### biome:

Desert
* All deserts have great temperature variation
  - very little rain
* Many deserts are rocky with scattered plants and shrubs
  - can quickly get cold once the sun sets
* Many deserts have mild winters, while others have freezing temperatures and snow
  - no drain age to a river, lake, or ocean
* Most deserts are cold at night
  - hot in the day and cold at night
  - located within two belts near the equator
  - semi-arid , arid or hyperarid , with the exception of Antarctica
  - very hot, but cold deserts also exist
  - have cacti
  - occur in regions that typically have high atmospheric pressure
* Some deserts are among the planet's last remaining areas of total wilderness
  - hot while others are cold
  - in the Mountains
  - near oceans
  - can be cold for most of the year
  - extend to the seashore
* Some deserts form prairie regions
* Some deserts have a more delicate ecosystem than the most intricate rain forest
  - pie crust
  - color patterns
  - features
* Some deserts have lots of cactus
  - trees
  - low productivity
  - mountains
  - no rain for intervals of several years
  - provide water
  - receive only three or four inches of rain a year
  - support animals
* also have different species of plants from coastal sage scrub.
* are also fragile environments
  - hard on plants
  - among the most inhospitable environments for animal life
* are areas of light rainfall with little or no plant or animal life
  - where evaporation exceeds rainfall
  - arid environments
  - at the top of the wilderness list for danger and death
  - biomes that receive very little rain
* are characterized by their limited precipitation
  - in an overall lack of water
  - consequences
* are defined by the amount of rainfall
  - their dryness
  - dries
  - dry and hot
  - dry, hot places
  - extreme
  - extremely dry areas that are hot during the day and often cool at night
  - formed in several ways
  - generally barren with little vegetation or animal life
  - hard places for mammals to live
  - hot, dry places
  - indeed the most inhospitable of all places to live
  - interesting in satellite imagery because they can look like clouds or snow
  - light-coloured
  - likely to become more extreme and result in increased soil erosion
  - lonely, empty-seeming places
  - natural things
  - non-sugared and wholesome
* are one kind of terrestrial biome, for example
  - of the few habitats that are actually increasing in size
* are places where the reality is more than just virtually real
  - there is very little rainfall throughout the year
  - regions that receive less than ten inches of rain a year
  - terrains
  - terrific places to hike and camp in the late fall and early spring
* are the driest places on earth
  - home to many living things
  - there, and different skies, And night with different stars
  - too hot and mountain regions are usually too rocky and rough
  - tracts
* are typically French with rich cakes and deserts
  - dry areas that experience extremely small amounts of rainfall
  - usually very, very dry
  - very bare
* are very dry places
  - regions with limited plant and animal life
  - hot and dry
  - windy, and windy conditions contribute to evaporation
  - yellow, grasslands light green, and forests dark green
* can also be plains.
* can be either hot or cold
  - within any layer
  - hold economically valuable resources that drive civilizations and economies
  - take the form of flat land, mesas, and mountains
* cover a third of all land masses and are located in polar as well as equatorial regions.
* cover about one seventh of the earth's surface
  - one-fifth of the earth's surface
  - the central section of the Western Plateau
* do scary things to people.
* generally hove a more or less open shrub vegetation called scrub.
* get very little rain.
* hamper large-scale or long movements.
* have a varied species of animals that have adapted to the harsh climate of the desert
  - cactuses
* have extreme temperatures ranging from scorching hot summers to freezing cold winters
  - little soil because moisture is so low and the rate of chemical weathering is slow
  - sparse vegetation
* includes oases.
* make up the hottest biome, but can also get cold temperatures in winter.
* occupy almost one-quarter of California.
* occur where evaporation greatly exceeds the rainfall.
* often provide little shelter from the sun for large animals.
* originate by several different mechanisms that result in five types of deserts.
* present a very challenging environment for animals.
* show as light colors.
* take up about one third of the Earth's land surface.
* tells of sand, desert plants, animals, peoples and minerals.
* tend to preserve what was there before so people can dig it up.
* termites often consume entire above-ground portions of plants.
* typically have a plant cover that is sparse but enormously diverse
  - record the highest temperatures
* usually have at least one permanent drainage system of dry stream beds
  - low humidity , and tropical regions have high humidity
  - lack the O Horizon
* vary in age.
+ Arid: Weather
+ Humidity: Meteorology :: Weather measurements