Briefly about the main deserts of the world. The largest deserts located in Africa - characteristics, photos and maps The hottest desert in India
Deserts of the world have many common features, so they are classified as independent natural area. The poet Konstantin Balmont admired deserts: “I love the Desert, the Desert, the queen of earthly beauty.” Let's take a closer look at this unusual habitat, to which not only plants and animals, but also humans have adapted.
Many people associate the desert with lifeless and hot sandy plains. Although this word only speaks of the emptiness and uninhabitability of such places. In most European languages, the desert is called a word derived from “disartum” (Latin dēsertum), which also means a place abandoned by man. It is no coincidence that the expressions “desert sea” or “polar desert” are quite appropriate, which in no way resemble a dry and hot habitat. In order for scientists different countries it was clear what kind of deserts we were talking about, dry lands began to be called arid (from the Latin aridus - dry, depleted). It is these typical deserts that we will talk about “in nature’s workshop.”
Arid regions are characterized by long periods of heat and drought. Deserts have the highest daily temperature changes on earth, causing rocks to crack. At noon, the surface of the desert heats up so much that you can fry eggs on the rocks. Because of this heat, layers of air with different temperatures are formed near the ground, in which light is refracted and a mirage appears.
Real deserts form where less than 200 mm of precipitation falls per year, and water evaporation is tens of times greater. This makes the air very dry, which is why people in the desert can tolerate the heat more easily. Precipitation is uneven, and droughts last for several months. Deserts are characterized by vast plains or basins, some of which used to be the seabed.
Typical deserts occupy about 23% of the land area. They occur predominantly in the tropics and subtropics, where dry equatorial air descends as a result of global atmospheric circulation. The resulting constant high atmospheric pressure determines sunny and hot weather. High mountains bordering many deserts serve as a reliable barrier to clouds. Most arid regions have an island appearance, which makes it possible to distinguish individual deserts in territories separated by mountain and water barriers. According to the nature of the surface, deserts are divided into sandy, rocky, clayey, gypsum and saline. Additionally, they are classified according to vegetation type, topography and climate. In order to understand what kind of deserts there are, we will consider their characteristics in different regions of the earth.
The largest desert in the world is Sahara(Arabic صحراء - sahra), which translated means not only desert, but also sand. The related word "sugar" also means sand. The desert occupies almost all of North Africa and is so huge that scientists still cannot agree on its exact boundaries, because they are determined by different climatic, soil or biological characteristics. In any case, its area exceeds the entire continent of Australia. In the east, several more historical regions adjoin the Sahara. The largest and hottest region is the Libyan Desert, and between the Nile and the Red Sea are the Arabian and extremely arid Nubian Deserts.
Despite the name, sands occupy only one-fifth of the Sahara, most of the plains are covered with stones and rubble. Sands accumulate in lowlands and in wide temporary river beds, which fill with water after rare rains in the neighboring mountains. The Arabs call such dry lands wadi (Arabic: وادي), in Central Asia it is sai, and in America and Australia it is creek.
Typically, deserts are dominated by sand of a yellowish hue, consisting of common quartz oxide (SiO₂). But it can have a reddish tint from the admixture of iron oxides (Fe₂O₃), salt (NaСl) or gypsum crystals (CaSO₄) are added to the white color, and basalt lava gives it a black tint. Stones on the side facing the sun are often covered with a “desert tan.” This dark brown film is made up of iron and manganese oxides and accumulates over hundreds of years of humidification and heating cycles.
The wind constantly blows in the open spaces of the desert and collects sand into aeolian (from Aeolus - ancient Greek god of the wind) relief forms - ripples, waves, ridges and hills or dunes. Bare sands, unsupported by vegetation, are moved by the wind at a speed of several meters per year. With strong winds (more than 15 m/s), a sandstorm arises in the deserts, which settles only after several thousand kilometers in Europe, on the Atlantic islands or in Asia. The dust constantly hanging in the air gives the sky a pale tint and creates the effect of the famous “white sun” of the desert.
The basis of the poor and sparse vegetation of the Sahara is made up of ephemerals (from the Greek Εφήμερος - living one day). After a short rainy season, they manage to germinate, bloom and produce new seeds in a few weeks, which will wait for several years for their rain. Among the large plants, rare acacias and thorny bushes are typical, producing leaves in a short growing season.
Desert animals have adapted to long-term hibernation and hide from the daytime heat in burrows. The famous dromedary camel has been tamed by man and is used as a “ship of the desert.” Of the arthropods, it is worth noting large scorpions and salpugs (phalanxes), which can even feed on lizards. Desert ants are primarily herbivores, busy transporting seeds to their underground storage facilities. Locusts and darkling beetles are often visible during the day. Deserts are characterized by a variety of reptiles.
Unfortunately, horned antelopes in the Sahara are almost exterminated by humans. Small mammals are represented by rodents from the families of comb-toed (gundi - similar to guinea pigs), hamsters (gerbils - build underground cities) and mice. They are hunted by large monitor lizards and snakes. Interestingly, the Sahara Mountains are inhabited by hyraxes, which look like a large marmot or rabbit, but are the closest relatives of elephants.
People and agriculture in the Sahara are concentrated along the Nile River and in oases (ancient Egyptian - place of residence) around wells and groundwater outlets. The main plant of the oases was the date palm and grain crops. Thanks to a whole chain of underground springs and oases, caravan trails pass through the Sahara, which are used by the nomadic population of the deserts.
African deserts are part of the largest Afro-Asian group. Nikolai Gumilyov figuratively described it in the poem “Sahara”:
All deserts have been close to each other since time immemorial,
But Arabia, Syria, Gobi, -
This is just the subsidence of the Sahara wave,
In satanic anger risen.
The Red Sea splashes, the Persian Gulf,
And the snow is deep in the Pamirs,
But her ocean is a sandy spill
Siberia reaches green.
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Indeed, in the south of the Arabian Peninsula in Saudi Arabia and United United Arab Emirates there is a wide desert Rub al-Khali(Arabic: الربع الخالي - empty quarter). This name is confirmed by dry, hot and lifeless sands comparable in area to Spain. Only the proximity of groundwater in some areas ensures oasis farming. In the north of the peninsula is the vast Syrian Desert. It extends into Syria, Iraq, Jordan and Saudi Arabia and consists of gravelly and sandy massifs. A significant source of water in it is dew. The flora of the Arabian deserts is similar to that of Africa. There are animals that came from Africa, Central Asia and India. The smallest fox is the fennec fox (up to 1.5 kg) with big ears and an excellent sense of smell. At night they hunt insects, lizards and rodents.
The deserts of Central Asia close to us are located east of the Caspian Sea in Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. The warm and dry period in these deserts lasts from May to October, and there are frosts in winter. The main sources of water here are the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers (Turkic Darya - river). They originate high in the mountains and flow through the Karakum and Kyzylkum deserts. Every year there are 2 river floods from the melting of spring snow in the foothills, and a summer one from high-mountain glaciers. Population growth and irrational water consumption for irrigating fields led to the drying out of the whole Aral Sea.
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There is a desert between the rivers Kyzylkum(from Uzbek - red sands). Most of the desert is occupied by reddish sands, and in the rock dumps of gold and uranium mines, the sands have a richer burgundy and even purple hue. At higher elevations there are clayey and gravelly deserts. In the lowlands and fields with improper irrigation, a salt-white desert and the famous takyrs (from Uzbek - smooth, even) are formed. When the even clay layer of takyr dries out, the soil cracks and forms dry, lifeless shards.
Neighboring Karakum(from Turkmen - black sand) are named so because of the moss covering the sands. The black crust of moss instantly turns green after rain and the desert is covered with a blooming carpet of ephemera. Unfortunately, dense vegetation cover can only be seen in nature reserves; in the rest of the territory, due to overgrazing, the sand is already poorly consolidated. A record air temperature for the former USSR of 51.8°C was recorded in the Karakum Desert.
Artemisia shrubs (ancient Russian peles - pale blue, gray) have become widespread in the deserts of Central Asia. The name refers to the color of the small leaves, which are protected from the scorching sun by pubescence. Small saxaul trees have very deep roots, there are no leaves in their crown, and photosynthesis is carried out by green branches. Bactrian camels eat saxaul, and sheep eat wormwood. Horses - kulans, antelopes - saigas and gazelles - goitered gazelles have been preserved only in nature reserves and nurseries. Large lizards, monitor lizards, use rodent burrows and hunt them. An ordinary Central Asian tortoise actively feeds on greenery in the spring and moves through the desert; the rest of the time it spends hibernating. Those who are going to keep them at home need to know this.
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Deeper in Central Asia, the oceans can no longer influence the climate of the deserts, which are not only remote from them, but also isolated high mountains. The further from the sea, the stronger the seasonal temperature fluctuations; in winter, Siberian winds bring frosts exceeding -30°C, and in summer the heat reaches 40°C. There are large deserts along which ancient caravan routes from China to Europe passed. Gobi- the largest desert in Eurasia, it is located in the south of Mongolia and extends into the north of China. Desert Taklamakan one of the driest on the mainland. This rounded sandy plain, surrounded by mountains, is clearly visible from space. The name of the desert is translated as “abandoned place”; it is also called “the place from which there is no return.” Bactrian camels, hares, hamsters and long-eared hedgehogs can survive in such harsh conditions. Central Asia is home to the center of jerboa diversity. These burrowing rodents, with long tail And big eyes, usually lead a nocturnal lifestyle and are distinguished by the fact that they move by jumping like a kangaroo.
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The North American group of deserts is located in the western part of the continent. Arid territories stretch from north to south for 2 thousand kilometers in the temperate and subtropical zones. Crossing the deserts is the only major Colorado River, which flows through the famous largest canyon. Big Pool or the Great Desert is located on the mountain plateau of the same name and the neighboring Colorado Plateau, snow falls there in winter.
A record air temperature for our planet of 56.67°C was recorded in the desert Mojave, in a depression called “Death Valley”, the salty bottom of which lies 86 meters below sea level. At the same time, as required by the rules of meteorology, it was measured in the shade at a height of 2 meters above the ground. The valley is sandwiched between mountain ranges and has an area of almost 8 thousand km². The terrible name was invented by American settlers who crossed it on their way to California in the mid-19th century. Along the way, cattle died in the waterless and hot valley, whose bones it was strewn with. The local Indians called the valley "painted rocks" because of the beautiful patterns on them. The elevated part of this desert is characterized by single trees of tree-like yucca. From a distance, these trees look like people with curved branches that resemble hands. To the south, creosote bushes predominate, and to the north, sagebrush predominates.
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A distinctive feature of the black American deserts is the ubiquity of cacti. This family of plants with beautiful flowers differs from other spiny succulents in that their side shoots have turned into fluffy bunches of needles or areola (from the Latin areola - platform). The 10-15 meter high saguaro columns in the desert are especially famous Sonora. Their internal supporting skeleton consists of a woody frame. Such cacti live for more than 100 years; woodpeckers build hollows in their thorny trunks and desert birds nest. The bushes of the most common cacti, prickly pears, are very prickly; if you accidentally touch them, the tip of the branch breaks off and sticks with sharp needles. So these thorny shoots spread across the desert. Cacti have an extensive superficial root system that greedily absorbs and stores water in the stems. A saguaro can pump a ton of water after a rare but heavy rain. When growing cacti at home, it is important to know that in hot and solar time They should be watered abundantly during the year, and in winter they should be provided with a cold (10°C) and dry wintering.
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There are 7 species of venomous rattlesnakes in Sonora, which alert large animals with a “rattle” at the end of their tail. Large poisonous teeth, rare representatives of poisonous lizards, are also found in the desert. Contrary to their name, their venom does not come through canals in the teeth, like venomous snakes, but from glands at the base of the mouth. Among mammals, rodents predominate, in particular the kangaroo rat, ground squirrels and mice. Ungulates, coyotes, bobcats and cougars are increasingly rare. Small distant relatives of pigs - peccaries - also come to South America.
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Chihuahua lies to the west, mostly in Mexico; rare precipitation falls here only in the summer. In the very south of the United States there are unique white sands. They consist of thin flakes of gypsum, blown away by the wind, formed at the bottom of dry lakes. Single yuccas and various types of cacti are often found. This desert is characterized by tiny hummingbirds. They flap their wings so often that they create a hum similar to the work of a motor, so they are easier to hear than to see. Insects and arachnids of American deserts are represented in similar groups to other arid regions.
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The southern hemisphere contains deserts on three continents. Along Atlantic coast Africa's desert stretches for one and a half thousand kilometers Namib(means desert in the local language), part of the South African group of deserts. It was formed due to the fact that the high mountain plateau bordering the Namib from the east intercepts the remaining moisture from the eastern winds, and the cold Antarctic Benguela Current condenses sea moisture only over the ocean. The climate in the desert is temperate, with air temperatures ranging from 20° to 12°C. In the south, the desert is crossed by the Orange River; desert dust and clay give this color to the water. There is practically no rain in the Namib, so animals and plants have adapted to get water from morning fog and dew. The vegetation cover is very sparse, but has a great diversity of species. Succulents (from the Latin succulentus - juicy) are widely represented here - aloe with fleshy leaves, milkweed, shaped like cacti and “living stones” or lithops.
The highest dunes (up to 300 meters) are noted in central Namibe. Not only lizards and snakes have adapted to life on the sand, but also the golden mole, found only in this desert, which can “swim” in the thickness of the sand, where it finds buried insects. Desert “earth men” or meerkats live in colonies, standing like sentries at the entrance to their burrows.
It is surprising that on the deserted coast, which is called the “Skeleton Coast,” spectacled penguins and fur seals, who hunt in the cold waters of the Atlantic rich in fish, breed. This coastline became notorious in the 19th century among fishermen, who were often shipwrecked here in thick fog. They had no chance of finding fresh water on the shore, so the shore was covered with the remains of them and their ships.
Neighboring Kalahari- the largest desert in southern Africa. It lies in Botswana and northern South Africa on the elevated African platform at the site of its smooth trough, which geographers call syneclise (from the Greek “syneklisis” συν - “together” and ενκλισις - “inclination”). Large reserves of sand in the Kalahari accumulated in dry river beds, near eroded sandstone deposits, and were also carried by wind from the Namib. Vegetation is concentrated on fine hilly sands and in depressions. Among succulents, milkweeds and crassulaceae predominate. Of the large mammals, antelopes and hyenas are typical of this desert. Among birds, South African sandgrouses are interesting because they bring water to their chicks tens of kilometers away in their belly feathers. A unique terrestrial desert chameleon is found here.
Desert group South America occupies a narrow space along the coast of Peru and northern Chile. They are similar in location and origin to the Namib. The formation of deserts is facilitated by the cold Peruvian current, prevailing winds and the barrier that the high Andes form. Desert Sechura occupies the south of the Peruvian coast, it is characterized by a mild climate, strong winds, frequent morning fogs and an almost complete absence of precipitation. Great Northern Chilean Desert Atacama considered the driest in the world. There is no rain here for several decades, but torrential rains occur 2-3 times per century, causing severe destruction. Even in such conditions, local residents have adapted to obtain water from the fog, catching the morning dew with special nets through which it flows into containers. In a similar way, fluffy desert plants extract water from the air. Animal world concentrated along temporary watercourses descending from the mountains. The most interesting is the large burrowing rodent degu. This sociable social animal resembles squirrels and tame rats in its habits. You can see them at the Moscow Zoo.
Patagonian The desert stretches along the Atlantic Ocean for 1,600 km and occupies the vast plateau of the same name in the cool south of Argentina. It is characterized by sparse grasses and cushion-shaped bushes. Live here different types pig family. Some reach large sizes, such as the mara or Patagonian hare, weighing up to 16 kg. Regular guinea pig, they called us so for the characteristic pig squeals, and because they were brought “from overseas”. The only Patagonian ungulate is the llama or guanaco, which is a distant relative of the camel. The small rhea ostrich is also found here.
The Australian group of deserts occupies the central part of the continent, most of which is subject to drought. However, typical deserts occupy only a fifth of Australia. The large watershed ridge in the east of the continent retains the rains brought from the ocean, so the central and western parts of the country remain dry. Iron oxides give Australian sands and soils a Martian red-brown hue.
Deserts receive the least rainfall Simpson, named after the president of the Australian Geographical Society. It is characterized not only by sandy and rocky landscapes, but also by salt marshes that formed on the site of dried sea bays. Plants adapted to salty soils are called solyankas; their juices are very salty. The largest Great Sandy Desert is located in the northwestern part of the mainland. Its sands are fixed by vegetation, so there are no high dunes here. The desert is famous throughout Australia for the Uluru rock, which Europeans called Ayers Rock. This huge block of compressed sandstone, smoothed over hundreds of millions of years, bizarrely rises 348 meters in the middle of a vast plain. Great Victoria Desert only slightly inferior in area. It is a sandy plain interrupted by salt marshes and hills. Between these deserts is a rocky desert Gibson, named so in 1873 in memory of the deceased member of the research expedition.
The nature of the Australian deserts, like the entire isolated continent, is very specific. The vast majority of native animal and plant species are not found on neighboring continents. Australian animals are only superficially similar to the inhabitants of other deserts. Therefore, such mammals are figuratively called marsupial shrews, moles, jerboas, marmots (wombats), badgers (bandicoots) and even martens. Such a resemblance different groups organisms is called convergent (from the Latin convergent - convergent). It is due to adaptation in the process of evolution to a similar desert habitat. In the absence of ungulates in Australia, their role is played by herds of kangaroos. The largest red kangaroo reaches a height of 2 meters while standing and can jump 12 meters. The birds are also varied - from the large emu to small budgies, which we often keep in cages. Among reptiles, the moloch is the most exotic. The body of this lizard is completely covered with spines. There are large monitor lizards and pythons. Typical plants are eucalyptus, acacia and ancient proteaceae. Many bushes and grasses are adapted to life on sand, but only wake up after droughts. Desert peas bloom profusely in the Victoria Desert. Its large red flowers have become the symbol of the state of South Australia.
Desert boundaries are in constant motion depending on climate change and the impact on it economic activity person. For example, the Thar Desert, on the border of Pakistan and India, appeared in ancient times due to improper management Agriculture. Combating desertification through afforestation and rational environmental management are increasingly important in arid lands. Modern development of deserts, thanks to a scientific approach, is moving to a new level. Water is now provided by desalination plants. Excessive flood irrigation, leading to salinization, is being replaced by hydroponics and drip irrigation. Wasteful fuel combustion is being replaced by wind and solar power plants. As we have seen, the nature of deserts is very rich and diverse. Numerous nature reserves and National parks help preserve the beauty, natural landscapes and unique biodiversity of deserts.
Map - Major deserts of the World
"The largest deserts on Earth"
(desert names are listed below)
Comparative characteristics of the largest deserts
No.) Name (precipitation in mm/year) area in thousand km²
Afro-Asian group of deserts
1) Sugar (25-200) 7000
2) Libyan (25-100) 1900
3) Arabian (25-50) 1500
4) Nubian (25-50) 1200
5) Rub al-Khali (25-75) 600
6) Syrian (50-100) 101
7) Taklamakan (50-75) 271
8) Gobi (50-200) 1050
9) Tar (150-300) 250
10) Karakum 70-100 350
11) Kyzylkum 70-180 300
North American desert group
12) Large Pool (100-300) 1500
13) Mojave (50-100) 35
14) Sonora (50-250) 355
15) Chihuahua (75-300) 100
South African desert group
16) Namib (5-75) 150
17) Kalahari (100-300) 500
South American desert group
18) Sechura (20-50) 190
19) Atacama (10-50) 90
20) Patagonian (150-200) 400
Australian Desert Group
21) Large sandy (125-250) 360
22) Gibson (200-250) 240
23) Great Victoria Desert (125-250) 350
24) Simpson (100-150) 300
Desert. How many secrets this word contains! How many civilizations are hidden under its endless sands. And how many tantalizing secrets she still has! Therefore, in this article we will pay attention to the largest deserts in the world. So, get ready for a journey into the world of amazing and endless spaces.
1. Sahara Desert
Most big desert in the world is the Sahara. No wonder she is called the real Queen of the Deserts. Its area is only slightly smaller than the territory of the United States of America, and is 9.1 million square kilometers. The Sahara is located in the northern part of the African continent, and is part of such states as Egypt, Algeria, Libya, Morocco, Niger, Mali, Sudan, Chad and Western Sahara.
Also, when mentioning mirages, almost everyone remembers the Sahara, since it is here that people most often see various oases. So, throughout the year the desert shows its guests from 100 to 200 thousand mirages. Experts have even compiled special “mirage” maps for amateurs, which indicate the places where they most often appear.
2. Arabian desert
The size of the Arabian Desert is more than 2.3 million square kilometers. It is considered the second great desert of the world. Its location is the Arabian Peninsula, as well as the territories of such states as Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Syria, Iraq and Jordan.
The desert is famous for its frequent dust storms and strong winds, which makes most of it uninhabitable. In addition, it is striking that large jumps in daily temperatures occur in the Arabian Desert. So, for example, during the day an egg placed on the sand becomes boiled after 10 minutes, and that same night the stones can crack due to frost.
3. Gobi Desert
The Gobi Desert is located in China and Mongolia. It originates from Altai mountains and Tien Shan, and ends in the steppes of Mongolia and borders the Yellow River. total area The Gobi is 1.2 million square kilometers. The desert got its name from the Mongolian word, which translates as “waterless place.” For comparison, the Gobi Desert is 2 times larger than the state of Texas in the USA.
4. Australian desert
Everyone knows that Australia is a country where funny kangaroos and koalas live. In addition, this is a world of numerous cockatoos and endless beaches, where it is so pleasant to spend your holidays! However, few people know that almost half of the Australian continent is occupied by a huge desert.
The total area of the Australian desert is 647 thousand square kilometers. But this desert is not just a collection of sand, waves and wind. This is something original. So, here there is not only a desert consisting of sand, but also of stone, or rather small gravel. In addition, the desert in Australia amazes visitors with its red dunes, for which the Simpson Desert is famous. The height of such formations reaches 40 meters!
5. Kalahari Desert
The Kalahari Desert means "tormenting" in the local Berber language, and in fact, many people remember this area of Africa as being completely unsuitable for life, and going there often means dying a painful death. But let’s not talk about sad things, because any desert poses a danger to humans, and you need to travel in it very carefully.
So, the area of the Kalahari Desert begins in Namibia and Botswana, and ends in the Republic of South Africa. Locals call it Karri-Karri. Its total territory is 600 thousand square kilometers. In addition, experts note that every year the Kalahari area increases significantly, turning more and more areas of once good land into desert. Among the countries that are suffering from the onset of the desert are Angola, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
6. Karakum Desert
The literal name of the Karakum desert translated from Turkic means “black sands”. And this is actually true, although since childhood we have become accustomed to bright yellow candies of the same name. The total territory of the desert is 350 thousand square kilometers. Height sand dunes in some places it can reach 60 meters! The Karakum Desert is located in most of Turkmenistan. Its area contains small vegetation, so in certain seasons local residents use the Karakum as pastures for livestock.
7. Taklamakan Desert
The Taklamakan Desert is located in Central Asia. It is not as famous as other “record holders”, but it also occupies an impressive area - 337 thousand square kilometers. In 2008, the desert managed to surprise everyone: it recorded record low temperatures, and some places were even covered with snow!
8. Salar de Uyuni Desert
The Salar de Uyuni Desert is the world's largest salt desert. It is located in Bolivia. Experts estimate the amount of salt located on its territory as 10 billion tons.
Uniquely, when it rains, the salt reserves dissolve in the water and turn the Salar de Uyuni into the largest salt lake, which is very shallow in depth and looks more like a mirror lying on the ground. This effect is achieved due to the fact that salty water has a different refractive index, which when reflecting light is similar to reflection in an ordinary mirror.
9. Atacama Desert
The Atacama Desert is the largest desert located in Chile. It holds the title of the driest place on earth. However, even on this sun-scorched land, plants manage to grow: they have a unique mechanism for surviving in harsh conditions. At the same time, in dry times they do not grow or reproduce, and this can happen even for several years, but with the advent of rain and moisture they bloom to the fullest.
10. Desert Antarctica
The Antarctic desert is the only ice desert in the world. It is located over an area of more than 14.1 million square kilometers. Few people know that Antarctica is the driest place on earth! This climate is explained by the fact that extreme cold literally “dries up” the moisture, and the total amount of precipitation here does not exceed four centimeters per year. It is also interesting that it was in Antarctica that the lowest temperature on earth was recorded - about 89°C!
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There are deserts in India, and many of them in Eurasia. It is interesting to learn more about the driest desert in the world, the Atacama Desert. The desert located in Antarctica can compete with it.
Dry deserts in Antarctica
The Dry Valleys of Antarctica can be considered the driest place on the planet, since there has been no precipitation in these places for more than two million years. The Dry Valleys include the Victoria, Taylor and Wright valleys. They are located near McMurdo Sound. This desert of Antarctica is not covered with ice, its area is about eight thousand square kilometers.
There has been no rain in the dry deserts of Antarctica for millions of years.
Causes of dryness in Katabatic winds. They blow at a speed of at least three hundred and twenty kilometers per hour, which is the maximum wind speed on the planet. It is the wind that evaporates all the moisture. For almost eight million years, the valleys remain free of snow and ice.
Dry Valleys are a protected, especially valuable area, where it is very convenient to conduct various types of research. By natural conditions these valleys are close to the conditions of Mars. This similarity is used by NASA for testing.
These deserts look like the surface of Mars
On the territory of the valleys there is Lake Vida and the Onyx River. The water of the lake is extremely salty and exceeds even the waters of the Dead Sea in the amount of salt. The fauna in the Dry Valleys is extremely poor, despite the complete absence of ice and snow cover. This is due precisely to the increased dryness, which makes it difficult for animals to survive there.
The driest places in Eurasia
There are several deserts in Eurasia. They are located in Central, Central Asia, Kazakhstan. In Kazakhstan, the most famous deserts are the Ustyurt plateau, Betpak-Dala, Kyzylkum, Moyunkum, and the Aral Karakum desert. The desert expanses of Kazakhstan are truly immense. The fauna is represented by jerboas, vipers, gray monitor lizards and goitered gazelles.
In Central Asia, the Taklamakan sandy desert can be distinguished. It is recognized as the largest in the world, but its conditions are among the most severe. The Dzungaria desert, the Alashan and Gobi deserts are famous. The deserts of Central Asia have cold winters with maximum precipitation in the summer.
The Taklamakan Desert is the largest in the world
In Central Asia, vast territories are occupied by deserts, where the climate is extremely dry and extremely hot. They can be classified as southern deserts, which are a continuation of the North African deserts and the deserts of Asia Minor. The largest Central Asian deserts are the Karakum and Kyzylkum. The rest are much smaller.
The most hot desert in India
One of the most significant deserts in India and the most populated desert in the world is the Thar Desert. It is located in the Indian state of Rajasthan. The climate of the Thar Desert cannot be called harsh; it is a living eco-system.
The Thar Desert is one of the hottest on Earth
The Thar Desert is inhabited by animals. Common representatives are Indian gazelle, jungle cat, nilga antelope, jackals and foxes. Due to the low population of desert spaces with people, animals have the opportunity to live in natural environmental conditions. It is common to find prehistoric-looking lizards, rat snakes, vipers and sand boas there. The amazing thing is that in the last two hundred and eighty million years there has been a sea in place of the Thar Desert.
Petrified trees in the desert
In the area of the village of Akal, petrified trees have been preserved, which are the remains of ferns and forests that grew in those places about one hundred and eighty million years ago. One of the largest petrified trees with a girth of one and a half meters and a length of almost seven meters.
Atacama is the driest desert in the world
Among the deserts of the Earth, the Atacama Desert is considered the driest. It stretches a thousand kilometers south of the border of Chile and Peru and is located near the coast Pacific Ocean. Its total area is one hundred and five thousand square kilometers, and almost the entire desert is located high in the mountains.
Sculpture of a hand in the driest Atacama Desert
Comparing the Atacama with Death Valley (California), scientists concluded that it is fifty times drier. Throughout the year, the desert receives only ten millimeters of precipitation. There are places where there has been no rainfall for more than four hundred years.
In some places of Atacama there is no life at all. The reason is the rarefied atmosphere and intense solar radiation. People live in the desert, but they chose coastal areas for this. Cities and many mining towns and fishing villages were built near the coast.
Not all parts of the Atacama Desert are suitable for animals and plants to survive.
The sky above the desert is perfectly clear, thanks to which astronomers from different countries conduct space research in the coastal zone. The desert is home to two of the largest observatories in the southern hemisphere.
The Atacama is one of the oldest deserts in the world. According to scientists, its formation occurred at least twenty or even forty million years ago. This means that this desert remained dry for much longer than any other desert on the planet.
Atacama is one of the oldest deserts
Due to the fact that this desert is an absolutely dry region, it is there that perfectly preserved ancient mummies are found. The Indians buried there at least nine thousand years ago were perfectly preserved; due to the lack of moisture, there was no rotting process.
Share of deserts on earth
The most ominous deserts are sandy, they cover 1/5 of the land. In addition to sandy deserts, there are also saline, clayey and rocky deserts. Large expanses of eternal snow in Antarctica and the Arctic Circle are called snow or ice deserts. However, in our review we will focus specifically on sandy deserts.
Sandy deserts are the hottest places on Earth; the hot sand heats up to such temperatures that it burns your feet. An unprepared person cannot live in the desert without water and shade for a couple of days.
The largest sand deserts are found in Africa, Eurasia and Australia, while the deserts of North and South America are relatively small.
Map of the world's deserts(increase)
Sahara. 9,065,000 km²
The Sahara Desert is the largest and hottest desert in the world, its area exceeds 9 million km², which is more than 50% of the territory of Russia. It covers almost all of North Africa: Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Mauritania, Sudan, Chad, Libya and other countries.
The name "Sahara" is an Arabic translation of the Tuareg word for "desert". In summer, the air temperature can rise to 58°, in winter it stays within 15-28° C.
In the Sahara, as in other sandy deserts, there are frequent sandstorms, strong winds can carry sandy dust even to Europe.
More than 150 thousand mirages are observed in the Sahara, which are marked on maps indicating which particular mirage is most often “showed” in this particular area - an oasis, a river or a well.
There is less precipitation in the south of the Sahara than in the north; there are particularly dry periods lasting up to three years, during which there is no precipitation at all. The only source of water in the Sahara, other than rain, is the Nile, which crosses it in the east. However, thanks to underground waters in the waterless desert there are oases with deep wells, it is in the oases that hotels are located for tourists who come to drive around the Sahara in jeeps, and the most luxurious hotels grow in the oases. date palms and sweet grapes.
Arabian desert
Arabian desert. 2,330,000 km²
The Arabian Desert is the second largest desert in the world. The Arabian Desert is located on the Arabian Peninsula, located in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and occupies parts of Iraq, Syria, southern and eastern Jordan. Vast expanses of the Arabian Desert are occupied by moving dunes and sand massifs, at its center is the Rub'al Qali, one of the largest sand massifs in the world. Most of The territory is uninhabited due to frequent sand and dust storms and strong winds, high temperatures with large diurnal amplitudes typical for deserts. The temperature range is 40-50°C in summer, the average temperature in winter is 5-15°C, although it can drop to 0°C.
Gobi. 1,166,000 km²
The Gobi is one of the largest deserts in the world, ranked 3rd in the ranking. It is located in Central Asia, on the territory of Mongolia and China, stretching from the Altai and Tien Shan mountains in the east to the North China Plateau in the west; in the north the Gobi passes into the steppes on the territory of Mongolia, in the south it is limited by the Yellow River. The word “Gobi” is of Mongolian origin and means “waterless place”; in Central Asia, this word generally refers to desert and semi-desert places. In terms of the totality of desert areas, the Gobi is the largest desert in Asia.
Australian desert
Australian desert. 647,000 km²
The deserts have taken over the vast territory of Australia, almost half of the continent. A significant part of the Australian deserts in the west are located on a huge plateau 200 m above sea level. Some deserts rise even higher, up to 600 m. The complex terrain divides the giant Australian desert into several autonomous ones. The largest of them, the Great Sandy Desert, is located in the northwestern part of the continent; to the south lies the huge Great Victoria Desert. In the northern part of the Great Sandy Desert, the sands are red-brown in color; other areas are covered not with sand, but with dark rubble and pebbles.
Among the sandy deserts of Australia, the largest is the Arunta Desert, or Simpson Desert. It is located in the central part of the continent, closer to the west.
Kalahari
Kalahari. 600,000 km²
The Kalahari Desert, the largest of the deserts in South Africa, covers an area of about 600 thousand square meters. km and is located in Botswana, South Africa and Namibia. The Kalahari Desert occupies southwestern part the depression of the same name, located at an altitude of 900 m. In the west, the edge of the Kalahari lies at an altitude of 1500 m above sea level, in the east - even higher; the lowest point of the desert is at an altitude of 840 m above sea level. The surface of the Kalahari is composed of horizontally lying continental strata of sandstones, pebbles and breccias.
Recently, the desert has been expanding its borders and invading the territory of Angola, Zimbabwe and Zambia. Precipitation (up to 500 mm) is confined to the summer period (November - April), but its value varies significantly both in time and area. The Kalahari is one of the hottest regions of South Africa. The average maximum temperature is plus 29°, and the average minimum temperature is plus 12°.
Karakum
Karakum. 350,000 km²
Karakum, sandy desert in the south of Central Asia, occupies more than 80% of the entire territory of Turkmenistan.
Karakum in Turkmen means “black sand” (from the Turkic “kara” - black and “kum” - sand). Despite such a frightening name, the desert is inhabited: there are several thousand species of arthropods, several dozen species of reptiles, two dozen species of mammals and about three dozen species of birds, and about 270 species of plants.
Turkmenbashi’s plans were to replace the ugly desert with a beautiful forest by planting trees in certain areas, and it was also planned to build a zoo for penguins on its territory, which would attract visitors from all over the world. After the death of the Father of all Turkmens, fortunately, nothing has been heard about these plans yet.