It is considered a part of the group of mountains known as the Ennedi Massif found in Chad, which is one of the nine countries that make up the Sahelian belt that spans the Atlantic Ocean to Sudan.

The Ennedi area is also known for its large collection of rock art depicting mainly cattle, as these animals had the greatest financial, environmental, and cultural impact.

[2] Today, two semi-nomadic groups, mainly Muslim, live in the Ennedi during the rainy months and pass through the area during the dry season.

[5] In the Ennedi, there are at least twenty perennial or semi-perennial springs, gueltas (desert ponds), and pools, but they rarely reach greater than a few dozen meters in the dry season.

[6] It is considered part of the Sahelian Acacia savanna, which extends across the entire continent which once contained diverse ungulates whose population has since been reduced.

The landscape has geological structures, including towers, pillars, bridges, and arches, which serve as major tourist attractions.

[16] Unfortunately, not a lot of studies have been conducted on Northern Chad due to security issues, harsh climatic conditions, wars, and banditry.

[18] The last lions (West African subspecies) in the Sahara also survived here until they became extinct in the 1940s due to increased land use and hunting/poaching.

[19] Any surviving scimitar oryx antelopes and Sudan cheetah still alive in the wild are likely to be found in the remote regions of the Ennedi Plateau.

Researchers used camera traps to identify an isolated population of North African ostrich that was discovered to still be living in the protected area.

[17] Specifically, researcher Gillet used a classification system to describe 7 main life forms for the 526 species of flora found: 41.3% therophytes, 3.0% geophytes, 5.1% helophytes, 1.1% hydrophytes, 7.0% hemicryptophytes, 18.4% chamaephytes, 15.1% phanerophytes.

[1] The archaeological record and sites' rock art allow researchers to generate these dates because there is, unfortunately, a lack of organic materials.

Early pictures were monochrome, representing people working with their livestock, and many were shown with hunting gear while walking and running.

[29] In fact, at one site, Murdi, researchers graphed the frequency of humans and animals found among the rock art.

[30] The first rock picture ever discovered included the "Apollon Garamante," which showed two masked persons on the side of cattle.

During the Iron Age, people survived on a more nomadic lifestyle, choosing to display camels and specifically horses in their pictures.

[35] Depictions of people are fairly common in Ennedi rock art, and among the human figures found, only 4% were engraved.

Males are often exhibited as standing in front of cattle holding a lance and a shield, mainly seen as protecting their animals.

[36] They were often covered in wavy lines and interesting geometric patterns, and these designs have been compared to Round Head-style figures found in Algeria.

[1] At sites like Nabara 2, located on the base of the north-face of the Saodomanga, oval engravings depict fauna like camels, cattle, and giraffes.

[1] During 5,000-4,000 cal BC, the Ennedi people worked as hunting, fishing, and gathering groups mainly on the plains.

Lastly, due to increased aridity from 3,000-2,000 BC, there were more established settlements, as well as a greater amount of herding with mainly small livestock.

[38] The pottery exhibited geometric patterns for the first time, and stone tools included mainly just retouched flakes and grinding material.

[26] Chad's minister of culture, Mahamat Saleh Haroun, described the situation, "It's an African story and they wanted to destroy that.

"[41] While the head of UNESCO in Chad Abdelkerim Adoum Bahar believes the damage can be repaired, other organizations have since become involved.

[39] Due to both erosion and vandalism, the Ennedi has faced deterioration, but this art has now been recorded in 3D to raise awareness about the beauty of this site.