The Sudans Nile within the Sudans has no significant tributaries. The amount of rainfall increases towards the south. In the north there is the very dry Nubian Desert; in the south there are swamps and rainforest. The Sudans’s rainy season lasts for about three months (July to September) in the north, and up to six months (June to November) in the south. The dry regions are plagued by sandstorms, known as haboob, which can completely block out the sun. In the northern and western semi-desert areas, people rely on the scant rainfall for basic agriculture and many are nomadic, travelling with their
Karakum Desert Tejen rivers flow out of the Hindu Kush Mountains, flow west, and empty into the desert, providing water for irrigation. The desert is crossed by the second largest irrigation canal in the world, the Karakum Canal, which brings water from the Amu Darya to southern regions of the desert. Construction on the canal was started in 1954 and completed in 1958. It is 1,375 km in length, and carries 13-20 km³ of water annually. Leakages from the canal have created lakes and ponds along the canal and the rise in groundwater has caused widespread soil salination. Within the Karakum are