Gobi Desert Gobi Desert At a Glance Size:The Gobi desert covers 1.3 million square kilometers and is elevated with hot summers and cold winters. Climate: Gobi is a very cold desert yet it rarely snows. It is located above sea level. Rainfall is up to 7.6 inches per anum. Conservation and ecology: The eggs of dinosaur were first identified in Gobi desert. The desert is a main source of various important fossil finds. Adaptations: To survive in Gobi desert, the plants have to lose their leaves until it rains again. They are gifted with long roots that absorb water from a large area. Animals get their water from the food they eat, and come out at night. The Gobi Desert Although it's only the fifth largest in the world, the Gobi Desert is the most expansive arid region on the Asian continent. The desert spans two countries, covering parts of northern and northwestern China and up into southern Mongolia. A rain shadow desert, Gobi suffers from having most of its rain blocked by the Himalayas. However, this doesn't mean the region receives zero precipitation. In fact, the Gobi gets about 7 inches of rainfall each year.

Gobi is a cold desert, thanks to its northern location and height (roughly 1520 meters above sea level at the area's highest points). As a result, sometimes frost and even snow can be seen capping Gobi's dunes. Temperatures can fall as far minus-40 degrees Fahrenheit in the winter. Summer is no picnic, either, with the heat occasionally rising to 122 degrees Fahrenheit. The desert is also far less sandy than other deserts. Instead, the desert floor is mostly bare rock, due in most part to the high winds that whip across the plateau. Gobi may be the fifth largest desert on the planet, but the area actually contains five distinct ecological regions: The Eastern Gobi desert steppe, the Alashan Plateau semi-desert, The Gobi Lakes Valley desert steppe, the Dzungarian Basin semi-desert, and the Tian Shan range. The Eastern Gobi desert steppe covers the easternmost region, encompassing 281,800 square kilometers. This region spans the area from the Inner Mongolian Plateau in China northward into Mongolia itself.

There are many salt ponds and low-lying areas in the Eastern Gobi, as well as the Yin Mountains. The Alashan Plateau semi-desert sits to the west-southwest of the Eastern Gobi desert steppe. Most of this plateau is made up of desert basins and low-lying mountain ranges, including the Gobi Altai range, the Helan Mountains, and the Qilian Mountains. The Gobi Lakes Valley desert steppe lies between the Khangai Mountains and the Gobi Altai range, north of the Alashan Plateau. The Dzungarian Basin semi-desert is situated between the Tian Shan range in the south and the Altai mountains to the north. The area extends from the southeastern corner of Mongolia into China, covering the northern part of Xinjiang province in China. The Tian Shan range acts as a border between the Dzungarian Basin and the Taklamakan Desert to the west. The Taklamakan is deemed separate from the Gobi because of its sandy basin surrounded by high mountain ranges. A lot of history has happened across Gobi's dunes, too. The desert is home to the first fossilized dinosaur egg ever found, as well as many other important fossil discoveries.

It was part of the great Mongol Empire, the largest contiguous empire in history, during the 13th and 14th centuries. Gobi also contained a few important cities for traders to stop and rest while traveling the Silk Road from Europe to China. The Italian explorer Marco Polo encountered Gobi's fabled cities on his epic 24-year journey through Asia back to Venice, which he recounted in his book "The Travels of Marco Polo." The Gobi Desert continues to grow, and its rapid growth is alarming its neighbors. China is hardest hit, losing valuable grassland to the expanding desert. The Chinese government has announced plans to plant the Green Wall of China, a line of new forest intended to slow the desert's expansion. Even thought its expansion threatens human habitation, the Gobi remains a distinctly beautiful area of the planet, with a rich history buried beneath its surface. The Gobi Desert: Location, Landscape - DesertUSA The Gobi Desert Gobi Desert landscape in Ömnögovi Province, Mongolia.

July 2000 Gnu License, Wikimedia Commons, User:Doron In the Western mind, Asia's Gobi Desert often evokes a sense of an alien world--a remote land marked by awesome and arid landscapes, torrid summers, frigid winters, long extinct life forms, striking modern life forms, epic adventure, spiritual sanctuary and unforgettable travel destinations. This desert is reported to be so long that it would take a year to go from end to end; and at the narrowest point it takes a month to cross it. It consists entirely of mountains and sands and valleys. There is nothing at all to eat. Marco Polo describing the hardships of crossing the Gobi Desert in the 13th century The Gobi -- the fifth largest desert in the world -- arcs across the borderlands of northern China and southern Mongolia. Extending for some 1200 miles east northeast from China's Tian Shan, or "Celestial," mountain range into China's Manchurian region, it covers well over half a million square miles, lying in the heart of Asia's most remote region.

With the elevations of its basins ranging from roughly 1600 to 5000 feet above sea level, the Gobi lies at about the same latitudes as those of central Europe and the northern United States. Its arid climate is attributable to its location, in the rain shadow of the Himalayan and connecting ranges, which intercept moisture-laden clouds before they can reach most of the Gobi. The word "Gobi" means "large and dry" in the Mongolian language. Panorama picture of The Flaming Cliffs, Gobi Desert, Mongolia. Composed from several images taken at sunset on the 8/2/2005 by Zoharby. Licensing GFDL-self. Category:Mongolia, Wikipedia Landscape Across its span, the Gobi -- a sprawling patchwork of a desert basins and mountain ranges -- features primarily a firm and often rocky terrain marked by gravels and sparse vegetation. It has relatively few sand dunes, with those having been formed through time under the forces of persistent windstorms or heavy erosion. Its harsh terrain discouraged significant human occupation for thousands of years.

The desert, according to Wild World -- an important source on the Gobi Desert -- encompasses five broad, and diverse, ecoregions: Eastern Gobi Desert Steppe -- The easternmost of the five ecoregions, the steppe (a plain with few to no trees) covers more than 100,000 square miles at an elevation of 3300 to 5000 feet. It encompasses a range of low mountains and desert basins with numerous salt pans and ponds. Typically, the steppe receives about four to six inches of precipitation in a year, primarily in the summer. Its temperatures range from hot in the summer to severely cold in the winter, when northern winds sweep unimpeded across the land. It has a surprising diversity of mammals and birds, especially in the part that lies in Mongolia, where the land has been relatively little touched by human encroachment. It has a distinctive and largely uniform plant community of drought-resistant shrubs and widely scattered low grasses. More on the Gobi Desert Plants Alashan Plateau -- Located south and southwest of the Eastern Gobi Desert Steppe, the Alashan Plateau covers some 260,000 square miles.

The largest of the Gobi's ecoregions, it has a terrain of 6500- to 8500-foot-high mountain ranges interspersed with intermontane basins. In its southern basins, it has 650- to 1000-foot-high shifting sand dunes. In its northern regions, it has the typical Gobi barren, rocky landscape. The plateau may receive as much as six inches of rainfall in a year, although the precipitation varies widely both in place and time. In the southern, drier part, it may receive no rain at all for years. The plateau does have a few rivers near its eastern edge, and it has numerous oases (fed primarily by mountain snowmelt) in its basins. As in the Eastern Gobi Desert Steppe, the plateau's temperatures vary widely with the seasons. It has an extraordinary diversity of wildlife, with some species native only to the plateau. Its plant community varies from minimal vegetation in the stone-covered areas to scattered shrubs and grasses in the most arid areas to forests along the rivers to reed beds in the low-lying wetlands.

The Great Gobi National Park, located in Mongolia, in the northern part of the plateau, has such exceptional biodiversity that it has been listed in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Network of Biosphere Reserves. Gobi Lakes Valley -- Situated to the north of the Alashan Plateau, the long and narrow Gobi Lakes Valley, covering about 53,800 square miles, lies in the midst of several mountain ranges. Averaging about 3300 to 4500 feet in elevation, the valley has a few sand dunes interspersed with salt marshes, and it has several large, but often dry, lakes fed by intermittent rivers that rise in nearby mountains. The valley receives some two to eight inches of rain in an average year. It has dry, windy summers with comparatively moderate temperatures, and it has moderately cold winters, with temperatures that sometimes approach zero degrees Fahrenheit. Its wildlife community includes species adapted not only to the arid landscape but also to the wetlands, where water birds, amphibians and various reptiles have found a home. Similarly the plants include species adapted to both the desert steppe and the wetlands environments.

Junggar Basin (Dzungarian Basin) -- A 117,500-square-mile expanse west of the Alashan Plateau, the Junggar Basin, somewhat like the Gobi Lakes Valley, lies in the midst of several mountain ranges, with broad openings to the northwest. Its elevation ranges from about 1600 to 3300 feet above sea level. Its arid heartland receives about three to four inches of precipitation in an average year, supporting enough vegetation to stabilize most of its sand dunes. Its margins, near the mountain ranges, receive four to ten inches of precipitation, which, with mountain runoff, sustain several basin lakes. It has moderate summers, but icy winters, when Siberian weather systems sweep through the northwestern openings and across the basin. It sometimes has severe dust storms in the spring. Its wildlife population includes some of the world's rarest animals. Its plant community ranges from thin shrub lands of the central region to dwarf woodlands near the mountain flanks. At one time, near the mountains, it had biologically rich meadows and wetlands near the foot of the mountains, but those have given way to irrigated farmlands within the past few centuries.

Tian Shan Range -- The westernmost of the Gobi Desert's ecoregions, the Tian Shan Range covers some 49,800 square miles. It consists of an extensive and isolated mountain range and high ridges interlaced with desert basins. Its highest summits rise to nearly 25,000 feet in elevation, and its ridges, to an average of about 14,000 feet. Its lower foothills and basins lie at only a few hundred feet in elevation. In an average year, the higher elevations receive about 16 to 32 inches of precipitation, and lower elevations, only about 4 to 8 inches. Mountain peaks may retain snow all year, but they yield enough summer melt off to supply some rivers and streams. The lower desert elevations have hot summers and icy winters. As a result of the wide range of elevations and environments, the Tian Shan Range sustains diverse wildlife and plant communities. It has a number of rare animal species, some native only to the region.

Its desert basins support thin stands of sage and salt-tolerant shrubs; its rivers, savannahs with shrubs, grasses and popular trees; its lower mountain flanks, stands of fruit trees and maple; and its higher mountain flanks, forests of aspen. Unfortunately, to some extent, all the Gobi's ecoregions have suffered from human intrusions--for instance, overgrazing, irrigation agriculture, overhunting and mineral exploitation. Further, the desert appears to be expanding, raising concern in many quarters. Various wildlife species may be facing extinction. More on the Gobi Desert: Wildlife, Plants, People & Cultures and Travel By Jay W. Sharp Gobi | desert, Asia | Britannica.com desert, Asia China Gobi, also called Gobi Desert, great desert and semidesert region of Central Asia . The Gobi (from Mongolian gobi, meaning “waterless place”) stretches across huge portions of both Mongolia and China . Contrary to the perhaps romantic image long associated with what—at least to the European mind—was a remote and unexplored region, much of the Gobi is not sandy desert but bare rock.

It is possible to drive over this surface by car for long distances in any direction: northward toward the Altai and Hangayn mountain ranges, eastward toward the Da Hinggan (Greater Khingan) Range , or southward toward the Bei Mountains and Huang He (Yellow River) valley. To the west, beyond the southwestern limit of the Gobi, lies another arid expanse—the Tarim Basin of the southern Uygur Autonomous Region of Xinjiang —which encompasses the Takla Makan Desert and is enclosed by the Tien Shan ranges to the north and the Kunlun and western Altun mountains to the south. The Gobi. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. The Gobi occupies a vast arc of land 1,000 miles (1,600 km) long and 300 to 600 miles (500 to 1,000 km) wide, with an estimated area of 500,000 square miles (1,300,000 square km).

In the present discussion, the Gobi is defined as lying between the Altai Mountains and Hangayn Mountains to the north; the western edge of the Da Hinggan Range to the east; the Yin , Qilian , eastern Altun, and Bei mountains to the south; and the eastern Tien Shan to the west. Physical features Physiography The Gobi consists of the Gaxun, Junggar (Dzungarian), and Trans-Altai Gobi in the west, the Eastern, or Mongolian, Gobi in the centre and east, and the Alxa Plateau (Ala Shan Desert) in the south. Gobi Desert, Inner Mongolia, China. Junming The Gobi Altai Mountains rising from the edge of the Gobi, southwestern Övörhangay … © Brian A. Vikander Thar Desert The Gaxun Gobi is bounded by the spurs of the Tien Shan to the west and the Bei Mountains to the south and rises to elevations as high as 5,000 feet (1,500 metres).

It is gently corrugated, with a complex labyrinth of wide hollows separated by flat hills and rocky crests sometimes rising more than 300 feet (90 metres) above the plain. The desert is stony and nearly waterless, though salt marshes lie in the secluded depressions. The soil is grayish brown and contains gypsum and halite (rock salt). Vegetation is rare, though richer in the riverbeds, where there are individual shrubs of tamarisk, saxaulon and nitre bush (a saltwort), and annual halophytes (salt-tolerant plants). The Trans-Altai Gobi is situated between the eastern spurs of the Mongolian Altai and Gobi Altai mountains to the north and east, respectively, and the Bei Mountains to the south. The plain is elevated, sharp, and rugged. Alongside the plains and the isolated group of low, rounded hills is a fairly extensive mountain area that extends more than six miles out into the plain. The mountains are barren and broken up by dry ravines.

The western section of the Trans-Altai Gobi is basically a plain, too, but it is interspersed with small raised areas and furrowed by dry riverbeds and, again, with extensive salt marshes. In the central portion this fragmentation increases, and mesas (flat-topped, steep-sided hills) appear along with dry gullies ending in flat depressions, occupied by takyr (clayey tracts). The Trans-Altai Gobi is parched, with annual precipitation of less than 4 inches (100 mm), though there is always water underground. There are virtually no wells and springs, however, and vegetation is very sparse and almost useless for livestock . The Junggar Gobi is north of the Gaxun Gobi, in the Junggar Basin between the eastern spurs of the Mongolian Altai and the eastern extremity of the Tien Shan. It resembles the Trans-Altai Gobi, and its edges are fractured by ravines, alternating with residual hills and low mountain ridges.

All About Asia The Alxa Plateau is situated between the China-Mongolia border to the north, the Huang He and Helan Mountains to the east, the Qilian to the south, and the northern reaches of the Hei River to the west. It consists of a vast, nearly barren plain that rises in altitude from northwest to southeast. Large areas of the Alxa are sand-covered. Britannica Stories Ringling Bros. Folds Its Tent The Eastern Gobi is similar to the western regions, with elevations varying from 2,300 to 5,000 feet (700 to 1,500 metres), but it receives somewhat more precipitation—up to 8 inches (200 mm) per year—though it lacks significant rivers. The underground aquifers have relatively abundant quantities of water and are only partly mineralized. They are also near the surface, feeding small lakes and springs. The vegetation, however, is sparse, consisting mainly of herb wormwood in coarse, grayish brown soil. In the moister depressions there are the usual salt marshes and grassy swamps.

In the northern and eastern outlying regions, where more precipitation occurs, the landscape of the desert gradually becomes less harsh, or sometimes even steppelike. Geology The Gobi’s plains consist of chalk and other sedimentary rocks that are chiefly Cenozoic in age (i.e., up to about 65 million years old), though some of the low, isolated hills are older. The terrain contains small masses of shifting sands. In the central Gobi the remains of dinosaurs from the Mesozoic Era (about 250 to 65 million years ago) and fossils of Cenozoic mammals have been found. The desert also contains Paleolithic and Neolithic sites occupied by ancient peoples. Successful excavations undertaken during the 1990s at the Tsagaan Agui (White Cave) in southwest-central Mongolia have produced artifacts up to 35,000 years old. Rock formations in the Eastern (Mongolian) Gobi near Töhöm, southeastern Mongolia. © Philippa Scott/NHPA Climate The climate is acutely continental and dry: winter is severe, spring is dry and cold, and summer is warm.

The annual temperature range is considerable, with average lows in January reaching −40 °F (−40 °C) and average highs in July climbing to 113 °F (45 °C); daily temperature ranges also can be quite large. The annual total precipitation varies from less than 2 inches (50 mm) in the west to more than 8 inches (200 mm) in the northeast. Monsoonlike conditions exist in the eastern regions, which receive most of their precipitation in summer. Northerly and northwesterly winds prevail over the Gobi in autumn, winter, and spring. Drainage and soils Facebook Twitter YouTube Instagram Pinterest The drainage of the desert is largely underground; surface rivers have little constant flow. Mountain streams are confined to the Gobi’s fringes and even then quickly dry up as they disappear into the loose soil or the salty, enclosed depressions. Many rivers flow only in summer. On the other hand, subterranean water is widespread and of sufficient quality to allow cattle raising.

During the Holocene Epoch (i.e., about the past 11,700 years), the Gobi’s lakes have shrunk in size, leaving a series of terraces considerably farther from and higher than the present shorelines. Indeed, Lakes Orog and Bööntsagaan, in the easternmost Mongolian Altai, and Lake Ulaan, in the northwestern Gobi Altai, are but shadows of their former selves. The soil of the Gobi is chiefly grayish brown and brown carbonaceous (rich in carbon), gypseous (containing gypsum), coarse gravel, often combined with sandy salt marshes and takyr. Plant life Vegetation, as mentioned above, is sparse and rare. On the plateau and on the plains beneath the mountains, small bushlike vegetation occurs: Echinochloa (a type of succulent grass found in warm regions), yellowwood bean caper, winter fat (a shrub covered with densely matted hairs), nitre bush, and bushlike halophytic vegetation.

In the salt marshes, too, halophilous groups prevail: potash bush, Siberian nitre bush, tamarisk, and annual halophytes; in the sands grow saxaul, the sandy wormwood, and sparse perennial and annual herbs such as the annual Gobi kumarchik (Agriophylum gobicum) and the perennial timuriya (Timouria villosa). In semidesert tracts vegetation is richer, belonging to the herbaceous and wormwood groups: Gobi feather grass, Gobi kumarchik, timuriya, snakeweed (Cleistogenes species; another perennial), and cold wormwood. There are herb meadows with rhizome Mongolian onions and herb salt marshes with sparse beds of bushlike Caragana. In the Gobi Altai and other high mountains, desert-grass steppes completely cover the lower slopes, and, on the upper parts, mountain versions of the feather-grass steppes appear. Animal life Top Ten Largest Deserts in the World | The Wondrous Top Ten Largest Deserts in the World Nature, Top Ten Pinterest0 10.

Kara-Kum Desert, Uzbekistan / Turkmenistan In our list of largest deserts in the world at #10 is The Karakum Desert, also spelled Kara-Kum and Gara Gum is a desert in Central Asia. It occupies about 70 percent, or 350,000 km², of the area of Turkmenistan. Covering much of present day Turkmenistan, the Karakum Desert lies east of the Caspian Sea, with the Aral Sea to the north and the Amu Darya river and the Kyzyl Kum desert to the northeast. In modern times, with the shrinking of the Aral Sea, the extended “Aral Karakum” has appeared on the former seabed, with an estimated area of 15,440 sq. The sands of the Aral Karakum are made up of a salt-marsh consisting of finely-dispersed evaporites and remnants of alkaline mineral deposits, washed into the basin from irrigated fields. The dusts blown on a powerful east-west airstream carry pesticide residues that have been found in the blood of penguins in Antarctica. Lets read about top ten largest deserts in the world. 9.

Great Sandy Desert, Australia The Great Sandy Desert is a 360,000 km2 (140,000 sq mi) expanse in northwestern Australia. Roughly the same size as Japan, it forms part of a larger desert area known as the Western Desert. The vast region of Western Australia is sparsely populated, without significant settlements. The Great Sandy Desert is a flat area between the rocky ranges of the Pilbara and the Kimberley. To the southeast is the Gibson Desert and to the east is the Tanami Desert. The Rudall River National Park and Lake Dora are located in the southwest while Lake Mackay is located in the southeast. Image credit: yaruman5 8. Chihuahuan Desert, Mexico The Chihuahuan Desert is a desert that straddles the U.S.-Mexico border in the central and northern portions of the Mexican Plateau, bordered on the west by the extensive Sierra Madre Occidental range, and overlaying northern portions of the east range, the Sierra Madre Oriental. On the U.S.

side it occupies the valleys and basins of central and southern New Mexico, Texas west of the Pecos River and southeastern Arizona; south of the border, it covers the northern half of the Mexican state of Chihuahua, most of Coahuila, north-east portion of Durango, extreme northern portion of Zacatecas and small western portions of Nuevo León. It has an area of about 140,000 square miles. It is the third largest desert of the Western Hemisphere and is second largest in North America, after the Great Basin Desert. Via: wikipedia 7. Great Basin Desert, USA The Great Basin is the largest watershed of North America which does not drain to an ocean. Water within the Great Basin evaporates since outward flow is blocked. The basin extends into Mexico and covers most of Nevada and over half of Utah, as well as parts of California, Idaho, Oregon and Wyoming. The majority of the watershed is in the North American Desert ecoregion, but includes areas of the Forested Mountain and Mediterranean California ecoregions. The Great Basin includes several metropolitan areas and Shoshone Great Basin tribes. A wide variety of animals can be found in great basin desert.

Look to the rocky slopes around the desert mountain ranges, you may spot a very rare desert bighorn sheep. Other mammals of the desert include kit fox, coyote, skunk, black-tailed jackrabbit, ground squirrels, kangaroo rat and many species of mice. Bird species are very diverse in desert oases. Via: wikipedia 6. Great Victoria Desert, Australia The Great Victoria Desert is a barren, arid, and sparsely populated desert ecoregion in southern Australia. It falls inside the states of South Australia and Western Australia and consists of many small sandhills, grasslands and salt lakes. It is over 700 kilometres (430 mi) wide (from west to east) and covers an area of 424,400 square kilometres (163,900 sq mi). The Western Australia Mallee shrub ecoregion lies to the west, the Little Sandy Desert to the northwest, the Gibson Desert and the Central Ranges xeric shrublands to the north, the Tirari and Sturt Stony deserts to the east, and the Nullarbor Plain to the south separates it from the Southern Ocean. Image credit: Travel Collective 5.

Patagonia Desert, Argentina The Patagonian Desert, also known as the Patagonia Desert or the Patagonian Steppe, is the largest desert in America and is the 7th largest desert in the world by area, occupying 260,000 square miles (673,000 km). It is located primarily in Argentina with small parts in Chile and is bounded by the Andes, to its west, and the Atlantic Ocean to its east, in the region of Patagonia, southern Argentina. The Patagonian Desert is the largest continental landmass of the 40° parallel and is a large cold winter desert, where the temperature rarely exceeds 12°C and averages just 3°C. The region experiences about seven months of winter and five months of summer. Image credit: Melissa Toledo 4. Kalahari Desert, Southern Africa The Kalahari Desert is a large arid to semi-arid sandy area in Southern Africa extending 900,000 square kilometers (350,000 sq), covering much of Botswana and parts of Namibia and South Africa, as semi-desert, with huge tracts of excellent grazing after good rains.

The Kalahari Desert is the southern part of Africa, and the geography is a portion of desert and a plateau. The Kalahari supports some animals and plants because most of it is not a true desert. There are small amounts of rainfall and the summer temperature is very high. It usually receives 3–7.5 inches (76–190 mm) of rain per year. The surrounding Kalahari Basin covers over 2,500,000 square kilometers (970,000 sq mi) extending farther into Botswana, Namibia and South Africa, and encroaching into parts of Angola, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The only permanent river, the Okavango, flows into a delta in the northwest, forming marshes that are rich in wildlife. Via: wikipedia 3. Gobi Desert, Mongolia / N.E China The Gobi is a large desert region in Asia. It covers parts of northern and northwestern China, and of southern Mongolia.

The desert basins of the Gobi are bounded by the Altai Mountains and the grasslands and steppes of Mongolia on the north, by the Hexi Corridor and Tibetan Plateau to the southwest, and by the North China Plain to the southeast. The Gobi is made up of several distinct ecological and geographic regions based on variations in climate and topography. This desert is the fifth largest in the world. The Gobi is most notable in history as part of the great Mongol Empire, and as the location of several important cities along the Silk Road. Image Credit: PnP 2. Arabian Desert, peninsula Arabian Desert or Eastern Desert, c.86,000 sq mi (222,740 sq km), E Egypt, bordered by the Nile valley in the west and the Red Sea and the Gulf of Suez in the east. It extends along most of Egypt’s eastern border and merges into the Nubian Desert in the south. The Arabian Desert is sparsely populated; most of its inhabitants are based around wells and springs. Today most of the desert can be accessed by roads.

Since ancient times Egypt has used the porphyry, granite, limestone, and sandstone found in the desert mountains as building materials. Oil is produced in the north. The name Arabian Desert is also commonly applied to the desert of the Arabian Peninsula. Image Credit: Nick Leonard 1. Sahara Desert, North Africa The Sahara is the world’s largest desert. At over 9,000,000 square kilometers (3,500,000 sq mi), it covers most of Northern Africa, making it almost as large as the United States or the continent of Europe. The desert stretches from the Red Sea, including parts of the Mediterranean coasts, to the outskirts of the Atlantic Ocean. To the south, it is delimited by the Sahel: a belt of semi-arid tropical savanna that comprises the northern region of central and western Sub-Saharan Africa. Deserts seen from space¿ and they are still so vast you can¿t see the edges | Daily Mail Online comments At times, it is good to consider the vastness of the planet we live on, to give a different perspective to our lives.

And what better way to do so than to immerse ourselves in these mesmerising images of some of World's greatest deserts, taken from satellites orbiting the Earth. From the mighty dunes of the Sahara to the intricate skin-like folds of the Arabian Peninsula, these photographs capture the grandeur of the world's deserts as seen from space, captured by a range of satellites. The Namib desert: Stretching more 1,200 miles along the Atlantic coast in southern Africa, it forms the coastline of Angola, Namibia, and South Africa The Namib desert, East Algeria: At its highest point, the desert reaches 200km. It is so arid that, at most, just 200 millimetres of rain falls The Namib desert stretches more 1,200 miles along the Atlantic coast in southern Africa, forming the coastline of Angola, Namibia, and South Africa. The vast desert extends southward from the Carunjamba River in Angola, through Namibia and to the Olifants River in Western Cape, South Africa. Inland from here it almost touches the better-known Kalahari Desert.

RELATED ARTICLES Share this article Share At its highest point, the desert reaches 200km. It is so arid that, at most, just 200 millimetres of rain falls - making it the only true desert in southern Africa. It is also the oldest desert in the world, having endured arid or semi-arid conditions for roughly 55-80 million years, according to research scientists. Inland, temperatures in the summer can exceed 45 °C (113 °F) while nights can be freezing. The Great Salt Desert: Iran's largest desert, the Dasht-e Kavir, or Great Salt Desert, looks spectacular from space. The largely uninhabitable desert, which stretches nearly 500 by 200 miles, is named after the salt marshes (kavirs) located there This image shows the great salt desert in Iran.

Central in the desert lies the Kavir Buzurg (or Great Marsh), and in the west, a vast salt lake called Darya-ye Namak contains large salt plates in a mosaic-like shape Namibia's highest mountain Brandberg Massif: In the north west of the Namib desert is Namibia's highest mountain - the Brandberg, located in an area called Damaraland. The lushness is in contrast to other Namib desert photos Erg Iguidi desert in Algeria: The desert, with its yellow stripes of sand stretches from Algeria to Mauritania, in the Sahara In the north west of the desert is Namibia's highest mountain - the Brandberg Mountain (or Massif), located in an area called Damaraland. The green and lush look of the mountain, in comparison to other Namib desert photos shows the contrast in terrain. The area has many plants and trees that have an alien appearance, due in part to the extreme climatic conditions. The area is uninhabited and wild, but there are numerous species of animals living exclusively on the mountain. Iran's largest desert, the Dasht-e Kavir, or Great Salt Desert, looks spectacular from space.

The largely uninhabitable desert, which stretches nearly 500 by 200 miles, is named after the salt marshes (kavirs) located there. Central in the desert lies the Kavir Buzurg (or Great Marsh), and in the west, a vast salt lake called Darya-ye Namak contains large salt plates in a mosaic-like shape. Uluru in Australia: Also more familiarly known as Ayres Rock, this vast sandstone rock pertrudes from a flat desert landscape, in the south of the Northern Territory. Uluru is sacred to the Anangu Aboriginal people Bizarre and baffling uniform white lines in the Gobi desert, northwestern China, left, and the snake-like Taklamakan desert river, in northwest China Desert oases in United Arab Emirates: Numerous oases can be seen in this satelite image of a desert. The water naturally filling the valleys in the sand dunes It is part of a 4,000 km² protected ecological zone, the Kavir National Park. Back in Africa and satellite cameras have captured a stunning picture of Algeria's Erg Iguidi desert - Erg meaning sand.

The desert, with its yellow stripes of sand stretches from Algeria to Mauritania, in the Sahara. The dunes lie across black sandstone rock, paler chalky deposits and salt crusts. Heading down under to Australia, Uluru, also more familiarly known as Ayres Rock, is a vast sandstone rock pertruding from a flat desert landscape, in the south of the Northern Territory. Uluru, which appears to change colour throughout the day, is sacred to the Anangu, the Aboriginal people of the area, and sits among a plethora of springs, waterholes, rock caves and ancient paintings. Desert landscape in Egypt: The most populated Arab country is in fact mostly desert. This stunning image shows the variance in terrain of the country's arduous desert, which includes sand dunes, swathes of white chalk and rocks Libyan Desert: In southern Libya, a vast desert covers an area more than 1,000km in length and width.

The desert, which looks like an icy environment from this picture, is in fact almost exclusively sand plains and dunes, with occasional rocky peaks The Ar Rub al Khali Sand Sea, in the Arabian Peninsula, left and the Dasht-e Lut salt desert, right, in southeastern Iran - the hottest land record on earth The Anangu lead walking tours around the Uluru, to inform visitors about the local flora and fauna, bush foods and the Aboriginal stories of the area. The nearest town is Alice Springs - more than 200 miles away. In Asia, covering a vast 1,000 by 5oo mile area in north western China and southern Mongolia, lies the Gobi Desert. It is a rain shadow desert formed by the Himalaya range blocking rain-carrying clouds from the Indian Ocean from reaching the Gobi territory. The remarkable white lines, first caught by satellite cameras in 2011, have previously baffled scientists. One theory is that they are vast designs on the surface of the desert used to calibrate satellite spy technology. E xperts say there are similar designs on deserts in the US.

To the northwest in China lies the Taklamakan Desert, which is made up of 85 per cent shifting sands. Ounianga Lakes, Sahara Desert, Chad: The lakes are situated in a shallow basin below sandstone cliffs and hills, from where the ancient water flows, sustaining the largest permanent freshwater lakes in such an arid desert environment anywhere in the world Ancient Saharan rock: In the Sahara, ancient rock formations look incredible from space, but up close they are famous for hiding some of the world's oldest examples of rock art It is bounded by the Kunlun Mountains to the south, the desert Pamir Mountains and Tian Shan (ancient Mount Imeon) to the west and north, and the Gobi Desert to the east. Although mostly arid, there are oases in the desert, watered by rainfall from the mountains, causing rivers such as the dramatic one pictured. In the United Arab Emites (EAE), numerous oases can be seen in this satellite image of a desert. The water naturally filling the valleys in the sand dunes. In Egypt, the most populated Arab country, is in fact mostly desert.

This stunning image shows the variance in terrain of the country's arduous desert, which includes sand dunes, swathes of white chalk and rocks. In southern Libya, a vast desert covers an area more than 1,000km in length and width. The desert, which looks like an icy environment from this picture, is in fact almost exclusively sand plains and dunes, with occasional rocky peaks poking through. An eroded dome mountain, in the deserts of Mauritania known as the Richat Structure resembles an eerie eye from space A dune sea in the Sahara Desert, Eastern Algeria, left and the Sahara desert, right A rocky mountain range, known as the Jebel Uweinat, can be seen from miles. In the Arabian peninsula, the Ar Rub al Khali Sand Sea, also known as the Empty Quarter covers much of the south-central portion of the Peninsula. It has an area of approximately 660,000 square kilometers, making it the largest continuous sand desert on Earth. Difficulty travelling through the dunes has long discouraged permanent settlement within the region.

In southeastern Iran, the Dasht-e Lut salt desert (or Lut Desert) is famous for recording the hottest ever temperature on earth, thanks to satellite technology. Measurements from a NASA satellite from 2003 to 2005 reveal that the hottest land surface was located in Dasht-e Lut where the temperature here reached 70.7 °C (159.3 °F), though the air temperature is cooler. Empty Quarter (Rub' al khali), a vast sand sea in the south of the Arabian Peninsula that covers 583,000 square kilometres In Chad, the Ounianga Lakes, in the Sahara Desert, can be clearly identified in this satellite image. The area receives no more than 2mm of rainfall a year, but these lakes are supplied from an ancient underground source. The lakes are situated in a shallow basin below sandstone cliffs and hills, from where the ancient water flows, sustaining the largest permanent freshwater lakes in such an arid desert environment anywhere in the world. Back in the Sahara, ancient rock formations look incredible from space, but up close they are famous for hiding some of the world's oldest examples of rock art.

Paintings and engravings on the rocks are thought to date back as early as 12,000 year ago. In Mauritania, the Richat Structure, also known as the Eye of the Sahara and Guelb er Richat, is a prominent circular feature in the Sahara desert, near Ouadane. The dramatic structure is a deeply eroded, elliptical, 40 km in diameter, dome, which resembles and eerie eye from space. Causes of Aridity, and Geography of the Worldï¿½s Deserts Causes of Aridity, and Geography of the Worldï¿½s Deserts Study a physical map of the world. As you follow the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, thirty degrees on either side of the equator, you will see, distributed with suspicious regularity, a brown band of drylands circling the planet, a sere belt warding off greener climes: the deserts of the world. They lie in the so-called Horse Latitudes, where constant high-pressure systems drive away the rain clouds, and swirl above the earth to the music of global temperature variations and the Coriolis Effect produced by the earthï¿½s rotation in space.

Most deserts are hot. Within the latitudes of the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, the sun appears directly overhead at noon on at least one day of the year. To the north or south of them, the sun is never directly overhead, and not as concentrated as the beam that reaches the tropical areas. Deserts are not scattered haphazardly over the earth; the pattern of their occurrence is shaped by the factors that produced them. The major world deserts occur in these two discontinuous belts ringing the globe. Because more land surface occurs in the Northern Hemisphere in the latitudes described, more deserts occur in the Northern than the Southern Hemisphere. Not all deserts are hot. Some of these drylands, like the Atacama of Chile, the Namib and Kalahari of southern Africa , and the western Australian desert, are the result of cold oceanic currents that divert rain-laden air away from coastlines. , and the deserts of central and eastern Australia are caused by the ï¿½rainshadow effectï¿½, through which coastal mountains milk rain from the air before it passes inland.

and Takla Makan deserts of Mongolia and China , are simply so far away from the ocean that the winds lose any moisture they may hold long before reaching the far off continental interior, even what little moisture remains in the Indian-born clouds after they have scraped over the jagged Himalayas 1.ï¿½ Atmospheric high pressure zones (Hadley Cells) Earthï¿½s atmosphere moves in general, somewhat predictable patterns that are largely driven by the sunï¿½s rays and the earthï¿½s rotation. At the Equator, the sunï¿½s rays are perpendicular with the Earthï¿½s surface; solar heating is intense. Air is heated at the equator, ascends, and is replaced by inrushing air. As the heated air moves upward, it is gradually cooled. Cool air, with a lower saturation point, is capable of holding less moisture within than warm air. (Equatorial air is very moist). (Oceans cover most of the equator and the high equatorial surface temperature allows large amounts of water to evaporate. So it is not simply warm air that rises at the equator; it is warm, moist air.

As the air cools, it releases the excess moisture it contains, helping to produce the moist tropics. i. As the air rises, it cools; the water condenses and precipitation is common. Water returns to the surface as rain. ii. (Deserts do not occur near the Equator, tropics occur there). Higher in the atmosphere, the now cold, dry air rises and moves away from the equator. At about 30 degree latitudes in both hemispheres (north and south), the air descends. As it does, it warms. As it warms, the air expands, condensation and precipitation are infrequent. (Horse latitudes). To the north and south of these desert latitudes, the air once again ascends, producing moisture for the land; finally, over the poles, the air descends againï¿½ï¿½ Desert formation in these particular latitudes is primarily due to complex global air-circulation patterns caused by the rotation of the earth on its axis (earth moves at great speed near the equator and slowly near the poles), the seasonal tilting of the earth in relation to the sun, and other factors. 2.

Continentality or (Distance from oceans) ï¿½ a. Most water in atmosphere is evaporated from the sea, and this water eventually precipitates on land. b. Land closer to the sea generally receives much of this moisture. c. As air moves inland, it gets depleted of moisture and precipitation drops. ï¿½ d. Areas lying deep within a continent may become desert simply because air currents reaching them have already traversed vast land distances; by the time they arrive over the deserts, these currents have already lost the moisture they once carried. e. This is true of some of the Asian deserts., the Gobi , 500 miles inland, receives still less, 11ï¿½ annually. Coastal Cooling:ï¿½ Deserts may result if air is cooled, and then rewarmed, prior to reaching the region. a. Cool air holds less moisture than warm air. b. When warm, moist air is cooled, excess water condenses and falls as precipitation. If it is subsequently re-warmed, it will be drier than it was previously. 1.

Air at 30 C (86 F) can hold 30.4 grams of water per cubic meter (m3). 2. If saturated air (100% relative humidity) was cooled from 30 C to 10 C (50 F), 21 grams of water would condense and precipitate because this cold can only hold 9.4 grams of water per cubic meter. 3. If the air were then re-warmed to 30 C, it would have just a fraction (31%) of the moisture it did originally. 4. (31% relative humidity is fairly dry, and further precipitation is unlikely). 5. Winds that blow onshore tend to do so across cold currents produced by movement of water from high latitudes (poles) to low latitudes (equator), and associated with the upwelling of cold waters from the ocean's depth. 6. Cold or cool winds have relatively small moisture-bearing capacity and, when warmed during their passage over the land, they become stable and, thereby, reinforce the stability produced by the global stability of these latitudes. (Subtropical highs). c.

This occurs along coastal areas where there are cold coastal seas ( Baja CA ), and in rain shadows (adiabatic heating and cooling). d. Air moving across the frigid currents is cooled to a low temperature; thus the air holds little moisture when it arrives over land, where it may provide fog or mist, but rarely rain. (Namib and Atacama). 4. Rainshadow effects ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ a. Moisture-laden air encounters a mountain mass and is moved upward. ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ b. The ascending air is cooled and releases moisture on the windward side of the range. ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ c. Once over the summit, the air descends the lee side of the range, warming as it does so, and hence increasing its evaporative power.

ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ d. The windward side of a range may support a heavy well-watered forest, while the leeward side and the area far below it, robbed of moisture, is occupied by a desert or steppe plant community. The rain-shadow effect produced by great mountains can create arid areas in the lee of the mountains even when continentality is not particularly marked, such as in Patagonia Why are deserts hotter than tropics?ï¿½ (Specific heat capacity). 1. Sand and rock heat up much more rapidly than water, and they also lose heat more quickly. a. On a hot summer day in the Sahara , sand and rock can heat up to 170o F). 2. When a substance is exposed to heat, its surface temperature rises, but different substances heat up at different rates. 3. The amount of heat that must be applied to a substance to make its temperature rise by 1o is called the specific heat capacity (shc) of that substance. a. the specific heat capacity of water at 59 F is 4.19. b.

the specific heat capacity of sand and most solid rocks between 68-212 F, is about 0.8. c. This mean it requires more than 5 times more heat energy to raise the temperature of water 1o than to raise the temperature of rock or sand by the same amount. 4. As the sun climbs higher in the sky, the dry ground heats much faster than water, and much faster than the ground would if it were wet. (Its s.h.c. would then be 1.48). 5. Sand and rock heat more quickly than water, and for the same reason, it cools more quickly, also. 6. The ground temperature falls sharply, reaching a minimum shortly before dawn, but the temperature of water falls much more slowly. 7. Over the ocean in subtropical latitudes, the difference in day and night air temperatures (diurnal temperature range) is about 0.4 F (0.2C). Over the desert at the same latitude the diurnal temperature range is about 72 F (40C).

Sand is a poor conductor of heat (many air spaces), as is air.ï¿½ Radiant heat raises the surface temperature, but heat is not conducted very far below the surface. The upper, heated layer gets continually hotter, while just below the surface the temperature changes very little. Some heat is conducted below the surface, but at a very slow rate. Heat reaches a certain depth before the daily peak temperature is passed. Beyond this depth, the temperature does not alter. This is called the damping depth. ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ In dry sand it is about 3ï¿½ (7.6 cm) below the surface. Because heat penetrates so slowly, the peak temperature is reached at the damping depth several hours later than it is reached at the surface. Microclimates 1. Conditions (climates) below ground are very different from those at the surface. 2. A local climate of this type is called a microclimate, within the macroclimate of the region as a whole. a. Many living organisms exploit the advantages afforded by microclimates. 3. The subsurface climate is not the only desert microclimate. a.

Hollows that are shaded most of the time are cooler than exposed, sun-lit surfaces b. Shelter from (or exposure to) prevailing winds can also create microclimates. c. Above ground air is much cooler than surfaces of sand or rack. At a height of 6.5ï¿½ (2m) the midday temperature may be 55 F (30 C) lower than the temperature at ground level. 4. Fertile islands Desert Geography Study a physical map of the world. As you follow the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, thirty degrees on either side of the equator, you will see, distributed with suspicious regularity, a brown band of drylands circling the planet, a sere belt warding off greener climes: the deserts of the world. They lie in the so-called Horse Latitudes, where constant high-pressure systems separate the westerlies and trade winds, driving away the rain clouds, swirling above the earth to the music of global temperature variations and the Coriolis effect produced by the earthï¿½s rotation in space.

Some of these drylands, like the Atacama of Chile, the Namib and Kalahari of southern Africa , and the western Australian desert, are the result of cold oceanic currents that divert rain-laden air away from coastlines. Others, like the Mojave and Sonoran of the American southwest, and Mexico are caused by the ï¿½rainshadow effectï¿½, through which coastal mountains milk rain from the air before it passes inland. Mountains , an extinct volcano, rises to 10,712ï¿½ (3,265m). 5. At various times what is now desert lay beneath ancient seas. This led to a deposition of sand and calcareous deposits that now form sandstone and limestone. 6. Sahara is a hot desert, with summer daytime temperatures exceeding 90F for 8 months of the year, and often exceeding 100F. a. The high temperature record, recorded at Al-Aziziya in northern Libya , reached 1236.4F (58C). b. At night the temperatures drop sharply, by as much as 50F: nights can be cold and temperatures often fall below freezing in winter.

c. Precipitation ï¿½ rainfall is sparse, <2ï¿½ per year. 7. There are 3 types of lands surfaces in the Sahara : erg, reg, and hammada. a. erg ï¿½ ï¿½sand seasï¿½, composed of dunes that have formed basins and depressions from the sand carried into them by rivers of earlier times. i. The large area of dunes are in the northern Sahara Egypt . ii. Surface temperatures can reach 180 F (85C) Air heated by contact with the surface expands and rises. This produces an area of low pressure near ground level. Denser air rushes in to compensate and its movement causes strong, gusty winds. These are called thermal winds because they are caused by temperature differences. b. Reg ï¿½ name given to ground covered by boulders and gravel. The reg is fairly level, and the areas are generally bleak, windswept, and monotonous. i. Reg is formed by wind action. Small particles are blown from around and between the larger, heavier stones, in a process called ï¿½deflationï¿½. ii.

The wind keeps the surface clean, and the finest particles are carried very long distances: Saharan dust has been identified in the United States . c. Hammada ï¿½ is the rocky desert. i. No sand or small particles on the surface ï¿½ just rock, either as large boulders or bedrock. ii. Hammadas are found in northern Libya , and there resembles a vast and uneven parking lot. Probably the most inhospitable type of desert surface. Very little can live on it. 8. Vegetative cover very sparse. a. Susceptibility to wind erosion is very high, b. Water infiltration rates are good, depressions fill with saline water. c. Herbs, small shrubs,with larger shrubs and trees where moisture is abundant (oases). d. Succulents not common. Iran ); a. An empty quarter in the southern part of the desert is too hot and dry even for desert nomads (similar to the Sahara i.

Includes the largest sand desert in the world (south of Najd ), called the Rubï¿½ al-Khali (the empty quarter), covering 230,000 square miles (595,700 sq kilometers). ii. Despite its name, it includes many watering holes and, is therefore, ï¿½crossableï¿½ to those familiar with the desert. b. Arid or extremely arid, < 4ï¿½ per year. a. Hot desert, averaging between 100-107 F from May-Sept. b. ï¿½Most of the plants are annuals; most of the perennials are halophytes. The Saharan and Arabian deserts lie mainly within the Tropics. They are hot deserts produced by descending air on the poleward side of Hadley cells, producing a belt of fairly permanent high pressure. Farther north, the deserts of Central Asia are also caused by persistent high pressure, but they are well-clear of the Tropics and much cooler. South Africa . 2. Very dry (much drier than its inland neighboring desert, the Kalahari), but not too hot because of coastal fog. 3.

High humidity and fog (like Atacama), with less than 2ï¿½ (51 mm) annual precipitation. 4. Very little vegetation: Lichens on the leeward side of rocks, leafless, stem-succulent plants, and halophytes. 5. The Benguela Current, is a cold current that flows northward along the coast. It flows from the edge of the Antarctic Ocean as a stream of water blown in an easterly direction by the West Wind Drift and turning north just south of the southern African continent. 6. Despite having crossed the ocean, winds and air bring no rain because it was chilled as it crossed the cold water of the Benguela Current and its water condensed. It condenses as low clouds and fog, rather than rain and fog. ï¿½ covers an area of about 275,000 sq. miles (712,250 sq. kilometers). 1. Inland desert from the Namib; southwestern Botswana 2. Notable for its deep subsurface sands. 3. Landscape dominated by gentle dunes. 4.

Precipitation in the northern Kalahari reaches 25ï¿½ annually; precipitation in the southern Kalahari, 10ï¿½ annually. 5. The rate of evaporation is high enough to remove much of the surface water before it can be absorbed by the ground. 6. Temperatures range from 90F (32C) in summer to 70 F (21C) in winter, but frosts are common in winter nights. ï¿½ 140,000 sq miles (363,000 sq kilometers) in northern Chile . The Tropic of Capricorn passes thru its center. 1. Narrow strip, 600 miles along (parallel to) coast of Chile . 2. World's driest coastal desert; 0.04" (10 mm) precipitation; most of it from coastal condensation (fog). Rain can be expected no more than 2-4 times per century. Rain is rare, but the relative humidity is 75% - bare iron rust rapidly there. 3. Coastal cooling: Air reaching the coast from the ocean loses most of its moisture at sea, where it is chilled.

It is dry when arrives on land. Any remaining moisture is lost as the air rises to cross the coastal ranges, forming clouds that rarely bring rain, although may be low enough to be calledï¿½ fog. 4. Air from the southwest crosses South American continent, then loses the moisture it carries during its ascent over the Andes Mountains . The combination of coastal cooling from the west, and rainshadow from the southwest accounts for the extreme aridity of the Atacama. 5. Average elevation is about 2,000ï¿½; its height contributing to its moderate temperature. 6. A cool (little seasonal variation ï¿½ about 65 F), very dry climate in a coastal region suggests the presence of a cool ocean current. South America fought over part of the Atacama Desert . The War of the pacific lasted from 1879-1884, and ended with Chile in control of the area, and made Bolivia i. The desert has rich deposits of sodium nitrate and copper. ii. Sodium nitrate is the raw material for commercial fertilizer and explosive manufacture.

ï¿½ occupying the whole of Argentina ; 300,000 sq miles (770,000 sq kilomteres) 1. Cold, rainshadow desert, average annual temperature is 7C. 2. Average rainfall < 10ï¿½ annually. 3. There is no other desert in the world lying on the eastern side of the continent in a latitude north of 40d S. 4. Highest precipitation in the winter, April - Aug. 5. Bleak desert, but in the north there are tough grasses and shrubs; the grasses providing pasture for sheep. 6. Little vegetation farther south, where climate is colder and drier. 1. The Tropic of Capricorn passes thru the center of Australia . This means the country lies close enough to trade wind latitudes for the prevailing windsï¿½ to be from the southeast. These bring maritime conditions, with abundant rain, to the coast of New South Wales Queensland . 2. Inland lies the Great Dividing Range, a mountain range running the length of the country parallel to the east coast. 3. Lands to the west of the mountains lie in a rain shadow. 4.

40% of Australia ï¿½s land mass is classified as desert (3.4 million square miles). Of all the continents, Australia Australia is alarge island with a continental climate). 5. No succulents, very few spiny plants. Prevalent desert plants are the perenial evergreen tussock grasses (spinifex) and small trees or shrubs belonging to the genus Acacia. 6. has 5 deserts: 4 on the west side, one in the center. a. ï¿½ southeast corner of the Northern Territories ; < 500ï¿½ asl; stony desert b. Great ï¿½ north part of western Australia ; < 600ï¿½ above sea level. c. Great Deserts of Asia, Landforms of Asia - Worldatlas.com Deserts of Asia, Landforms of Asia ASIA DESERTS: Several significant deserts stretch across Asia and the Middle East. Here we highlight of the map and brief description of the major ones, including the Arabian, Gobi, Karakum, Kyzylkum, Takla Makan and Thar.

Arabian Desert The Arabian Desert is a vast desert wilderness stretching from Yemen to the Persian Gulf and from Oman to Jordan and Iraq. It is the largest desert in Asia at 900,000 square miles and occupies most of the Arabian Peninsula. This desert is located in the Middle East, and we have additional details and map at this link: Gobi Desert The Gobi Desert is the 2nd largest desert in Asia, covering 500,000 square miles. Extending from northern China into Mongolia, the Gobi Desert receives an average of 7 inches of rainfall each year because the Himalaya mountains block rain clouds from reaching the region. Kara Kum Desert The Kara Kum covers 135,000 square miles, nearly 70 percent of Turkmenistan's land. Because of the desert's location along the Caspian Sea, the weather in Karakum is milder than many Asian deserts, which typically experience frigid winters and scorching summers. Kyzyl Kum Desert Crossing over Kazakhstan into Uzbekistan, this 115,000 square mile desert features a wide variety of flora and fauna.

Though the area only receives 4 to 8 inches of rain per year, the rain occurs during the region's cooler period so the water does not dissipate quickly and supports large migratory game. Takla Makan Desert China's largest desert extends over 123,550 square miles. Composed primarily of shifting crescent sand dunes, the Takla Makan is one of the largest sandy deserts in the world. Despite the inhospitable and unpredictable nature of the desert sands, the Chinese government erected a road across the desert in the mid-1990s. Thar Desert Covering 77,000 square miles in India and Pakistan, the Thar Desert is Asia's only subtropical desert. Primarily occupying the Indian state of Rajasthan, the Thar receives up to 20 inches of rain per year, primarily during the monsoon period from July to September, and most crops are grown during this rainy season.

Question: The Gobi Desert lies in which area?
Answer: Asia