2. Climate
Adaptations
Significance to humans
Seasons
Animals
Plants
3. Trade wind deserts
The trade winds in two belts on the equatorial sides of
the Horse Latitudes heat up as they move toward the
Equator. These dry winds dissipate cloud cover,
allowing more sunlight to heat the land. Most of the
major deserts of the world lie in areas crossed by the
trade winds. The world's largest desert, the Sahara of
North Africa, which has experienced temperatures as
high as 57° C, is a trade wind desert.
The Sahara of Africa is the world's largest desert. It
contains complex linear dunes that are separated by
almost 6 kilometers. (Skylab photograph).
4. The Sahara of Africa is the world's
largest desert. It contains complex
linear dunes that are separated by
almost 6 kilometers. (Skylab
photograph).
5. Midlatitude deserts
Midlatitude deserts occur between 30°
and 50° N. and S., poleward of the
subtropical highpressure zones. These
deserts are in interior drainage basins far
from oceans and have a wide range of
annual temperatures. The Sonoran
Desert of southwestern North America is
a typical midlatitude desert.
6. A rare rain in the Tengger, a midlatitude
desert of China, exposes ripples and a
small blowout on the left. Winds will
shortly cover or remove these features.
7. Rain shadow deserts are formed
because tall mountain ranges prevent
moisture-rich clouds from reaching areas
on the lee, or protected side, of the
range. As air rises over the mountain,
water is precipitated and the air loses its
moisture content. A desert is formed in
the leeside "shadow" of the range.
8. This Landsat image shows the Turpan Depression in the rain
shadow desert of the Tian Shan of China. A sand sea is in the
lower center on the right, but desert pavement, gray in color,
dominates this desert. The few oases in the desert and the
vegetation in the mountains at the top are in red. A blanket of
snow separates the vegetation in the Tian Shan from the rain
shadow desert.
10. Like many desert animals, red kangaroos
prefer to sleep in the day, when the
desert is at it’s hottest, and wake up at
nighttime, when it is actually very cold.
That explains why many animals have
fur, even in hot deserts.
11. An addax has long horns. No two addax
look the same. They all have brown hair,
but their skin tones vary. Addax never
drink water! Instead they get all the
liquid they need from the food they eat.
12. The desert larks’ feathers
are a light brown color,
which means that it is well
camouflaged in the desert
sand
13. Many plants are found in the desert.
They usually grow close to the ground.
These plants have special parts that help
them save water.
The special parts are: thick stem, shallow
and wide roots, and thick skin covered
with spines instead of leaves
14.
15. There are several plants that are able to survive in the
desert.
Most plants survive by their long roots to reach
underground water sources.
Prickly Pear
A Variety of cactuses
Dragon Tree
Octillo Plant
Desert Spoon
Boojum
16. To avoid the heat, people in deserts have
to dress up carefully :
The long, flowing robes shield the skin
from the sun and allow air to reach the
body. The clothes are loose-fitting to
prevent immediate sweat evaporation so
that the body does not dehydrate so
quickly in the very dry air. Headgear shields
the head from the sun. Veils protect the
face and keep the sand out of the mouth.
The clothes also keep the people warm at
night and in winter
22. ANTARTIC DESERT
With a whooping 14.0 million square kilometers,
Antarctica is the largest desert in the world. Situated
in the Antarctic region of the southern hemisphere,
this desert is also the fifth largest of the seven
continents of the world. An amazing fact about
Antarctica is that it increases in its size during winter,
due to the build up of sea ice around the coasts.
More than 99% of the area is covered with ice and as
on 21st July, 1983, the lowest temperature which was
recorded in this continent was a chilling -89.2°C.
23. The largest of all the hot deserts around the world, and
covering an area of 9,400,000 square kilometers, is the
Sahara desert. It is known to be inhabited by 4 million
people. In its northern parts, the desert has a sub tropical
climate and in the south, a tropical one. Some of the sand
dunes found in this region are known to be as high as 590
ft. The Sahara desert plants include
grass, succulents, shrubs and trees. Fauna in the Sahara
desert comprise dromedary camels and goats (the
domesticated ones), deathstalker Scorpion, secretary
bird, pale fox, spotted hyena, fennec fox, Nubian
bustards, addax, the Sahara cheetah, monitor
lizards, Sand vipers, hyrax, and ostrich.
24. The second largest desert in North America, the Chihuahua
desert covers a large area of about 362,600 square kilometers;
making it rank third among the largest deserts of the Western
Hemisphere. The desert has a mild temperature which ranges
from 35 - 400C. Unlike other deserts, it is biologically more diverse
and includes plants such as agave, creosote bush, mesquite
tree, prickly pear, sotol, peyote and lechuguilla to name a few. It
has a wide range of animal species ranging from desert
cottontail, black-tailed jack rabbit, cactus mouse, kit fox, cactus
wren to greater road runner. Reptiles include Mojave
rattlesnake, coachwhip snake, new Mexican whiptail lizard,
spinys, horned, collared and geckos. Red-spotted toads and
barred tiger salamander can also be found on this desert.
25. Also known as the Great Indian desert, the Thar
desert occupies an area of more than 200,000 square
kilometers. Most of it is in the Indian state of
Rajasthan, and runs into the southern portion of
Haryana and Punjab. Desert animals such as the
Great Indian Bustard, the black buck, the Indian
Gazelle and the Indian Wild ass are found here.
Eagles, harriers, falcons, buzzards, etc., are among
the many species of birds that are commonly spotted
in this region. The desert's wide variety of flora
includes many types of tree species, small trees and
shrubs and herbs.
26. This desert covers an area of 2,300,000
square kilometers, and stretches from
Yemen to the Persian Gulf and Oman to
Jordan and Iraq. Calligonum crinitum,
cornulaca Arabica, cyperus
conglomeratus are the typical plants of
this desert. The wildlife in this extreme
environment include dromedary camel,
gazelles, sand cats, oryx, spiny-tailed
lizards, monitor lizard and Arabian cobra.
27. Southern Nevada, Western Arizona, Southwestern
Utah, and Southeastern California come within the
Mojave desert, which covers an area of 25,000
square kilometers. Plants which have adapted
themselves to the environment of the desert are
joshua tree, pinyon pine, mesquite, California juniper
and many other types of cactus and shrubs. The
desert has a wide range of animals and birds;
common examples include gopher snake,
hummingbird, kangaroo rat, Mojave green
rattlesnake, Mojave ground squirrel, rosy boa,
tarantula, and Western Diamondback Rattlesnake to
name a few.
