What is the name of the smallest desert? The most unusual deserts in the world. Colored Desert, USA

It's hard to believe, but this desert, which stretches across the National Park in the state of Maranhão in Brazil, is full of lagoons. The spectacular view creates a contrast between the white dunes and the blue lagoons formed by the rain, the water from which collects in the lowlands between the dunes, forming small ponds with clear water. The lagoons themselves, where fish, turtles and shellfish live, can only be seen after winter and before the onset of summer.
2. Colored Desert, USA


The colored desert in the state of Arizona in the USA is an expanse of hills, plateaus and isolated hills with steep slopes. It is dry land with sparse vegetation and has been severely eroded. The name "Color Desert" refers to the variety of colorful layers of sedimentary rock that are visible against this rugged landscape. The topography of the Colored Desert is often compared to the colorful layers of a cake. The variety of shades of sandstone and mudstone layers is a result of the different mineral contents of the sedimentary rocks and the rate at which they were deposited.
3. The smallest desert in the world - Carcross Desert, Canada


The Carcross Desert in Yukon State is called the smallest desert in the world. The dry climate and winds created sand dunes here and contributed to the growth of rare vegetation that adapted to the environment. The size of the Cacross Desert is about 2.6 square meters. km.
4. The largest gypsum desert - White Sands, USA


Rising right in the center of the Tularosa Basin lies one of New Mexico's greatest natural wonders in the United States - the shimmering sands of the gypsum desert. The dunes here cover about 712 square meters. km of land, making this desert the largest gypsum desert in the world. Unlike other deserts, the sand here is actually cool to the touch due to high evaporation and moisture at the surface and the fact that the sands reflect rather than absorb the sun's rays.
5. Black Desert, Egypt


A black desert is an area where volcanic hills are covered with a large number of small black pebbles. The pebbles lie on top of the orange-brown earth, and therefore the desert is not completely black. Climbing to one of the tops of numerous hills, you can admire the indescribable landscape, consisting of many equally beautiful gloomy hills. However, it is worth remembering that the Black Desert is uninhabited and there are no amenities here.
6. The largest salt desert - Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia


This desert, located in Bolivia, can significantly change the way you think about deserts. It is actually a dry salt lake whose topography is completely flat, and it is so large and transparent that the sky appears to be reflected, creating a landscape of different shades of blue. Another attractive aspect of this desert is the many colorful lakes that get their color from the variety of minerals.
The Salar de Uyuni is the largest wet salt flat, extending over 10,582 square kilometers. km. The salt marsh contains large amounts of sodium, potassium, lithium, magnesium, and borax. According to some estimates, there are about 10 billion tons of salt here, of which about 25,000 tons are mined annually.
7. The driest desert in the world is the Atacama Desert, Chile


According to NASA reports, the Atacama Desert in Chile is the driest desert in the world. It is 50 times drier than Death Valley in California, USA. The desert covers more than 105,000 sq. km and mainly consists of salt pools, lava flows and sand. The average rainfall in this region is only 1 mm per year. Some weather stations have never recorded any precipitation. The weather here is so dry that even on the tops of the mountains, whose height reaches 6500 m, there are no glaciers.
8. Desert covered with snow - Taklamakan, China


Taklamakan is one of the largest sand deserts in the world, being the 15th largest non-polar desert. It extends over 270,000 square meters. km of the Tarim River basin, its length is 1000 km and width 400 km. From the northern and southern edges it is crossed by two branches of the Silk Road, to which travelers usually strove to avoid the arid wasteland.
In 2008, China's largest desert experienced its heaviest snowfall and recorded its coldest temperatures after 11 days of continuous snowfall.
9. Red Sand Desert - Simpson Desert, Australia


Located in Australia, the Simpson Desert is striking in its beauty thanks to its red sand dunes.
Another attractive aspect is that it has the longest parallel dunes on the planet. The most famous dune is the Big Red dune, whose height reaches 40 m.
Although the climate is quite harsh, it is home to the spinifex plant, which anchors shifting sand, and is home to 180 species of birds, as well as lizards and marsupials.

Deserts are natural areas characterized by flat surfaces and little or no flora. They often contain quite specific fauna. Deserts can be sandy, rocky, clayey or saline. Snow (Arctic) ones are distinguished separately. There are nine types based on the nature of soil and soil, and three based on dynamic precipitation.

Sahara

What is the largest desert in the world? There are many of them on the planet. But there are not so many really large ones among them. And the largest desert in the world is the Sahara. It is located in the north - more than 8.5 million square meters. km. This is almost 1/3 of the continent. Despite the harsh conditions, approximately 2.5 million people live on its territory. But still, the population density there is the lowest on earth. The main peoples living on its territory are Berbers and Tuaregs.

Age of the Sahara Desert

Few people know that this desert is much “younger” than many people believe. It is generally accepted that the Sahara is five and a half thousand years old. Scientists have found that 6,000 years ago this desert “lived” - it had trees, gardens and a lot of lakes. But over time she changed. According to the latest research by the scientific community, the majority is inclined to believe that the Sahara “desertified” only 2.7 thousand years ago.

Territorial highlights

There are several states on the territory of the Sahara - Libya, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, Chad, Niger, Sudan and Research shows that the desert territory is unstable. It is constantly changing. Data from satellites have been obtained that the Sahara periodically increases or decreases.

Curious facts about the Sahara

In some places in this desert during the day you can fry eggs on the hot sand, and at night right there the thermometer can drop to minus ten. Therefore, in past centuries, trade caravans moved through the desert exclusively at night, and during the day they pitched tents and rested.

In addition to the usual information about the Sahara, there are many interesting facts. It also has one more feature - this is one of the few rare places on the planet where evaporation greatly exceeds precipitation: in the ratio from 2000 to 5000 mm/100 mm.

There is a huge underground lake under the Sahara, which is even larger than Baikal, and the oases exist precisely because of it. There is not so much sand in the desert - only 1/5, and the rest of the territory is occupied by rocky land, and very little - sand and pebbles and simple

The desert sand cover is approximately 150 meters deep, and the largest sand dunes are similar in height to the Eiffel Tower. And if all of humanity is going to scoop up the sand of the Sahara, then each of them will have over 3 million buckets.

Strong winds constantly blow in the desert. There are only twenty calm days in the entire year. Khamsin is one of the most famous winds in the desert, translated as "fifty", which refers to how quickly it blows. Interestingly, this coincides with the Egyptian wind season, which lasts the same number of days.

Mirages

The largest desert in the world has an interesting phenomenon - mirages, which were previously considered to occur anywhere, but it turns out that they have a permanent location. And today there is even a special map on which they are plotted.

It is also interesting that a complete description of the mirage at this place is given - a palace, a well, a mountain range, an oasis, a palm grove. Each of them is basically constant. Every year there are up to 160 thousand of them. Mirages can have several options - wandering, vertical, stable and horizontal.

Flora and fauna of the Sahara

The plants here are mainly subshrubs and shrubs. On the south side there are ephemeroids and ephemera. Animals move quickly, with the ability to dig sand (having hair brushes, claws, and bristles on their paws).

The largest desert on earth is famous for a place called Death Valley. It is considered the hottest and driest place on earth.

Despite the harsh living conditions, the Sahara is home to many species of flora and fauna: 545 plants, 12 amphibians, 13 fish (in oasis lakes), and more than 80 mammals and reptiles.

The largest deserts in the world: captivating and dangerous

The Sahara is not the only large desert in the world; there are others almost equal to it. There are nine more large deserts on our planet. All of them are smaller in area than the Sahara, but in relation to the others they are much larger. On every continent there is a similar representative of the area.

The largest desert in the world after the Sahara is the Arabian. Its territory is 2,330,000 square meters. m. And it captures the territories of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Jordan and Syria. This desert is mostly uninhabited due to strong winds and sandstorms, and the temperature fluctuations here are quite large. An egg can fry in sand in just 10 minutes. And at night even the stones crack due to the cold.

The Gobi Desert is located in the lands of China and Mongolia. Bert originated from the Altai mountains. Its territory is 166,000 square meters. km. If you translate its name, it will sound like “waterless place.”

The Australian desert is the next largest desert on the planet by area (647,000 sq. km). It is here that you can find the famous red dunes, whose height reaches 40 meters.

Kalahari means “tormenting”. Its territory is 600 thousand square meters. km. But its area is constantly increasing, capturing the territories of Botswana, Angola, Zambabwe and Zambia.

Karakum means “black sands”. Its territory is 350 thousand square meters. km. The height of the ridges can reach 60 meters. This desert is located over most of Turkmenistan. Due to the shallow vegetation that prevails there, local residents have adapted it as a pasture for livestock.

Taklamakan is located in Central Asia, its territory is 337,600 square meters. km. There in 2008 not only very low temperatures were observed, but even snowfall!

Many people wonder which desert is the largest among the salt deserts? To this we can answer that Salar da Uyuni is considered the greatest in the world. On its territory, salt amounts to billions of tons. And the passing rains, dissolving it, turn the desert into a huge mirror.

The Atacama is the largest desert in Chile. This is the driest place on earth. The plants, however, were able to adapt, developing their own ways of surviving in this place. During drought, they even refuse the functions of reproduction and growth.

Antarctica is the largest desert in the world made of ice. Its area is over 14 million square meters. km. And surprisingly, this particular desert is considered the driest place on the planet. There is an explanation - all the moisture is “dried up” by the cold, and precipitation here does not exceed 4 cm per year. And the year 1983 was marked by its lowest temperature - 89 degrees Celsius.

So, what is the tiniest desert on Earth and can a simple tourist admire its beauty? And the smallest desert in the world today is Carcross, located in the Yukon Territory (the city of Carcos, Canada), because its area is only 2.6 square kilometers.

It is noteworthy that the smallest desert consists of several sand dunes, despite the fact that the sand in this place was formed as a result of the melting of ice after the Ice Age, as a result of which lakes and silt appeared. Over time, the resulting reservoirs dried up, leaving behind dunes of wondrous beauty, to which the wind continues to bring sand from Lake Bennett. As for the climate, the air in Carcross is not at all desert like, since the large number of bodies of water and the rich flora around it make it too humid and heavy. At the same time, the climate of the areas surrounding the desert is even more humid and it is believed that the mountains surrounding the dunes create a so-called “rain shield”, as a result of which precipitation in this place does not even exceed 50 centimeters per year.

Local residents make full use of the Carcross dunes for entertainment, driving along them in huge jeeps and riding on special boards and, naturally, the authorities do not like this attitude towards the natural heritage of the country. However, the government apparatus’s intentions to protect the protected area were met with hostility by the townspeople of Carcos and other residents of the country, so the campaign launched was never successful. A railway was built near this landmark as one of the elements of the tourism infrastructure, and guests of the country willingly use this line, admiring the wondrous beauties of the tiniest desert in the world from the window of a passing express train.

Another small desert is the Great Salt Lake Desert, located west of the reservoir of the same name in northern Utah (USA). It is noteworthy that this time we are not talking about dunes and dunes at all, but about a flat desert with fine white sand, the total area of ​​which is about 10 thousand 360 square kilometers. This desert also formed on the site of a lake (meaning the ancient Lake Bonneville, which dried up almost 17 thousand years ago), which appeared in these places after the melting of glaciers 32 thousand years ago. At the same time, the snow-white color of the sands is due to the high concentration of salts in the once existing lake, as a result of which the resulting desert landscape has repeatedly attracted the attention of famous directors.

Thus, it was the landscape of the Great Salt Lake desert that was used for the filming of such films as the mystical “Warlock”, the fantastic “Independence Day” and the biographical “The Fastest Indian” about the famous racer Bertha Monroe. It is noteworthy that the infrastructure of this picturesque place is more than developed, because it is through the desert of the Great Salt Lake that two high-speed highways pass, as well as a railway line, which makes it attractive not only for film industry workers, but also for tourists. In addition, the perfectly flat surface of the formation made it possible to use it as a kind of cosmodrome, because it was at this site that engineers were able to successfully receive the landing capsule of a space satellite, which contained substance from a real comet (this significant event dates back to 2006).

Racing drivers also actively use the flat landscape of the salt desert, because thanks to its unique surface, their high-speed cars are capable of reaching super speeds of up to a thousand kilometers per hour, which, by the way, is more than that of passenger airliners. However, the climate in this place leaves much to be desired, because due to the fact that the desert is located much above sea level, it experiences huge temperature fluctuations and changes, not only during the day and night, but also in the summer and winter.

When answering the question about what is the smallest desert in the world, we should not forget about such a wonderful place as the Chara Sands, located in the Chara Basin of the Trans-Baikal Territory (Russian Federation). The area of ​​this truly tiny sandy massif is only 10 by 5 kilometers, despite the fact that literally a few kilometers from it the taiga begins with its deciduous thickets and impenetrable swampy swamps. The sands in this place consist mainly of quartz, forming quite long and spectacular dunes with side slopes, the steepness of which can reach as much as 32 degrees.

Spectacular chains of barchans and dunes make the Chara Sands very attractive for tourists, however, the infrastructure in these places is rather weak (the nearest BAM station is more than 10 kilometers away), so guests of this reserve use large off-road vehicles with high cross-country ability to visit it.

Heat, kilometers of sand, stones and landscapes reminiscent of a lunar landscape - we associate all these scenes with the desert. But our world is amazingly diverse and not all deserts are the same. Each of these beautiful deserts has its own unique atmosphere and picturesque views, sometimes reminiscent of a landscape from another planet.1. Desert with lagoons - Lencois Maranhenses, Brazil

It's hard to believe, but this desert, which stretches across the National Park in the state of Maranhão in Brazil, is full of lagoons. The spectacular view creates a contrast between the white dunes and the blue lagoons formed by the rain, the water from which collects in the lowlands between the dunes, forming small ponds with clear water. The lagoons themselves, where fish, turtles and shellfish live, can only be seen after winter and before the onset of summer.
2. Colored Desert, USA

The colored desert in the state of Arizona in the USA is an expanse of hills, plateaus and isolated hills with steep slopes. It is dry land with sparse vegetation and has been severely eroded. The name "Color Desert" refers to the variety of colorful layers of sedimentary rock that are visible against this rugged landscape. The topography of the Colored Desert is often compared to the colorful layers of a cake. The variety of shades of sandstone and mudstone layers is a result of the different mineral contents of the sedimentary rocks and the rate at which they were deposited.
3. The smallest desert in the world - Carcross Desert, Canada

The Carcross Desert in Yukon State is called the smallest desert in the world. The dry climate and winds created sand dunes here and contributed to the growth of rare vegetation that adapted to the environment. The size of the Cacross Desert is about 2.6 square meters. km.
4. The largest gypsum desert - White Sands, USA

Rising right in the center of the Tularosa Basin lies one of New Mexico's greatest natural wonders in the United States - the shimmering sands of the gypsum desert. The dunes here cover about 712 square meters. km of land, making this desert the largest gypsum desert in the world. Unlike other deserts, the sand here is actually cool to the touch due to high evaporation and moisture at the surface and the fact that the sands reflect rather than absorb the sun's rays.
5. Black Desert, Egypt

A black desert is an area where volcanic hills are covered with a large number of small black pebbles. The pebbles lie on top of the orange-brown earth, and therefore the desert is not completely black. Climbing to one of the tops of numerous hills, you can admire the indescribable landscape, consisting of many equally beautiful gloomy hills. However, it is worth remembering that the Black Desert is uninhabited and there are no amenities here.
6. The largest salt desert - Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia

This desert, located in Bolivia, can significantly change the way you think about deserts. It is actually a dry salt lake whose topography is completely flat, and it is so large and transparent that the sky appears to be reflected, creating a landscape of different shades of blue. Another attractive aspect of this desert is the many colorful lakes that get their color from the variety of minerals.

The Salar de Uyuni is the largest wet salt flat, extending over 10,582 square kilometers. km. The salt marsh contains large amounts of sodium, potassium, lithium, magnesium, and borax. According to some estimates, there are about 10 billion tons of salt here, of which about 25,000 tons are mined annually.
7. The driest desert in the world is the Atacama Desert, Chile

According to NASA reports, the Atacama Desert in Chile is the driest desert in the world. It is 50 times drier than Death Valley in California, USA. The desert covers more than 105,000 sq. km and mainly consists of salt pools, lava flows and sand. The average rainfall in this region is only 1 mm per year. Some weather stations have never recorded any precipitation. The weather here is so dry that even on the tops of the mountains, whose height reaches 6500 m, there are no glaciers.
8. Desert covered with snow - Taklamakan, China

Taklamakan is one of the largest sand deserts in the world, being the 15th largest non-polar desert. It extends over 270,000 square meters. km of the Tarim River basin, its length is 1000 km and width 400 km. From the northern and southern edges it is crossed by two branches of the Silk Road, to which travelers usually strove to avoid the arid wasteland.

In 2008, China's largest desert experienced its heaviest snowfall and recorded its coldest temperatures after 11 days of continuous snowfall.
9. Red Sand Desert - Simpson Desert, Australia

Located in Australia, the Simpson Desert is striking in its beauty thanks to its red sand dunes.

Another attractive aspect is that it has the longest parallel dunes on the planet. The most famous dune is the Big Red dune, whose height reaches 40 m.

Although the climate is quite harsh, it is home to the spinifex plant, which anchors shifting sand, and is home to 180 species of birds, as well as lizards and marsupials.

Ecology

Heat, kilometers of sand, stones and landscapes reminiscent of a lunar landscape - we associate all these scenes with the desert.

But our world is amazingly diverse and not all deserts are the same.

Each of these beautiful deserts has its own unique atmosphere and picturesque views, sometimes reminiscent of a landscape from another planet.

1. Desert with lagoons - Lencois Maranhenses, Brazil

It's hard to believe, but this desert, which stretches across the National Park in the state of Maranhão in Brazil, is full of lagoons. The spectacular view creates a contrast between the white dunes and the blue lagoons formed by the rain, the water from which collects in the lowlands between the dunes, forming small ponds with clear water. The lagoons themselves, where fish, turtles and shellfish live, can only be seen after winter and before the onset of summer.

2. Colored Desert, USA

The colored desert in the state of Arizona in the USA is an expanse of hills, plateaus and isolated hills with steep slopes. It is dry land with sparse vegetation and has been severely eroded. The name "Color Desert" refers to the variety of colorful layers of sedimentary rock that are visible against this rugged landscape. The topography of the Colored Desert is often compared to the colorful layers of a cake. The variety of shades of sandstone and mudstone layers is a result of the different mineral contents of the sedimentary rocks and the rate at which they were deposited.

3. The smallest desert in the world - Carcross Desert, Canada

The Carcross Desert in Yukon State is called the smallest desert in the world. The dry climate and winds created sand dunes here and contributed to the growth of rare vegetation that adapted to the environment. The size of the Cacross Desert is about 2.6 square meters. km.

4. The largest gypsum desert - White Sands, USA

Rising right in the center of the Tularosa Basin lies one of New Mexico's greatest natural wonders in the United States - the shimmering sands of the gypsum desert. The dunes here cover about 712 square meters. km of land, making this desert the largest gypsum desert in the world. Unlike other deserts, the sand here is actually cool to the touch due to high evaporation and moisture at the surface and the fact that the sands reflect rather than absorb the sun's rays.

5. Black Desert, Egypt

A black desert is an area where volcanic hills are covered with a large number of small black pebbles. The pebbles lie on top of the orange-brown earth, and therefore the desert is not completely black. Climbing to one of the tops of numerous hills, you can admire the indescribable landscape, consisting of many equally beautiful gloomy hills. However, it is worth remembering that the Black Desert is uninhabited and there are no amenities here.

6. The largest salt desert - Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia

This desert, located in Bolivia, can significantly change the way you think about deserts. It is actually a dry salt lake whose topography is completely flat, and it is so large and transparent that the sky appears to be reflected, creating a landscape of different shades of blue. Another attractive aspect of this desert is the many colorful lakes that get their color from a variety of minerals.

The Salar de Uyuni is the largest wet salt flat, extending over 10,582 square kilometers. km. The salt marsh contains large amounts of sodium, potassium, lithium, magnesium, and borax. According to some estimates, there are about 10 billion tons of salt here, of which about 25,000 tons are mined annually.

7. The driest desert in the world is the Atacama Desert, Chile

According to NASA reports, the Atacama Desert in Chile is the driest desert in the world. It is 50 times drier than Death Valley in California, USA. The desert covers more than 105,000 sq. km and mainly consists of salt pools, lava flows and sand. The average rainfall in this region is only 1 mm per year. Some weather stations have never recorded any precipitation. The weather here is so dry that even on the tops of the mountains, whose height reaches 6500 m, there are no glaciers.

8. Desert covered with snow - Taklamakan, China

Taklamakan is one of the largest sand deserts in the world, being the 15th largest non-polar desert. It extends over 270,000 square meters. km of the Tarim River basin, its length is 1000 km and width 400 km. From the northern and southern edges it is crossed by two branches of the Silk Road, to which travelers usually strove to avoid the arid wasteland.

In 2008, China's largest desert experienced its heaviest snowfall and recorded its coldest temperatures after 11 days of continuous snowfall.

9. Red Sand Desert - Simpson Desert, Australia

Located in Australia, the Simpson Desert is striking in its beauty thanks to its red sand dunes.

Another attractive aspect is that it has the longest parallel dunes on the planet. The most famous dune is the Big Red dune, whose height reaches 40 m.

Although the climate is quite harsh, it is home to the spinifex plant, which anchors shifting sand, and is home to 180 species of birds, as well as lizards and marsupials.