Geography

DESERTS OF THE WORLD (A)Cold Deserts Name & Location Area Physical Features Plants & Animals Special Features Atacama Coast of Peru and Chile 140,000km2 Covered by sand dunes and pebbles. one of the driest area on earth Bunchgrass, cardon cactus, tamaruga  tree lizards, llama, Peruvian fox, nesting area for many sea birds Only a few thousand people (mostly) live in the inland desert area. Large deposits of sodium nitrate are found in the desert. Sodium nitrate is used to make gunpowder Gobi Northern China and Southern Mangolia 1,200,000km2 Covered by Sandy Soil and areas of small stones called ‘Gobi’ Camel’s thorn, grasses Bactrian bamel, gazelle, gerbil, jerboa, lizards, onager, wolf Crossed by Genghis Khan in the early 13th century .Many nomads now settling on government –runfarms. Great Basin Western United States(Idaho, Nevada, Oregon and Utah) 411,000km2 Covered by sand, gravel and clay.  Many mountains ranges, basins and large expanses of salt flats. Greasewood, Sagebrush, shadscale bighorn sheep, jackrabbit, pocket mouse, poor-will, pronghorn antelope, sage thrasher, side-blotched lizard Great Salt Lake located here. Iranian Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan 390,000km2 Covered by coarse gray soil, stony pavement and salt flats. Grasses ,pistachio trees, shrubs monitor izard, onager, oryx, scorpion World’s largest slat flat located here. Namib Costs of Southwestern Africa 135,000km2 Covered by Sand dunes along the coast and gravel farther inland. Aloe, bunchgrass, lichens, welwitschia darkling beetle, fring-toed lizard, golden mole, jackal, sidewinder, viper Coast of the Namib Desert is world’s greatest source of gemstones. Takla Makan Western china 1,600,000km2 Covered by sand dunes and rocky soil. Grasses, shrubs Bactrian camel, jerboa, long-eared hedgehog, gazelle The word ‘Takla Makan’ means ‘place from which there is no return, Crossed by Marco Polo in the 13th century. Turkestan Parts of the Middle East and Southwestern Russia 215,000mi2 559,000km2                       Covered mostly by extensive stretches of sand dunes. Alhagi shrub, saxaul tree, sedges, thick ground cover desert tortoise, gazelle, gerbil, saiga antelope Crossed by caravans following silk route from China in Europe in ancient times. The great city of Samarkand, once a cultural and religious center of central Asia, was located here. (B)Hot Deserts Arabian Arabian Peninsula 2,300,000km2 Covered almost entirely by sand; has some of the most extensive stretches of sand dunes in the world. Acacia, oleander, saltbush desert locust, dromedary camel, gazelle, lizard ,jackal, oryx Nomadic Bedouin tribes have travelled through the Arabian Desert for thousands of years. Australian (Great Sandy, Victoria, Simpson, Gibson and Sturt are stony ) 2,300,000km2 (1/3 of Australia) Great  Sandy ,Victoria and Simpson are sandy; Gibson and Sturt are stony. Acacia, casuarinas tree, eucalyptus, saltbush, spinifex grass blue –tongued lizard, dingo, fat-tailed mouse, kangaroo, marsupial mole, rabbit-eared bandicoot, sand goanna, spinifex hopping mouse, throny devil Aborigines have lived in Australian deserts for over 30,000 years. Chihuahuan Northern Central Mexico and Southwestern United State (Arizona, New Mexico, Texas ) 455,000km2 High plateau covered by stony areas and sandy soil. Many mountains and mesas. Cacti, chihuahuan flax, creosote bush, lechugilla, mesquite, Mexican gold poppy coyote, diamondback rattlesnake, javelin, kangaroo rat, roadrunner Largest North American desert ,Big Bend National Park located here; more species of birds seen in Big Bend than in any other National Park in the U.S Kalahari Southwestern Africa 520,000km2 Covered by sand dunes and gravel plains. Acacia, aloe, gazelle, gerbil, ground squirrel, hyena, jackel, sandgrouse, springbok Bushman have lived in the Kalahari for 20,000 years. Monte Argentina 325,000km2 Covered by sand and soil Cardon cactus, creosote bush, paloverde armadillo, cavy, jaguarundi , puma, tinamou, tuco-tuco Very similar to the Sonoran Desert. Mojave Southwestern United State (Arizona, California, Nevada) 65,000km2 Covered by sandy soil, gravelly pavement, and salt flats. Creosote bush, desert sand verbena, Joshua tree, mesquite bighorn sheep, chuckwalla, coyote, jack-rabbit, sidewinder, zebra-tailed lizard Death Valley located in this desert. Sahara Northern Africa 9,100,000km2 Covered by mountains, rocky areas, gravel plains, salt flats, huge  areas of dunes. Areas in the central sometimes get no rain for years at a time. Acacia, grasses, tamarisks addax antelope, dorcas  gazelle, fennec fox, horned viper ,jackal, jerboa, sand-grouse, spiny- yailed lizard  Largest desert in the world. Fewer than 2 million inhabitants (mostly nomads such as the Tuareg). Crossed by Arab caravans since the 10th century. Sonoran Southwestern United States (Arizona, California) and parts of Mexico (Baja Peninsula, Sonara) 312,000km2 Covered by sand, soil, and gravelly pavement. Gets more rain than any other North American desert. Agave, coulter’s globe-mallow, creosote bush, desert mariposa lily, mesquite, ocotillo, paloverde, saguaro coati, elf owl, gila monster, kangaroo rat, roadrunner, side-winder, tarantula Mostly complex animal-plant community of any desert. One of the most beautiful deserts in the world. Thar India and Pakistan 200,000km2 Majority of desert covered by sand dunes; rest covered by gravel plains Acacia, euphorbias, grasses, shrubs black buck, dromedary camel , great Indian bustard, Indian spiny-tailed lizard, jacket, sandgrouse Small villages of ten to twenty houses scattered throughout the Thar.