The Great Indian Desert, also known as the Thar Desert, spans parts of northwest India and eastern Pakistan. It is characterized by large sand dunes and receives little rainfall. Wildlife such as blackbucks have adapted to the harsh desert conditions. Agriculture is the main occupation where water is available, though many nomadic herders also live in the desert, moving their flocks in search of grass and water. The Indian government has implemented irrigation projects like the Indira Gandhi Canal to bring water from other regions and increase agriculture in parts of the desert.

1. THE INDIAN DESERT

2. LOCATION:
 The Great Indian Desert lies to the South-
west of the fertile Northern Plain or the
Gangetic Plain. It is also called the Thar
Desert. The Aravali Hills divide Rajasthan
into two parts. The Western part of
Rajasthan is the Great Indian Desert. Its
soil is composed of sand, hard rocks and
sand dunes

4. PHYSICAL FEATURES:
 The Thar Desert, also known as the Great Indian
Desert, encompasses 77,000 square miles of rolling sand dunes
in eastern Pakistan and the northwestern Indian state of
Rajasthan. Small portions of the desert also extend into the
Indian states of Haryana, Punjab, and Gujarat, but these states
do not exercise extensive control over the region.
 The Thar Desert's name derives from the word t'hul, the general
term for the region's sand ridges. It is defined by a series of
natural borders, including the Aravalli Mountain Range to the
southeast and the Punjab plain in the north and northeast. To
the west, lies the Indus plain, and to the south, the Rann of
Kutch.
 The geographic isolation of the Thar Desert by mountain ranges
and plains contributes significantly to the weather patterns that
shape its distinctive, hot, dry environment. The environment
around the Thar effectively absorbs all the rain that is carried in
the monsoon clouds before the clouds can reach the desert. The
resulting monsoon winds in the desert are hot and dry, and the
desert does not share in the wet season experienced in
surrounding terrains.

5. DRAINAGE:
 Inland drainage in India is found only in the arid and
semi-arid north-western India, particularly in the deserts
of Rajasthan. Inland drainage means a drainage system
in which rivers do not reach an ocean but empty their
waters into a lake or an inland sea. There are several salt
lakes in this part of the country. They are fed by short,
intermittent streams, which experience flash floods
during rains and dry once the rain is over.
 Over two-third of the surface water of India drains into
the Bay of Bengal About 20 percent of the surface water
drains into the Arabian Sea, less than 10% form part of
the inland drainage of Rajasthan desert and Aksai Chin
of Jammu and Kashmir. Part of it belongs to the Indus
basin and the rest to the peninsular rivers. Nearly one
percent drains into the Andaman Sea through the
tributaries of the Irrawaddy in Myanmar.

6. CLIMATE:
 The Thar Desert or the Great Indian Desert has an extreme type
of climate. In summer it is very hot in the day while the nights
are cooler. In winter the days are warmer and the nights are very
chilly. It is because the sand gets heated up fast in the day and
cools down quickly at night. The desert is almost dry. It receives
very little rainfall. Sometimes it does not rain for years together.
It is because the rain laden monsoon winds coming from the
Arabian Sea pass over this desert unchecked.
 There are no high hills which may force the monsoons to cause
rain. The Aravali ranges which are parallel to the direction of
these winds do not stand as a barrier. The monsoon winds
which come from the Bay of Bengal loose almost all the
moisture by the time they reach here. As a result this part
remains dry and has no rains. It has turned this fertile land into
a barren desert. There are no rivers. The river Loni which flows
through this land remains dry for most of the part and ends up
in sand.
 In some places where water from under the ground comes up to
the surface there are date palm trees. Such a place is called an
Oasis. Keeker, babul trees and thorny cactus plants grow in this

7. WILDLIFE:
 The most notable example of a preserved ecosystem is the Desert
National Park, Jaisalmer, which provides an excellent example of the
natural wildlife of the region. In this park, Great Indian Bustards,
Blackbucks, Chinkaras, the Indian Gazelle, the Indian Wild Ass, and
Desert Foxes are common. These are species which are fast vanishing
in other parts of India. Despite the apparent difficulty of life in the
desert, the animals in the Desert National Park have found ways to
adapt and thrive. The park supports these wild and naturally occurring
populations of species that are threatened with existence elsewhere. It
is also noted for rich seashell and petrified wood deposits.
 The animals which are found in the Desert National Park exhibit many
of the adaptations that are necessary for survival in the desert. These
animals, along with those animals found outside the reserve, often
exhibit a smaller body size, one example of biological adaptation to the
region. In addition, many of the desert animals are nocturnal, a trait
which allows them to avoid the sweltering heat of the day.
 There are certain other factors responsible for the survival of these
animals in the desert. Due to the lack of water in this region,
transformation of the grasslands into cropland has been very slow.
The protection provided to them by a local community, the Bishnois, is
also a factor.

10. PEOPLE OF THE DESERT:
 The life of the people in the desert region is very hard. The population
is very thin and the villages are situated at quite long distances from
one another. There are a few towns in the Thar Desert.
 Agriculture is the main occupation of the people. Wherever water rs
available people grow jowar, bajra and pulses. Our Government is
trying to provide water for irrigation to this land. A big canal called the
Indira Gandhi Canal has been dug out and it brings water from Sutlej to
Raiasthan. It is also known as the Rajasthan Canal. It is about 500
kilometers long and takes water to northern-western Rajasthan. It
irrigates Ganganagar district and some parts of Bikaner district. It has
changed the face of Rajasthan. The Government has set up a big wheat
farm at Suratgarh. Now the land in Ganganagar is not different from the
adjoining Punjab and Haryana areas. Now wheat, maize, jowar, bajra,
cotton, pulses and sugarcane are the main crops of these districts.
 Rearing of sheep and goats is another important occupation of the
people of Rajasthan. These people move from place to place in search
of grass and water for their flocks. Such people are called nomads.
Some of the nomads have taken up blacksmith as their occupation.
They make and sell things made of iron. They keep on moving from
place to place on their bullock carts. A group of people travelling
together on camels form a Caravan.