming the sand 
2014-2015 S2 Geography
Name:
(
)
S.2 (
)
3. What are sandstorms? (Textbook, p.11-13)
The following photo shows a natural hazard. Identify and describe the natural hazard.
 The natural hazard is sandstorm.
 A severe windstorm that sweeps clouds of sand
or dust across an extensive area.
 There are two conditions to cause the movement
of sand :
(i) strong winds
(ii) availability of loose sand and dust
4. What is the global distribution of sandstorms? (Textbook, p.14-15)
The following map and photos show the global distribution of sandstorms and areas
affected by sandstorms. Study the map and photos and complete the information below.





Sandstorms are mainly found in deserts and areas near deserts.
This is because deserts provide sand and dust for the formation of sandstorms.
Strong winds can carry sand and dust over a (short / long) distance. Places far beyond
the source region will be affected.
A sandstorm from the Sahara Desert can blow over the Atlantic Ocean and reach North
or South America.
A sandstorm from the Gobi Desert in China can affect South Korea and Japan.
4
QESOSA Tong Kwok Wah Secondary School
 Taming the sand 
Name:
2014-2015 S2 Geography
(
)
S.2 (
)
5