Areas which receive as low as 250 millimeters of rainfall annually
are attributed as deserts.These areas receive little or no precipitation at all and have vegetation which ranges from being
sparse to none. Deserts are classified into various types, based on their geographical location. The types of deserts include trade
wind deserts, mid-latitude deserts, rain shadow deserts, coastal deserts, monsoon deserts, polar deserts, paleodeserts and
extraterrestrial deserts. Currently, it is accepted that one-fifth of the earth's surface is covered by these sandy barren lands.
So let's know some important facts about these major deserts in the following deserts of the world list.
10 List of Deserts Around the World
1. Antarctica Desert
With a whooping 13,829,430 square kilometers, Antarctica is the largest in the deserts of the world list. 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
-89.20C.
2. Sahara Desert
The world's largest among the hot deserts around the world and covering an area of 91,000,000 square kilometers, the Sahara
desert is known to be homed by 4 million people. In its northern parts, the desert has a sub tropical climate and in the south,a tropical one. The Sahara desert plants include grass, shrubs and trees. Cape hare, desert hedgehog, Barbary sheep, oryx, gazelle,deer, wild ass, baboon, hyena, jackal, sand fox, weasel and mongoose constitute the Sahara desert animals. Read more on Sahara desert facts.
3. Arabian Desert
This desert covers an area of 2,300,000 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 and the wildlife include dromedary camel, dung beetle, civet, Egyptian vulture, flamingo,fox, gazelle, hare, hedgehog, arabian horse, hyena, ibex and jackal.
4. Gobi Desert
The word 'Gobi' itself means desert.Temperature ranges from -40 C in winter and 40 C in summer. Black-tailed gazelles,
marbled polecats, bactrian camels,Mongolian wild ass and sandplovers are the typical animals of this desert and sparse vegetation include bushes and a dozen kinds of grasses and herbs.
5. Kalahari Desert
The Kalahari desert is largely covered by reddish sand and has an area of 900,000 square kilometers. Apart from different types of reptiles and birds, this desert is home to brown hyenas, lions,meerkats and several species of antelope. Dry grassland and scrubby acacias constitutes the vegetation.
6. Patagonian Desert
The Patagonian desert is the largest desert in America and occupies 670,000 square kilometers. The climate is divided into 7 months of summer and 5 months of winter. The burrowing owl,lesser rhea, guanaco, tuco-tuco, mara and different species of eagle and hawk can be found in this region. Desert shrubs, tuft grass and aquatic grass on the outskirts are common to the Patagonian desert.
7. Great Victoria Desert
The largest desert in Australia having an area of 64,7000 square kilometers. Marble gums, mulga and spinifex grass comprise the typical vegetation of this desert and rock wallabies, parrots,snakes, wild camels, lizards and bilbies, comprise the wild life.
8. Great Basin Desert
492,000 square kilometers is the area occupied by the Great Basin desert. This basin is a series of a myriad of watersheds such as the Great Salt lake, Hamlin valley, Snake valley, Pine valley, Wah Wah valley, Tule valley , Rush valley and many more. Kit fox,coyote, skunk, black-tailed jackrabbit, ground squirrels, kangaroo
rat and many species of mice are the common inhabitants of this desert. The vegetation includes restricted range of plants from cactus, sage brush to saltbush species.
9.Chihuahua Desert
The second largest desert in North America, the Chihuahua desert covers a large area of about 629,000 square kilometers. 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. It has a wide range of animal species ranging from desert cottontail, black-tailed jack rabbit,
cactus mouse, kit fox, cactus wren to greater roadrunner. Reptiles
include mojave rattlesnake, coachwhip snake and new mexican whiptail lizard. Red-spotted toads and barred tiger salamander can also be found on this desert.
10. Sonoran Desert
The Sonoran desert is said to cover 310,000 squares kilometers and is the wettest desert in the deserts of the world list. Also
referred to as the Gila desert, its wildlife comprises of javelina,bobcat, skunk, jackrabbit, coyote, Mexican wolf and cottontail.This desert is also known for the famous saguaro cactus which
grows only in this place. Plants from agave family, palm family,cactus family, legume family and many others are all part of the flora of the Sonoran desert.
So you can see that there are no major differences between the environment and habitat among the different types of deserts which have been briefly described in the above deserts of the world list. These deserts do not have much to offer when it comes to the different factors which are necessary for survival.
However, they are still inhabited by different living species and have retained their attraction for those few desert lovers!
