The largest desert in India; a barren, dry and empty place. And yet many millions live there and have done for centuries…..

1. Geography
Group Work
Roll No. = 26-30

3. Introduction
• It is the world's 18th largest subtropical desert.
• The origin of the Thar Desert is a controversial subject. Some
consider it to be 4000 to 10,000 years old, whereas others state
that aridity started in this region much earlier. Another theory
states that area turned to desert relatively recently: perhaps
around 2000 - 1500 BC.
• Most studies did not share the opinion that the
palaeochannels of the Sarasvati River coincide with the bed of
the present-day Ghaggar and believe that the Sutlej along
with the Yamuna once flowed into the present riverbed. It has
been postulated that the Sutlej was the main tributary of the
Ghaggar and that subsequently the tectonic movements
might have forced the Sutlej westwards, the Yamuna
eastwards and thus dried up the Ghaggar-Hakra.
• Studies on Kalibangan in the desert region by Robert
Raikes indicate that it was abandoned because the river dried
up.

4. Location and Description
•The Thar Desert also known as the Great Indian
Desert is a large, arid region in the northwestern part
of the Indian subcontinent and forms a natural
boundary running along the border between India and
Pakistan.
•Thar Desert extends from the Sutlej River ,
surrounded by the Aravalli Ranges on the east, on the
south by the salt marsh known as the Great Rann of
Kutch (parts of which are sometimes included in the
Thar), and on the west by the Indus River.

5. • With an area of more than
200,000 km2 (77,000 sq mi), within
the Indian state of Rajasthan,
covering the districts
of Jaisalmer, Barmer, Bikaner and
Jodhpur, and some region of the
states
of Punjab, Haryana and Gujarat.
• In Pakistan, the desert covers
eastern Sindh Province and the
southeastern portion
of Punjab Province, where it joins
the Cholistan Desert near
Bahawalpur. The Tharparkar
District is one of the major parts of
the desert
area. Tharparkar consists of two
words: Thar means 'desert' while
Parkar stands for 'the other side'.

6. Location

7. Weather Conditions
• The amount of annual rainfall in the desert is generally
low, ranging from about 4 inches (100 mm) or less in the
west to about 20 inches (500 mm) in the east.
Precipitation amounts fluctuate widely from year to year.
About 90 percent of the total annual rainfall occurs during
the season of the southwest monsoon, from July to
September. During other seasons the prevailing wind
blows from the northeast. May and June are the hottest
months of the year, with temperatures rising to 122 °F (50
°C). During January, the coldest month, the mean
minimum temperature ranges between 41 and 50 °F (5 and
10 °C), and frost is frequent. Dust storms and dust-raising
winds, often blowing with velocities of 87 to 93 miles (140
to 150 km) per hour, are common in May and June.

9. Physiography and Geology
• The desert sands cover Archean (early
Precambrian) gneiss (metamorphic rocks formed more than
2.5 billion years ago), Proterozoic (later Precambrian)
sedimentary rocks (about 540 million to 2.5 billion years old),
and more recent alluvium (material deposited by rivers). The
surface sand is aeolian (wind-deposited) sand that has
accumulated over the last 1.8 million years.
• The desert presents an undulating surface, with high and low
sand dunes separated by sandy plains and low barren hills,
or bhakars, which rise abruptly from the surrounding plains.
The dunes are in continual motion and take on varying shapes
and sizes. Older dunes, however, are in a semistabilized or
stabilized condition, and many rise to a height of almost 500
feet (150 metres). Several playas (saline lake beds), locally
known as dhands, are scattered throughout the region.

10. • The soils consist of seven main groups—desert
soils, red desertic soils, sierozems (brownish gray
soils), the red and yellow soils of the foothills, the
saline soils of the depressions, and the lithosols
(shallow, weathered soils) and regosols (soft,
loose soils) found in the hills. All these soils are
predominantly coarse-textured, well-drained, and
calcareous (calcium-bearing). A thick
accumulation of lime often occurs at varying
depths. The soils are generally infertile and,
because of severe wind erosion, are overblown
with sand.

11. Wildlife
• Stretches of sand in the desert are
interspersed by hillocks and sandy and gravel
plains. Due to the diversified habitat and
ecosystem, the vegetation, human culture and
animal life in this arid region is very rich in
contrast to the other deserts of the world.
About 23 species of lizard and 25 species of
snakes are found here and several of them are
endemic to the region.

12. • Some wildlife species, which are fast vanishing
in other parts of India, are found in the desert
in large numbers such as
the blackbuck (Antilope cervicapra), chinkara
(Gazella bennettii) and Indian wild ass (Equus
hemionus khur) in the Rann of Kutch. They
have evolved excellent survival strategies,
their size is smaller than other similar animals
living in different conditions, and they are
mainly nocturnal.Other mammals of the Thar
area include a subspecies of red fox (Vulpes
vulpes pusilla) and a wild cat, the caracal.

13. Natural
Vegetation • The natural vegetation of this dry area is classed as
Northern Desert Thorn Forest occurring in small
clumps scattered more or less openly. Density and
size of patches increase from west to east following
the increase in rainfall. Natural vegetation of Thar
Desert is composed of tree, shrub and herb species.
• Small trees and shrubs:-Calligonum
polygonoides, Acacia jacquemontii, Ziziphus
zizyphus, Ziziphus nummularia, Calotropis
procera, Aerva javanica, Euphorbia neriifolia, Cordia
sinensis,Maytenus emarginata, Capparis decidua.

14. • Herbs and Grasses:-Ochthochloa
compressa, Lasiurus scindicus, Panicum
antidotale, Cenchrus
ciliaris, Desmostachya
bipinnata, Ergamopagan species, Phrag
mites species, Typha species, Sorghum
halepense, Citrullus colocynthis.

15. Efforts By:-
• Muskaan Chhonker
• Muskan Tanwar
• Pushpanjali
• Poornima
• Reet Mensharamani

16. THANK
YOU