The Thar Desert is located mainly in the state of Rajasthan in western India. It receives very little rainfall throughout the year, less than 25 cm in some places no rain at all. Due to the lack of water, the area is mostly covered in large mounds of sand with little vegetation. People live near oases where there is available water and fertile land for growing crops. Camels are well-suited to travel through the desert as they can go long periods without drinking water. The Indira Gandhi Canal provides more water for drinking and irrigation, improving conditions.

1. ◤
LIFE IN DESERTS
By ADITYA rao

3. ◤ About
▪ The thar desert is in the western
part of the northern plains of
India.
▪ It is mainly located to the west of
the Aravalli hills in the state of
Rajasthan.
▪ It receives very little rainfall
throughout the year i.e. less than
25 c.m.

4. ◤

5. ◤
▪ Sometimes it doesn't rain at all.
▪ Due to less rainfall, only large
mounds of sand are seen here.
▪ There is no vegetation or very little
due to lack of water.
▪ Therefore this area is called
desert.

6. ◤
KNOW THESE
Desert is an area where
both rainfall and vegetation
are very less. Some deserts
are hot and sandy such as

7. ◤

8. ◤ Condition☁️☁️
▪ You must have heard that when a mountain comes in
the path of monsoon winds, the wind does not go
ahead but rises along the mountains and cools and
rains.
▪ It does not happen here because the Aravalli
mountain is in the parallel direction of the monsoon
wind.
▪ Due to this it does not help in raining.
▪ Due to lack of rain, there is a desert here.
▪

9. ◤
CLiMATE
▪ Due to lack of rain and excessive sand, there is a lot
of variation in the climate here.
▪ The sand heats up quickly due to the heat of the sun
during the day and cold at night.
▪ So days are hot and nights are cold.
▪ Some parts of the Thar Desert are stony and the rest
is very sandy.

10. ◤
▪ Here the sand keeps blowing from one place to
another with strong winds.
▪ This keeps the condition of these mounds changing.
▪ “Loo” blows here in summers.
▪ Loo is a hot and dry wind blowing at high speeds. It
lasts from noon to evening and sometimes even
longer.

11. ◤
VEGETATiON 🌿🌿
▪ Due to lack of water in the desert, dense forests cannot grow.
▪ shrubs and thorn trees and grasses grow here.
▪ The thorn trees like kikar, cactus tree, acacia(babool) and dates are the
main vegetation here.
▪ Small grass grows here during the rainy season.
▪ People live near oasis due to water and fertile land .
▪ Most of the tree and plants are found here which require very little
water.

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13. ◤
🐃🐐Animal husbandry🐑🐪
▪ A little rain in the desert makes the grass grow. That's why
people here also raise animals.
▪ Cows, buffaloes, sheep, goats, camels and many other
types of bulls are reared.
▪ Shepherds also get milk to drink from the sheep and
manure for the fields besides wool.
▪ After October, Shepherd loads his camp on camels and
goes to Haryana, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh in search
of fodder.

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16. ◤
▪ Camel is the main animal here because camel can walk
easily in sand field compared to other animals.
▪ And can remain without drinking water for several days.
Hence it is called ‘Ship of the Desert ‘.
▪ It is also used for driving the plow and pulling the car.
Colorful blankets are made from camel’s fur. Camel milk
is drunk.

17. ◤
🌾Major Crops🌽
▪ In Thar desert crops are cultivated during the rainy season, so most of the crops
are sown here in the month of June-July and harvested in September-October.
▪ In which millet, sorghum, maize, groundnut, sesame, etc. are the main kharif
crops.
▪ These crops grow easily in low water.
▪ Bajra(millet) has main place in Haryanavi and Rajasthani food. Bread made from
bajra (bajre ki roti) and polenta (khichdi) is very famous.
▪ Fruits planted in trees and bushes are dried and eaten throughout the year
▪ Now gradually due to the facilities of irrigation, two or three crops have been
sown in the year and wheat and mustard have also been grown. Also Rajasthan
is the largest producer of mustard.

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20. ◤
WATER IN THAR 💧💦🚰
▪ There are wells to get water but water is found very deep.
▪ Water is saline at many places.
▪ Wherever there is a sweet water well, people come from far to
fill water.
▪ Women have to work hard to get drinking water. They have to
bring water from far away places for their domestic works by
placing several pots on their heads simultaneously.
▪ A lot of their time is spent in this.

21. ◤
▪ The people of the desert use every drop of water. They do not
let the rainy water go in vain.
▪ They build solid tanks under the ground in the courtyard of their
house and store rainwater in it. And spend water throughout the
year.
▪ The water is stored by making a pond on the lower ground of the
village, in which animals drink water.
▪ In Jaisalmer, even today people sit on a wooden post and take a
bath under it there is a pot to store the water spilled from the
bath , which is useful for animals.

22. ◤
▪ Due to the formation of 'Rajasthan Canal' in the 1980s, the water
for drinking and irrigation has become easily available to the
people here.
▪ This canal originates from the 'Harike' dam in Punjab and flows
through the Thar Desert in Rajasthan.
▪ It is now known as 'Indira Gandhi Canal'. It is one of the largest
canal systems in India.
▪ Through this canal, the situation here has started to improve
and crops are being grown.

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25. ◤
RECAPITULATION
▪ 1. In which state is the Thar desert mainly located?
▪ (a) HARYANA. (b) PUNJAB
( c) RAJASTHAN. (d) GUJARAT
2. What is the main animal of thar desert?
(A) BULL. (B) CAMEL
(C ) ELEPHANT. (D) DEER

26. ◤
▪ 3. Rajasthan canal originates from which state of India?
▪ (A) HARYANA. (B) PUNJAB
▪ (C ) GUJARAT. (D) UTTAR
PRADESH
▪ 4. __________ is a hot and dry wind blowing at high speeds.

27. ◤
HOMEWORK✍✍✍
▪ 1. Why camel is called the
ship of the desert ?
▪ 2. Name some main crops
grown in desert .
▪ 3. What is desert ?