Late Desert
Posted on | April 15, 2010 | Comments Off
Late Desert
Why was the African coast so little explored by northerners until late in history?
It seems that it would have been easy for explorers (in terms of navigation & transportation) to make their way southward along the west coast of Africa, or for that matter, southward along the east coast of Africa, very early on in history. Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, or other civilizations right up into modern times might have had the resources to do this. So for example, starting at Gibraltar, heading across the straight, down along the Moroccan coast, following the coastline all the way around to the equator, etc. But it seems early explorers didn't go there much, until post-Columbian times. Why not? Was it simply that the desert climates along these coasts were too harsh? Or was there little of economic value for traders? Or was it too dangerous in some other way?
Or why not simply trekking on land along the coast?
Because it was impossible to go further away to Senegal, more or less. Up to that point, the wind is constantly and strongly on your favour, but from there on, it's against you if you keep heading south, and up until late middle ages there were no technological developments to sail against the wind. Also, the romans, greeks, phoenicians guys, etc, could have sailed nearly to Guinea since they had the wind on their side, but they knew pretty well that if they did so, that would be their last voyage.
No way back home!!! (no means to sail north back home,
against the powerful alissyus winds).
Same happens in the Indian Ocean.
The first ones to explore much, if not all the african coasts, were the portuguese during the XV and XVI centuries.
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Travis; Yes, Herodotus talks about that, and he mentions that those guys found strange animals (hippos) and so on.. Probably it's partially true and they sailed to Guinea, and then, walked their way back home...
There was no way they could've sailed back agaonst the winds.
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Bukhara, the pearl of the desert
is it too late to plant poppies in california?
it's in the mid 90's, desert. Is it too late for asiatic lillies too? Want to fill in some spots. bought bulbs and all are doing great. We won't get a freeze until december. Thanks.
Summer is a period for dormancy in desert gardens when it comes to flowers. Due to our mild winters and blistering summers in this desert, June marks the date when things hunker down to wait out the heat and drought. Nothing is planted this time of year because there won't be sufficient root system in place to deliver the amount of water needed to withstand very high temperatures.
In California, both poppies and lilies are planted in late fall or just after New Years. By early summer both these crops have flowered, and are either cut back or die back on their own.
If you must plant perennials and flowers in the summer, stick with the toughest choices such as lantanas and autumn sage hybrids. Ornamental grasses, bat-faced cuphea, and brittlebush may also tolerate planting at this time.
Tags: desert > desert_fathers > early_christianity > late desert > late_antiquity > research
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