Learn about deserts

1. Try to determine which of these four habitats is being described.

2. This is a quick memory game.
 You can play alone or with a friend.
 There is absolutely no assignment to go with this, so
when you see a question, you just think or say the
answer but there is nothing to write. Have some fun
with this.

3. Habitat
 Habitat is a place where plants and animals meet their
needs for:
 Food
 Water
 Shelter
 A place to raise their young

4. This habitat:
 Gets less rain in a year than most plants and animals
need to survive
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/Amargosa_desert.jpg

5. Many animals:
 Hide below ground or under rocks in order to keep
cool
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/57/Striped_S
kunk.jpg/1200px-Striped_Skunk.jpg
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6d/Fox_Den_2_%2815
198999401%29.jpg

6. Temperatures here can be
 Very hot and dry
https://get.pxhere.com/photo/landscape-sand-rock-desert-valley-formation-cliff-usa-america-table-
mountain-places-of-interest-geology-utah-badlands-plateau-wide-navajo-ecosystem-wadi-butte-
reddish-landform-monument-valley-south-west-wild-west

7. Temperatures can be
 Extremely cold
http://www.ageofarmour.com/images/snow/desert-snow-3.jpg

8. Not many plants and animals live
here
https://get.pxhere.com/photo/nature-ground-texture-desert-floor-wall-land-asphalt-dry-dirt-soil-
dried-surface-earth-climate-disaster-drought-dry-land-526703.jpg

9. Light is very bright during the day.
 There is little to no shade here.
https://get.pxhere.com/photo/landscape-sand-desert-dune-adventure-summer-travel-dry-africa-desert-landscape-
outdoors-sunny-hot-habitat-sahara-wadi-landform-erg-natural-environment-geographical-feature-aeolian-landform-
singing-sand-541767.jpg

10. Little moisture and
precipitation
In geography, an oasis or cienega is an isolated
area of vegetation in a desert, typically
surrounding a spring or similar water source.
Oases also provide habitat for animals and even
humans if the area is big enough. The location of
oases has been of critical importance for trade
and transportation routes in desert areas;
caravans must travel via oases so that supplies of
water and food can be replenished. Thus,
political or military control of an oasis has in
many cases meant control of trade on a
particular route. For example, the oases of
Awjila, Ghadames, and Kufra, situated in
modern-day Libya, have at various times been
vital to both North-South and East-West trade in
the Sahara Desert.
Oases are formed from underground rivers or
aquifers such as an artesian aquifer, where water
can reach the surface naturally by pressure or by
man-made wells. Occasional brief
thunderstorms provide subterranean water to
sustain natural oases, such as the Tuat. Substrata
of impermeable rock and stone can trap water
and retain it in pockets, or on long faulting
subsurface ridges or volcanic dikes water can
collect and percolate to the surface. Any
incidence of water is then used by migrating
birds, which also pass seeds with their droppings
which will grow at the water's edge forming an
oasis.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Wetlands/S
elected_article/30
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f5/Oasis_in_Libya.jpg/1200px-
Oasis_in_Libya.jpg
UBARI OASIS IN SOUTHWESTERN LIBYA. PHOTO: SFIVAT.

11. What is an oasis?
Oases that are fed by above-ground
rivers, like the Nile River, can be
created by underground aquifers
and rock layers thousands of miles
away. This vital relationship
between oases and rivers mean
that water sources can be
maintained and created even with
no water sources visible nearby.
Other geological features like
lakes, streams and oceans can also
be sources of water in an oasis
depending on the location.
Wikipedia. Oasis. Web November
2014. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oasis
National Geographic. Education.
Encyclopedia: Oasis. November 2014. Web
November
2014. http://education.nationalgeographic.c
om/education/encyclopedia/oasis/?ar_a=1
 AN OASIS AROUND MANZANITA SPRING. THE SPRING FLOWS STEADILY YEAR-
ROUND, MAKING IT AN IMPORTANT WATER SOURCE FOR THE DESERT
SURROUNDING THE GUADALUPE MOUNTAINS IN TEXAS. PHOTO: WING-CHI POON
 https://www.geographyrealm.com/oasis-get-water/

12. Sudden rains result in plants that
bloom very quickly.
https://adventuresofpotlibaba.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/blooming-desert-badlands-utah-9.jpg

13. Plants
 Store water and use it slowly
 Most plants have a thick, waxy coating that keeps
moisture inside.
https://i.vimeocdn.com/video/410346332_1280x720.jpg
https://i.stack.imgur.com
/WMWSy.jpg

14. Some of the plants that live here
are
 Cactus/cacti
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb
/a/a3/Late_Bloomer.jpg/220px-Late_Bloomer.jpg
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1
/1c/Various_Cactaceae.jpg

15. Mesquite
https://farm3.stat
icflickr.com/2579
/3935043335_5bfe
e6146f_z.jpg
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wiki
pedia/commons/thumb/1/16/Velve
t_mesquite_catkins.jpg/200px-
Velvet_mesquite_catkins.jpg
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipe
dia/commons/7/7d/Prosopis_alba.jpg

16. Ocotilla
https://c1.staticflickr.com/7/6065/6094609605_382ff5
0758_z.jpg
https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3662/4565800540_acae23
6110_b.jpg

17. Yucca
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/56/Yucca_fi
lamentosa.jpg

18. Animals
 Many get their water from the food that they eat.
https://lifeisaroadtrip.files.wordpress.com/2
011/03/5490104955_08e4c5f8df_b.jpg
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/com
mons/thumb/1/11/Spermophilus_tereticaudus
_Phoenix_1.jpg/1200px-
Spermophilus_tereticaudus_Phoenix_1.jpg
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons
/6/6d/Jackrabbit2_crop.JPG
http://www.prbo.org/calpif/images/GIWO_
IT.jpg
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c9/199
9_Sonoran_Desert_stamp_sheet.jpg

19. Some are hot.

21. Some deserts are
not hot at all.
Antarctica, also called the South
Pole, is home to some well-known
animals.
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-
EdpscvvIEDU/UbjN4r7TqtI/AAAAAAAABu8/RpOECrIPiIM/s1600/an
tartic+wildlife.png
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d9/Antarct
ica_regions_map.png/250px-Antarctica_regions_map.png

22. Antarctica is a cold
desert
https://www.universetoday.com/111827/nasa-west-
antarctic-ice-sheet-findings-glacier-loss-appears-
unstoppable/
https://www.express.co.uk/news/science/616356/What-global-warming-Nasa-Antarctic-ice-
INCREASING-135BILLION-TONNES-year

23. This habitat:
 Is the driest.
 Has the least animals living in it.
 Has the fewest plants.
 Would be hardest to find food in.
 Name this habitat.
 Let’s see how much you know!
 Remember the pictures.
 Think about what we talked about.
 Think about what you learned.

24. This habitat benefits people
 Provides a place for scientific research
 Minerals
 Medicines from plants
 Recreational activities
 Cover about 30% of Earth’s surface.
 They are a part of the Earth’s system that creates
constant recycling and renewal of air and wind

25. Biotic & abiotic features
 Show what you know!
 Name four living things that live in this habitat.
 Name four non-living things you would find in this
habitat.

26. Good luck!
 Thank you for watching.
https://www.hdwallpapers.in/walls/cat_and_fish-HD.jpg

27. Credits
Economic Oasis: Revealing the true value of the Mojave Desert:
http://www.defenders.org/resources/publications/programs_and_policy/science_and_economics/conservation_economic
s/economic_oasis.pdf
Defenders of Wildlife: http://www.defenders.org/wildlife_and_habitat/habitat/desert.php
Desert Biome Maps: http://www.enchantedlearning.com/biomes/desert/desert.shtml