L2 is approximately 70,000 years old and is one of the largest of the Sub-Saharan African haplogroups. Haplogroup L2 is found throughout the continent, but it has the highest frequency in the Sahel region just south of the Sahara desert and is the dominant haplogroup in West Africa. Future research will further document the historical distribution of this haplogroup and closely related haplogroups. Haplogroup L2a is approximately 61,000 years old and first arose in the Sahel region of central or western Africa in the fertile lands south of the Sahara desert. Today, L2a is still found among pastoralist and agricultural groups in that same region as well as among some groups in Egypt, Sudan, Chad, Libya, Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco. Sub-haplogroups L2a2 and L2a4 are in very high frequency amongst the Mbuti people, a hunter-gatherer group in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Haplogroup L2b is approximately 21,000 years old and is predominantly found in western Africa, although it occurs in low frequencies throughout the continent. Haplogroup L2b may have extended from West Africa moving east and south with the Bantu agricultural expansion of the last few thousand years. L2b also occurs among African-descendant groups in the Americas. Haplogroup L2c is approximately 9,000 years old, making it one of the youngest daughters of haplogroup L2. It is found primarily in West Africa and is the dominant haplogroup among the people of Senegal, Mali, and the neighboring countries. L2c is also quite common among African-descendant groups in the Americas, especially in the Caribbean. Haplogroup L2d is approximately 10,000 years old and first arose in West Africa. Today, it occurs among people from countries ranging from Algeria to Nigeria as well as among African-descendant groups in the Americas.