The largest desert in the world. The largest deserts On which continent is the largest desert located?
Deserts are vast natural areas of both the Southern and Northern Hemispheres, divided into several types according to their composition, occupy more than 16.5 million km 2, occupying more than 11 percent of all land. On Earth there are sandy and saline, clayey and rocky, and even snowy deserts.
Sahara – a huge desert with an area of 8600 km2, located on the territory of 11 states. Despite the more common sandy type of territories, the surface of the Sahara does not belong to one specific category of deserts, since its areas cover all desert types, with the exception of snowy ones, which are a separate natural zone. Despite the popular belief that deserts are waterless, the Nile flows through the Sahara, the tributaries of which form a stable, permanent transit watercourse.
These vast, often lifeless spaces are inhabited by approximately 2.5 million people, typically local indigenous peoples and ethnic groups, largely living a closed, nomadic lifestyle, subject to seasonal changes.
2nd place 
Libyan desert occupies an area of 2 million km 2, stretching over the territory of three states. Quite a few oases are inhabited by Berbers and Libyans, representing isolated centers of life whose main occupation is the cultivation of grain crops and fruit trees, as well as cattle breeding. In the Libyan Desert there are numerous outlets of groundwater, which significantly affect the life of the entire natural zone.
3rd place 
Nubian desert mostly located on the territory of Sudan, and to a lesser extent on the territory of Egypt, its total area is 1240 thousand km 2. In the northern part, sandy and rocky lands smoothly transform into the Arabian desert. The climate in this natural area causes a lack of precipitation for several years. The maximum temperature in these places reaches 53 degrees. The Nubian Desert is home to up to 2.5 million people belonging to more than 20 different nationalities.
4th place 
Gobi Desert , with an area of 1.3 million km 2, occupies vast territories of China and Mongolia. For several years, the Chinese government has been actively fighting the rapid advance of the desert, deciding to carry out artificial landscaping. Climatic changes in the Gobi Desert reach a difference of 100 degrees; with summer temperatures within 55°C, winter temperatures can reach -55°C.
Due to its extent and the difference in climatic biological conditions, the desert is not only actively populated, but has economic importance based on agriculture, natural resource extraction and livestock raising.
Desert North American highlands The large basin occupies an area of more than 500 thousand km 2, which, together with mountain ranges, reaches a size of 1036 thousand km 2. This is one of the driest places on the continent, representing almost lifeless spaces that are of particular interest to tourists who prefer to spend time in harmony with nature. But in addition to the main uninhabited territory in the Great Basin, there is the city of Salt Lake City with a population exceeding 180 thousand, which became the capital of the Olympic Games in 2002.
Sandy desert of Rub al-Khali extends over 650 thousand km 2, occupying the territories of four states located in the Middle East. Almost completely lifeless spaces are used in rare cases for the extraction of gypsum, quartz and gravel; the lack of vegetation and water does not make the development of agriculture and animal husbandry possible. This is one of the hottest and driest deserts in the world with the most constant climate indicators, with temperatures of 47°C stable for July and August.
On our blue planet Earth there are many areas colored yellow by heat and drought - they are called deserts. Approximately a third of the land surface consists of various types of deserts with very little rainfall and vegetation. Some of them formed naturally over millions of years, while others appeared in just a couple of decades due to thoughtless human actions. Some of them are sandy, while others are salty; some are hot, others are cold.
The desert is an incredibly dangerous and difficult terrain to survive. But here’s what’s surprising: animals are found only in a few of the deserts, but people have created settlements in almost all of them, farm and even grow food for export! Each such arid area is somehow unique and beautiful in its own way. We present to you the top 6 deserts of our world.
1 The Atacama Desert (Spanish: Desierto de Atacama) is a sparsely populated area in Chile, South America. This plateau, stretching from the Pacific Ocean to the Andes Mountains, experiences virtually no rain. Due to the unusually low annual rainfall (less than 1 mm), this desert is often called the driest and harshest in the world. This plateau is located on a gigantic territory, stretching for about 1 thousand km². In size it is comparable to some states, for example, Iceland.
In such a vast area, it is no wonder that precipitation falls unevenly, if at all! This desert is so arid that some parts of the desert have not seen water for more than several hundred years, and in the harshest areas, weather monitoring stations have not recorded even a slight increase in humidity. And this is for the entire history of weather research in the region! Unlike other famous deserts, such as the Sahara, the Atacama is quite cold. The desert stretches along the coast of Chile near the Pacific Ocean, the largest and oldest in the world, and lies at the high altitude of the Andes Mountains (over 6800 m), on which glaciers do not form! This aridity and almost complete absence of snow is due to the fact that a cold stream passing through the Pacific Ocean (Peruvian Current) prevents the formation of precipitation.
It’s hard to believe, but the desert is literally teeming with life - on its territory you can find more than two hundred species of living creatures (of course, these are mainly different types of lizards). What’s even more surprising is that in such harsh conditions, at a huge altitude of 3000 meters above sea level, not only insects and reptiles survive, but the tiny town of Antagofasta exists!
2
It is believed that the Sahara is the largest desert in the whole world, but this is not entirely true. It is the third largest desert after the Arctic and Antarctic. This unimaginably huge space occupies an area almost equal to half of Africa (8.7 million km²). The Sahara is on the maps of eleven African countries! 
This desert is also considered the most severe in terms of climate. The area is so arid that in some parts of it rain does not fall for several years, even decades, and if it does, it is in extremely small quantities. Sandstorms and severe temperature changes between night and day are some of the biggest problems in the area and are caused by winds coming here from the Arabian Peninsula. As the wind moves southwest, the desert air warms, dissipating moisture that might have fallen as rain. These same winds raise sand and swirl into sandstorms. The speed of such wind can exceed 50 m.s. The dehydrated air instantly heats up, and just as instantly, as soon as the sun sets below the horizon, it becomes icy.
Of course, it is extremely difficult to survive in such difficult conditions, and there are very few people living in the incredibly vast territory of the Sahara Desert. They all settled on small islands of greenery along the banks of the Nile. According to recent estimates, there are only about 2.5 million such people.
3 Libyan desert. This desert, like the Sahara, is located in Africa, west of the majestic Nile River, in the eastern part of Libya, Egypt and Sudan, and covers an area of about 2 million km².
The Libyan desert is called the hottest desert on the planet; it is here that researchers noted the highest air temperature on Earth! World famous for its tropical climate and almost unbearable dry heat of at least 35 °C, with daily temperature fluctuations of 15 ° -16 °C. In July, temperatures usually approach 50°C, and in rocky areas even reach 100°C! As in the Sahara, terrible sandstorms and “dry fog” arise here, a very unusual natural phenomenon. On days of such fog, dust seems to freeze in the air, and visibility is critically reduced.
Even in such conditions, there are settlements of people who live in oases generated by groundwater approaching close to the surface of the earth. They engage in livestock farming and grow date palms for export.
4 The Namib Desert is called the oldest desert in the world. This desert can be called coastal, as it is located along the southwestern coast of the African continent, near the Atlantic Ocean. It stretches for 2000 km and crosses the state of Angola, Namibia and South Africa. It is very difficult to imagine this, but this desert has existed for about 80 million years; it began to form in prehistoric antiquity, at a time when dinosaurs existed on our planet.
Many travelers consider the Namib to be one of the most picturesque deserts in the world. Here, over millions of years, landscapes of indescribable beauty with giant dunes have formed; In addition, this territory, where living conditions are not as harsh as in other deserts, is home to many amazing animals, such as rhinoceroses, antelopes, zebras, impalas, lions and elephants. In some parts of the desert, real safari tours are organized especially for tourists. As part of these tours, you can see all these animals in their usual habitat, as well as climb one of the dunes and admire the desert from an unusually high height.
5 The Uyuni Desert is not at all like the sandy deserts described above. This is an amazing salt marsh plateau, and, judging by experts, very ancient. About 40,000 years ago, this place boasted a high-mountain lake, where streams flowed from the peaks of the Andes. However, over time, the lake evaporated irrevocably under the influence of climatic conditions and insufficient drainage of the lake. Now it is a deserted and very salty territory of more than 10 thousand km².
6 Aralkum is a desert that all people on earth need to know about, regardless of where they live and what they do. This desert appeared on the beautiful face of the Earth not over millions of years, but in the shortest possible time, in our time. Aralkum was formed on the site of the majestic Aral Sea, with an area of 68,000 km², which gradually dried up due to the human factor. “Man is the master of nature”: this is exactly what the Soviet leadership thought and decided to divert the flow of rivers flowing into the sea in the other direction to irrigate giant cotton fields. This led to the monstrous desertification of the reservoir; today only 10 percent of its former territory remains. In Uzbekistan, besides Aralkum, there are two more deserts formed in such an unnatural way - Kyzylkum and Ustyurt.
Unfortunately, this desert is not only a cemetery for once sunken ships, it also poisons nature with its toxic emissions. The fact is that this territory was abundantly irrigated with poisonous agents to kill insects, and the poisoned dust is still blown by the wind to various parts of the world.
This time we will talk about the largest deserts in the world, which amaze with their length and grandeur. People have always associated the desert with something large-scale, powerful and mysterious. Many ancient civilizations were buried under sandy valleys. How many secrets man still has to learn, hidden from view in the endless latitudes!
The largest deserts in the world
Antarctica
Antarctica is the only desert on the planet that consists of layers of ice and snow. The total area of Antarctica is 14,107,000 square kilometers. Despite the presence of large volumes of frozen water, Antarctica is recognized as one of the driest places on the planet. The severe frosts in this region “dry up” all possible moisture that is in the area. The amount of snowfall in Antarctica is no more than 4 centimeters per year. The lowest temperature in Antarctica was recorded relatively recently - in 1983. Then the temperature dropped to 89 degrees below zero Celsius.
Atacama
This great desert is the official territory of Chile. The title of “The driest desert on the planet” belongs to Atakema. Due to drought, each plant that is able to survive in such extreme conditions has a unique structure and has developed special mechanisms for existence. Most plants in this desert, during the driest periods, are able to stop their growth and reproduction for some time.
Salar de Uyuni
This great salt desert is located in Bolivia. According to expert research, the amount of salt in the desert is about 10 billion tons. Salt dissolved during rain turns the desert into a real giant salt “mirror”. Seeing such a spectacle with your own eyes is worth a lot. Salt water, when the sun's rays hit it, due to a different refractive index, achieves a specular effect. In sunny weather, a person can easily see his reflection under his feet.
Kalahari
Translated from Berber, the name of the desert “Kalahari” is translated as “tormenting”. This desert is majestic in its size. Its possessions start from Botswana and Nambia, and end in the territory of the Republic of South Africa. The area of the entire desert is 600,000 square kilometers. Moreover, due to such a natural phenomenon as alluvium, the size of the Kalahari is constantly increasing, while selecting new areas of civilization. Among the countries affected by the expansion of the Kalahari are Zimbabwe, Angola and Zambia.
Desert of Australia
Everyone knows that Australia is famous for its kangaroos, koalas and endless beaches. But few people imagine that almost half of the Australian continent is occupied by desert, seemingly consisting of many small arid areas, with a total area of 647,000 square kilometers. The word “desert” is associated in our minds with a lot of sand, but here again the Australian deserts stand out among others. In addition to sand, in wild desert areas you can also find vast stone spaces consisting of gravel. Even the color of ordinary sand in sandy areas has an unusual red tint. The Australian desert is famous for its red dunes, which are visited by thousands of tourists every year. The height of some red dunes is more than 40 m.
Gobi
This desert is located in China and Mongolia. The seemingly endless expanses of the Gobi Desert originate from the Tien Shan and Altai mountains and end in the steppes of Mongolia, not far from the Yellow River. The total area of the Gobi Desert is 1,166,000 square kilometers. The name of the Gobi Desert is translated from Mongolian as “waterless place.”
Arabian desert
This desert is the second largest in the world in terms of its extent. Its total area is 2,300,000 square kilometers. The Arabian Desert is located on the peninsula of the same name and lies in the territories of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Iraq and Syria. Due to strong winds that cause powerful dust storms, almost the entire desert is completely uninhabited. Also in the desert there are frequent temperature fluctuations at different times of the day. During the day, a raw egg can easily be boiled in a few minutes if you leave it on the sand under the full sun. And at night the stones literally begin to crack from the cold.
Sahara
The Sahara is the largest desert in the world, or as it is commonly called the “Queen of Deserts”. The desert area is 9,065,000 square kilometers. Its size is only slightly smaller than the total area of all the United States of America combined. The Sahara Desert is located in northern Africa and covers the territories of the following countries: Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Mali, Niger, Morocco, Sudan and Chad. The Sahara is famous for its mirages, as up to 200 thousand cases of their appearance are observed during the year. Special maps have even been developed for tourists, which indicate areas where mirages are likely to appear.
Sahara 9,065,000 km²
The world's largest desert, with an area of about 9,065,000 km² - slightly smaller than the area of the United States of America. The Sahara is located in North Africa, on the territory of more than ten states (Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Western Sahara, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Chad, Sudan). The Sahara does not lend itself to categorization within one type of desert, although the predominant type is sandy-stony.
In the Sahara, about 160 thousand mirages are observed annually (an optical phenomenon in the atmosphere: the reflection of light by a boundary between layers of air that are sharply different in density. For an observer, such a reflection consists of the fact that, together with a distant object (or part of the sky), its virtual image is visible, displaced relative to subject.) . They can be stable and wandering, vertical and horizontal. Even special maps of caravan routes have been compiled with an assessment of the places where mirages are usually observed..
Arabian desert. 2,330,000 km²
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 spaces of the Arabian Desert are occupied by moving dunes and sand massifs; in its center is 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 normal for deserts with large daily amplitudes.Temperature range - 40-50°C in summer, average temperature in winter - 5-15°C, although it can drop to 0°C. 
Gobi. 1,166,000 km²
A vast region in Central Asia (in the territories of Mongolia and China), characterized by desert and semi-desert landscapes. The Gobi extends 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 of Mongolia, in the south the region is limited by the Nanshan and Altyntag mountains and the Yellow River. The Gobi consists of several geographical regions: the Trans-Altai Gobi, the Mongolian Gobi, the Alashan Gobi, the Gashun Gobi and the Dzungarian Gobi. The word “Gobi” is of Mongolian origin and means “waterless place”; in Central Asia, this word generally refers to desert and semi-desert landscapes. In terms of the totality of desert areas, the Gobi is the largest desert in Asia. 
Australian desert. 647,000 km²
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, the largest is the Arunta Desert, or Simpson Desert. It is located in the central part of the continent, closer to the west:
Arunta Desert 
Simpson Desert
Great Sandy Desert
Kalahari. 600,000 km²
Desert in South Africa within the states of Botswana, South Africa and Namibia. Recently, due to an increase in area, it has been invading the territory of Angola, Zimbabwe and Zambia. The area of the Kalahari is about 600 thousand km2. The climate of the Kalahari is arid with summer maximum precipitation and mild winters, with aridity increasing towards the southeast. 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. 350,000 km²
Sandy desert in southern Central Asia, covering most of Turkmenistan. The area is 350,000 km². The desert consists of Zaunguz Karakum, Central Karakum, Lowland Karakum and South-Eastern Karakum.
Chocolates are named after this desert. 
Desert. How much has been said about her! How many civilizations are buried under its sands? How many secrets have not yet been discovered, resting in its endless latitudes!!!
Today we will plunge into the world of amazing spaces. Into the world of DESERT and not just the biggest desert.
1 The Sahara Desert is the largest desert in the world
The real Queen of Deserts is the largest desert in the world. Its area is 9,065,000 square meters, which is only slightly less than the territory occupied by the United States of America. The Sahara is located in northern Africa and occupies part of the territory of such states as Egypt, Libya, Algeria, Morocco, Mali, Niger, Chad, Sudan and Western Sahara. When mirages are mentioned, it is certainly worth remembering the Sahara, since here it is the undisputed leader. During the year, from 100 to 200 thousand mirages occur on its territory. There are even special “mirage” maps that indicate the places where they are most likely to appear.
2
Its size is 2,330,000 sq. km. This is the second largest desert, which is located on the territories of such states as Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Syria and Jordan. Much of the desert is uninhabited, due to frequent dust storms and strong winds. In addition, there is a large fluctuation in daily temperatures. During the day, an egg left on the sand can turn into a fried egg within 10 minutes. At night the stones crack from the cold.
3 Gobi
A desert located in Mongolia and China. It starts from the Altai and Tien Shan mountains and ends with the steppes of Mongolia and the Yellow River. The territory of the Gobi is 1,166,000 km2. Translated from Mongolian, Gobi means “waterless place.”
4
Australia is the country of kangaroos and funny koalas. The country of cockatoos and endless beaches where it is so pleasant to relax! And at the same time, almost half of the continent is given over to deserts, the total territory of which is 647,000 km2. Despite the fact that the desert, in our minds, is a collection of sand, the Australian desert is something special. Here you can find both the familiar sandy deserts and stone deserts, the entire space of which is covered with fine gravel. Moreover, the Australian desert is also famous for its red dunes located in the Simpson Desert. The height of some of them is as much as 40 meters!!!
When we hear the word Kalahari, which means “tormenting” in Berber, we think of Africa. This famous desert stretches from Botswana and Namibia to the Republic of South Africa. The territory occupied by the Kalahari, or as the locals call it Karri-Karri, is 600,000 km2. In addition, as a result of alluvium, its area is constantly increasing, taking away more and more new areas from civilization. The countries that have become the latest victims of the painful desert include countries such as Angola, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
6 Karakum
Translated from Turkic, “Karakum” is translated as “black sands”. The territory occupied by this desert is 350,000 km2, and the height of the sand ridges in some places reaches 60 meters! The Karakum occupies most of Turkmenistan. Small vegetation predominates here; local residents use the desert as pasture for livestock.
7 Taklamakan
A desert located in Central Asia and covering 337,600 km2. In 2008, record low temperatures were observed on its territory, and in some places there was even snowfall!
8 Salar de Uyuni
The world's largest salt desert, located in Bolivia. According to experts, the amount of salt contained on its territory is estimated at 10 billion tons. When it rains, salt, dissolving in water, turns the desert into the world's largest salty “mirror.” This is due to the fact that salt water has a different refractive index, and when light hits it, it is reflected, similar to the reflection in an ordinary mirror.
9 Atacama
The largest desert located in Chile. It is considered the driest place on earth. Plants growing on its territory have developed special mechanisms for survival in this harsh climate. During dry periods, they even abandon such functions as usual for plants, such as growth and reproduction.
10
The world's only ice desert. Its area is about 14,107,000 km². Contrary to popular belief, Antarctica is the driest place on earth! This is explained by the fact that extreme cold literally “dries up” the moisture, and the amount of precipitation there does not exceed 4 cm per year. Interesting fact: in 1983, the lowest temperature recorded in Antarctica was minus 89 degrees Celsius.