The largest desert in the world. The largest deserts on earth. Sahara Desert - the largest desert in the world

On our blue planet Earth there are many places painted yellow with heat and drought - they are called deserts. About a third of the land surface consists of different types of deserts with very little rainfall and vegetation. Some of them formed naturally in millions of years, while others appeared in just a couple of decades due to rash human actions. Some of them are sandy, while others are salt; some are hot, others are cold.

The desert is incredibly dangerous and difficult to survive terrain. But what is surprising: animals are found only in a few of the deserts, and people have created settlements in almost all, run a farm and even grow food for export! Each such arid area is something unique and beautiful in its own way. We present you the top 6 deserts of our world.

1 Atacama Desert (Spanish: Desierto de Atacama) is a sparsely populated area in Chile, South America. This plateau, stretching from the Pacific Ocean to the Andean Mountains, knows almost no rain. Due to the unusually small amount of precipitation per year (less than 1 mm), this desert is often called the driest and harshest in the world. This plateau is located on a gigantic territory, stretching for about 1 thousand km ². In size, it is comparable with some states, for example, with Iceland.

It is not surprising that in such a vast area rainfall is uneven, if any! This desert is so arid that in some parts of it there was no water for more than a few hundred years, and in the most severe areas of the weather monitoring station there was not even a slight increase in humidity. And this is in the entire history of weather research in the region! Unlike other famous deserts, such as, for example, the Sahara, Atacama is quite cold. The desert stretches along the coast of Chile near the Pacific Ocean, the largest and oldest in the world, and lies at a high altitude of the Andean mountains (more than 6800 m), on which glaciers do not form! Such aridity and almost complete absence of snow is caused by the fact that the cold stream passing in the Pacific Ocean (Peruvian current) prevents the formation of precipitation.

It's hard to believe, but the desert is literally teeming with life - on its territory you can find more than two hundred species of living creatures (of course, these are mainly different types of lizards). What is even more surprising, in such harsh conditions, at an enormous altitude of 3000 meters above sea level, not only insects and reptiles survive, but there is a tiny town Antagofast!

2 It is believed that the Sahara is the largest desert in the whole world, but this is not entirely true. It is the third largest desert after the Arctic and Antarctic. This unimaginably vast space covers an area almost equal to half of Africa (8.7 million km²). Sugar appears on the maps of eleven African countries!

This desert is also considered the most severe in terms of climate. The terrain is so arid that in some parts of it it doesn’t rain for several years, even decades, and if it does, it is very small. Sandstorms and severe temperature changes at night and day - one of the biggest problems in this area - are caused by winds coming here from the Arabia Peninsula. As the wind moves southwest, the air in the desert warms up, dissipating moisture that could rain. The same winds lift sand and spin into sandstorms. The speed of such a wind can exceed 50 ms. Dehydrated air instantly glows, and as instantly, as soon as the sun sets over the horizon, it becomes icy.

Of course, in such difficult conditions it is extremely difficult to survive, and there are very few people living in the incredibly vast territory of the Sahara desert. All of them settled on small islands of greenery along the banks of the Nile. According to recent estimates, there are only about 2.5 million such people.

3 Libyan desert. This desert, like the Sahara, is located in Africa, west of the majestic Nile River, in the eastern part of Libya, Egypt and Sudan, and covers an area of \u200b\u200babout 2 million km².

The Libyan desert is called the hottest desert on the planet, it was here that researchers noted the highest air temperature on Earth! Its tropical climate and almost unbearable dry heat at least 35 ° C, with daily temperature fluctuations of 15 ° -16 ° C, are world famous. In July, the temperature usually approaches 50 ° C, and in rocky areas it generally reaches 100 ° C! As in the Sahara, terrible sandstorms and “dry fog”, a very unusual natural phenomenon, arise here. In the days of such a fog, dust seems to freeze in the air, visibility is critically reduced.

Even in such conditions, there are settlements of people who live in oases generated by groundwater that is close to the surface of the earth. They are involved in livestock farming and grow date palms for export.

4 The Namib Desert is called the oldest desert in the world. This desert can be called coastal, as it is located along the southwestern coast of the African continent, near the Atlantic Ocean. It stretches for 2000 km and crosses the state of Angola, Namibia and South Africa. It is very difficult to imagine such a thing, but this desert exists for about 80 million years, it began to form in prehistoric antiquity, at a time when dinosaurs existed on our planet.

Many travelers consider Namib one of the most picturesque deserts in the world. Here over millions of years landscapes with indescribable beauty have formed with giant dunes; in addition, in this territory, where living conditions are not as severe as in other deserts, there are many amazing animals, such as rhinos, antelopes, zebras, impals, lions and elephants. In some parts of the desert, special safari tours are arranged specifically for tourists. As part of these tours, you can see all of these animals in their usual habitat, as well as climb one of the dunes and enjoy the desert from an unusually high height.

5 The Uyuni Desert is not at all like the sand deserts described above. This is an amazing salt plateau, and, judging by the estimates of experts, it is very ancient. About 40,000 years ago, an alpine lake flaunted at this place, where streams flowed from the peaks of the Andes. However, over time, the lake irrevocably evaporated under the influence of climatic conditions and insufficient drainage of the lake. Now it is a deserted and very salty territory of more than 10 thousand km².

6 Aralkum is a desert that must be known to all people on earth, regardless of where they live and what they do. This desert appeared on the beautiful face of the Earth not in millions of years, but in the shortest possible time, in our time. Aralkum was formed on the site of the majestic Aral Sea, with an area of \u200b\u200b68,000 km², which gradually dried out due to the human factor. “Man is the master of nature”: this is exactly what the Soviet leadership considered and decided to divert the course of the rivers flowing into the sea in the other direction for irrigation of giant cotton fields. This led to the monstrous desertification of the reservoir, today only 10 percent of its former territory remains. In Uzbekistan, in addition to the Aralkum, there are two more deserts formed in such an unnatural way - Kyzylkum and Ustyurt.

Unfortunately, this desert is not only a cemetery for wrecks, it also poisons nature with its toxic emissions. The fact is that this territory was abundantly irrigated with poisonous means to kill insects, and poisoned dust is still carried by the wind to various parts of the world.

What is a desert? This is a unique lowland natural zone with very poor flora and fauna. The climatic conditions in this zone are specific and poorly suited for comfortable living and active life. On Earth, there are sandy, clay, rocky, salt and ice. What is the largest desert on the planet?

Two queens

If we talk about these zones in the usual sense, these are endless expanses of sand, mostly bare and lifeless, heated under the scorching sun. Sahara is the most endless, largest sandy desert in the world, it is located on the African continent, its area is 9.1 million km2. But there is still a huge ice planet on our planet - the Antarctic. It is located in Antarctica and occupies almost 14 million square meters. Km! Given that from a geological point of view, these zones in Antarctica and Africa are deserts, then the conclusion suggests itself that the largest desert on the planet is the Antarctic. Other largest deserts in the world are the Sahara, Arabian, Gobi, Kalahari, Patagonian, Victoria, Syrian, Great American, Chihuahua, Greater Australian, Karakum, Sonora, Kyzylkum and Takla-Makan. This list includes the most significant deserts of the world, the area of \u200b\u200bwhich exceeds 200 thousand square meters. km Further briefly the most interesting facts about these natural zones.

Antarctic

As mentioned above, it is located in Antarctica, its area reaches 14 million km2, only 1% of the land is ice-free, it is the largest desert on Earth. In addition, these are:

the driest place on the planet - indeed, in a year there is no more than 50 mm of rainfall. Art. in the form of snow, real rain in Antarctica has not rained for more than 2 million years. It’s a paradox, but in the driest zone in the world most of the fresh water is concentrated - 70% of the total world supply in the form of ice blocks;
the windiest - the wind speed here reaches 320 km / h. Such winds are called katabatic;
the coldest - in winter the average temperature is -60 ° С ...- 70 ° С, in the summer - from minus 20 ° С to minus 45 ° С. The lowest temperature - 91.2 ° С was recorded in 2013. With these indicators, a person freezes in 1-3 minutes.
and the highest place on the planet.

This kingdom of ice does not belong to any state, there is no permanent population, only scientists and researchers agree to spend some time in such extreme conditions. Sometimes there are tourists. Before being sent to Antarctica, wisdom teeth and appendix are removed to everyone. The flora and fauna of the Antarctic desert are very scarce, but only here you can meet the largest and most beautiful penguin in the world - the emperor. The natural phenomenon of this unique place is the Bloody Waterfall, in which the water is bright red (hence the name)! Interestingly, this is a timeless zone in the literal sense, since there is no time zone on the continent.

It occupies the entire northern part of the African continent. Today its area is 9.1 million square meters. km, which is slightly larger than the area of \u200b\u200bBrazil, but each year the Sahara expands to the south by about 7-10 km. There are many deserts in Africa, but the Sahara is the largest on the mainland and the second largest in the world after the Arctic. It partially covers the territory of 12 African states.

From the north, it is washed by the Mediterranean Sea, from the west by the Atlantic Ocean, and from the east it is bounded by the Red Sea. The southern border of the desert is a ridge of ancient sand dunes, beyond which begins the more fertile land of the savannah.

Huge areas of the Sahara are deserted, due to the hot arid climate, lack of water and vegetation, these areas are not populated, only near rare oases, as well as in the river valleys of the Nile and Niger, settled tribes live.

The Sahara relief is not only endless sandy plains, but also oases, dunes, wadi, mountains. It is interesting that the height of the highest mountain in this desert is more than 3400 meters, in winter its peak is covered with snow. One of the local phenomena is the singing dunes, which make sounds similar to organ music.

Acacias, wormwood, oleanders, dates, fig trees, ephedra, and citrus fruits grow in oases on the banks of the wadi. Where there is greenery, there are animals: hares, jerboas, hedgehogs, maned rams, antelopes, gazelles, mouflons, jackals, mongooses, hyenas, many vipers, lizards, scorpions. About 300 species of birds live in the desert.

Mirages are the main mystery of the Sahara. Suddenly, believable images of cities, castles, army of soldiers, ships and other visions appear in front of travelers. Once a whole caravan died trying to get to the oasis, which seemed to be no more than 2-3 km away, but in fact it was at least 700 km away! Scientists have not yet found an explanation for these complex optical illusions.

Arabian

In Africa there is another large desert - the Arabian. It occupies almost 2.4 million km square. Lies on the Arabian Peninsula between the Red Sea and the Nile Valley. The Arabian desert is famous for even more severe climate than Sahara. Sandstorms often rage here, sharp temperature drops are observed - from + 55 ° C during the day to frosts at night, precipitation is scarce and extremely rare. Therefore, there are very few plants, only occasionally there are ashtray, juniper, caper and date palms. The main inhabitants of the desert are lizards, snakes, insects. There are also birds.

It is interesting that the Arabian Desert, under a thick layer of sand, stores countless treasures - there are very rich deposits of gold, the development of which geologists are engaged in. Recently, tourism has been intensively developing here.

It is the largest desert in Eurasia. It covers an area of \u200b\u200b1.3 million km 2, located partly in the south of Mongolia and partly in the north of China. Incredible temperature drops are observed here - from + 60 ° С to -55 ° С depending on the time of the year and day! Sometimes the surface heats up to + 70 ° C!

The landscape of the Gobi is very diverse: waterless rocky terrain is replaced by sandy plains, followed by high dunes that pass into the mountains, flowering oases and green groves periodically meet. There is more vegetation in the north; the closer to the south, the more deserted the surrounding area. The animal world of the Gobi is quite diverse: in addition to the usual rodents, horses, gazelles, snakes, lizards and insects, there are bears and even snow leopards in the foothill areas.

And again, Africa! In the southern part of the continent is the Kalahari desert - the hottest on the mainland. It occupies about 900 thousand square kilometers. Famous for its red sands, from the side it seems that the sun completely burned this land. But this is not so. Despite the hot and dry climate, many animals somehow manage to survive here: giraffes, zebras, gazelles, jackals and hyenas, lions and leopards, rhinos, many species of rodents, lizards, monitor lizards, geckos, snakes. Of the birds in Kalahari, bustards, ostriches, falcons, and larks live.

5 more large deserts of the world

Other major deserts of the world:

Patagonian, occupies a little more than 670 thousand square kilometers. Located in South America in Argentina and Chile. It is interesting that as such there is no heat, even snow falls in winter, the desert area was formed due to a very small amount of rainfall, nature does not pamper the Patagonian plateau with rains.
Victoria - located in Australia, occupies about 650 thousand square kilometers, that is, almost half of the continent. This is a deserted flat area, dried up by the winds, mostly covered with prickly drought-resistant spinifexes, sometimes there are thickets of acacia trees, powerful eucalyptus trees grow in humid lowlands. When rare rain falls in the desert, it immediately changes: it is covered with juicy herbs and fragrant bright flowers. The fauna of the Australian desert is unique, represented by endemic animals that are not found anywhere else in the world. Interestingly, 9 of the 10 most poisonous snakes in the world live here.
Syrian - located in the Middle East, its sands spread over 500 thousand km square. The climate here is subtropical. In summer, average temperatures range from +29 ... + 35 ° C, in winter night frosts are not uncommon. The flora and fauna of this desert is quite poor.
Great American - occupies a little more than 490 thousand square kilometers, is located in the west of the North American continent, surrounded by mountains and plateaus that block the path of humid air from the ocean.
Chihuahua is another huge desert in North America, its area reaches 450 thousand km square. Located on the US-Mexican border and has an amazing landscape: “heavenly islands” - wide canyons with a flat bottom, surrounded by mountains with flat peaks are scattered throughout its territory.

Victoria Desert (Australia)

One cannot but recall the Great Sandy Desert in northwestern Australia (400 thousand km sq.), The famous Karakum in Turkmenistan (350 thousand km sq.), The sandy-stony Sonora in North America (310 thousand km sq.), Kyzylkum in Middle Asia (300 thousand km sq.) And the mysterious Takla-Makan in China (270 thousand km sq.), Which is called the Death Valley.

As you can see, the largest sand deserts in the world are in Africa, Asia, America and Australia. In Russia there are small deserts in the east of Kalmykia, in the south of the Astrakhan region, in the Volgograd region. In Europe, there are no real deserts, although some geographers mention the sand massif Aleshkovsky Sands, located in southern Ukraine.

We will plunge into the amazing and mysterious world of deserts. How many secrets they have already shared with humanity, and how many more are hidden in their vast expanses, covered with sultry sands and sparkling ice. If you want to look at the largest deserts in the world, you have come to the address.

All deserts existing on Earth, and there are more than 30, cover 18% of the earth's surface, and vary in size and environmental conditions. We will go on an extreme journey, at the end of which the largest desert on the planet awaits us.

The largest deserts in the world:

This unique natural zone on the territory of modern Volgograd and Rostov region was formed during the Dnieper glaciation, about 300 thousand years ago.

The sands stretched in the form of an irregular rhombus on an area of \u200b\u200babout 1 thousand square kilometers. In Russia, this unique place is protected by the state, for which a reserve and a natural park have been created on the territory.

Compared to other deserts, Tsimlyansk sands have rich vegetation and are inhabited by various species of animals, and in Russia, the Great Deserts are also considered to be the Ryn-sands, spread in the Caspian region.

This desert in Chile in South America is considered the driest on Earth. In parts of Atacama, rains occur once every several decades.

Local residents collect water using the so-called “mist eliminators”, collecting up to 18 liters of water per day. But the plants are so adapted to the harsh climate that in the driest periods they even refuse their natural functions - growth and reproduction.

There were amazing, abnormal events in this part of the Earth. In 2010, snow fell in the desert.

Salar — de Uyuni

A huge salt desert was formed as a result of drying out of the lake. According to various estimates, the Uyuni salt marsh in Bolivia stores about 10 billion tons of salt in its bowels.

After the decline in salt production, local residents adapted to earn money from tourists. They even build salt houses to relax and spend the night in.

Interestingly, the satellites are calibrated on the surface of the salt marsh, just like a mirror, and a cemetery is located on the edge of the amazing salty zone of the Earth.

Translated from Uyghur, the name of the desert in the west of China is translated as "an abandoned place." Indeed, there is no permanent population due to harsh conditions and drought.

By the area of \u200b\u200bTakla-Makan, spread over hundreds of kilometers, it is one of the largest deserts on the earth's surface. The fauna is poor, and only in the valleys of small rivers you can find hares, jerboas, rare herds of antelopes.

On the edges of the sand in ancient times there were small settlements, the ruins of which can be seen at the southern outskirts.

And about the oldest countries that have survived on the world map to this day, thebiggest is very interesting.

30 kilometers from Kherson spreads in the vast Tavria the largest desert in Europe - Oleshkovsky sands. It is noteworthy that this is not a continuous sand massif, but, consisting of seven sections, aeolian sediments in the lower reaches of the Dnieper.

One of the most beautiful places in Ukraine, consisting of sand dunes and mounds. Some of them reach a height of up to 5 meters, and the local population calls them "Kuchugurs."

So that the sands do not expand, now this territory is actively planted with coniferous forests.

Covering an area of \u200b\u200b350,000 km², "black sands" occupy most of Turkmenistan, and is divided into two natural zones - the Zaunguz Karakum and Central Karakum.

The desert is especially majestic in spring, when most of its velvet territory is covered by small herbaceous plants. Nature comes to life, and the animal world begins an active life.

In addition, gas is also found in the bowels of the Turkmen sands.

The desert, whose name in the Berber language means "painful", is conducting a constant attack on the territory of South Africa.

On the African continent, this is one of the most sultry places where the average maximum temperature is + 29 ° C. Despite this, the area is relatively rich in vegetation, and the flora is represented by giraffes, zebras, antelopes, meerkats and other animal species.

Kalahari is widely represented in literature and world cinema. The uniqueness of this area adds, flowing through the sands, the nowhere flowing Okavango River.

Australia's largest desert, an area of \u200b\u200b424000km² is covered not only with sand, but also with fine gravel. Surprisingly, almost half of the continent is a desert area.

Altogether in Australia there are 8 desert zones, with their own special flora and fauna, and most importantly - with different soils.

Precipitation and moisture in the Australian desert depend on the direction and nature of the winds, and the unique natural areas themselves are evenly distributed in the tropical and subtropical climates.

Gobi

From the mountains of Altai to the foothills of the Tien Shan, endless expanses of the great Asian Gobi desert stretch. Sparse landscapes stretch for thousands of kilometers and occupy an area of \u200b\u200b1300000km².

A waterless place, as the Mongols call this territory, according to the totality of its territories asia's largest desert.

Surprisingly, the elevation leads to a large difference in temperature. Summer is hot, and the thermometer column sometimes rises to + 58 ° C, and in winter it can drop to −55 ° C.

Arabian desert

The area of \u200b\u200bthese desert lands is 2330000km², and this, taking into account the sands of the Arabian Peninsula, largest desert in Eurasia.

Most of this part of the globe is uninhabited, and sandstorms and mighty dry winds enter their full masters.

A unique phenomenon of a sharp difference in daily temperatures is noted here. During the day, you can fry fried eggs in the sand, and at night even centuries-old stones crack from the cold.

So we got to the majestic and unique Sahara. Africa's largest desert and planets, if you do not take into account the endless white expanses of Antarctica. The area of \u200b\u200bSahara sand is 9065000 km².

With its sands, it occupies part of nine African states. In addition to a large territory, the Sahara is famous for its mirages, which happen 100 to 200 thousand times a year. Scientists over the years studying this amazing natural phenomenon, even made a map of mirages.

It is noteworthy that Antarctica, surrounded by water and covered with ice, is the driest place on Earth, as severe frosts literally dry moisture. Precipitation here is very small, and in 1983 the air temperature was −89 ° C.

Surprisingly, these desert landscapes can be found on the coldest continent of the Earth. These are the dry McMurdo valleys that are located on the territory of Victoria Land in Antarctica.

Conclusion

So we learned that the Sahara is the largest desert of the African continent, and the largest desert of the planet is the Antarctic, covered with eternal ice.

Interestingly, the Antarctic desert has its own flora and fauna, represented by mosses and some species of simple animals.

Sahara 9 065 000 km²

The world's largest desert, with an area of \u200b\u200babout 9,065,000 km², is slightly smaller than the area of \u200b\u200bthe United States of America. Sahara is located in North Africa, in more than ten states (Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Western Sahara, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Chad, Sudan). Sugar cannot be categorized within a single desert type, although the sandy-rocky type is predominant.
In the Sahara, about 160 thousand mirages are observed annually (an optical phenomenon in the atmosphere: reflection of light by the boundary between sharply different layers of air. For the observer, such reflection is that together with a distant object (or part of the sky), its imaginary image is shifted relative to subject.). They are stable and wandering, vertical and horizontal. Even special maps of caravan routes were compiled with an assessment of the places where mirages are usually observed ..

Arabian desert. 2,330,000 km²

The Arabian desert is located on the Arabian Peninsula, is located in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, occupies part of Iraq, Syria, southern and eastern Jordan. The vast expanses of the Arabian desert are occupied by moving dunes and sand massifs, in its center is Rub al-Qali, one of the largest sand massifs in the world. Most of the territory is uninhabited due to frequent sand and dust storms and strong winds, high temperatures with ordinary for deserts with large daily amplitudes.The temperature range is 40-50 ° C in the summer, the average temperature in the winter is 5-15 ° C, although it can drop to 0 ° C.

Gobi. 1,166,000 km²

A vast region in Central Asia (in the territories of Mongolia and China), characterized by desert and semi-desert landscapes. The Gobi extends from the Altai and Tien Shan mountains in the east to the North China plateau in the west; in the north, the Gobi passes into the steppes of Mongolia; in the south, the region is bounded by the Nanshan and Altintag mountains and the Yellow River. The Gobi comprise several geographical regions: the Zaaltai Gobi, the Mongolian Gobi, the Alashan Gobi, the Gashun Gobi and the Dzungarian Gobi. The word "goby" of Mongolian origin and means "waterless place", this word in Central Asia generally refers to desert and semi-desert landscapes. In the aggregate of desert territories, the Gobi is the largest desert in Asia.

Australian desert. 647,000 km²

Deserts got a huge territory of Australia, almost half of the continent. A significant part of the Australian deserts located in the west are located on a huge plateau 200 m above sea level. Some deserts rise even higher, up to 600 m. The complex terrain divides the giant Australian desert into several autonomous ones. The largest of them, the Great Sandy Desert, is located in the northwestern part of the continent, and the huge Great Victoria Desert lies to the south. In the northern part of the Great Sandy Desert, the sands are red-brown in color, other areas are covered not with sand, but with dark gravel and pebbles.
Among the sand deserts, the largest is the Arunta Desert, or the Simpson Desert. It is located in the central part of the continent, closer to the west:
arunta desert

simpson desert

Great Sand Desert

Kalahari. 600,000 km²

Desert in South Africa within the states of Botswana, South Africa and Namibia. Recently, due to the increase in area, it has invaded the territory of Angola, Zimbabwe and Zambia. The area of \u200b\u200bKalahari is about 600 thousand km2. The Kalahari climate is arid with summer maximum rainfall and mild winters, with aridity increasing to the southeast. Precipitation (up to 500 mm) is confined to the summer period (November - April), but their value varies significantly both in time and in area. Kalahari is one of the hottest areas of South Africa. Average maximum temperature - plus 29 °, and average minimum - plus 12 °

Karakum. 350,000 km²

The sandy desert in the south of Central Asia, covering most of Turkmenistan. The area is 350,000 km². The desert includes the Zaunguz Karakum, Central Karakum, Low Karakum and Southeastern Karakum.

Chocolate candies are named after this desert.

Desert share on earth

The most ominous deserts are sandy, they cover 1/5 of the land. In addition to sand deserts, there are also deserts of salt marshes, clay and stony. Large areas of the eternal snow of Antarctica and the Arctic Circle are called snow or ice deserts. However, in our review we will focus on sandy deserts.

Sand deserts are the hottest place on Earth, hot sand warms up to such temperatures that it burns your feet. An untrained person will not be able to live in the desert without water and shade and a couple of days.

The largest sandy deserts are in Africa, Eurasia and Australia, and the deserts of the Americas are relatively small.

World Deserts Map (increase)

Sahara. 9 065 000 km²

The Sahara Desert is the largest and hottest desert in the world, its area exceeds 9 million km², which makes up more than 50% of the territory of Russia. It covers almost the whole of North Africa: Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Mauritania, Sudan, Chad, Libya and other countries.

The name “Sahara” is an Arabic translation of the Tuareg word “desert”. In summer, the air temperature can rise to 58 °, in winter it is kept within 15-28 ° C.

In the Sahara, as in other sand deserts, sandstorms are frequent, strong winds can carry sand dust even to Europe.
In the Sahara, more than 150 thousand mirages are observed, which are marked on maps indicating which particular mirage is most often "shown" in this particular area - an oasis, river or well.

There is less rainfall in the south of the Sahara than in the north, there are especially dry periods of up to three years, during which there is no rainfall at all. The only source of water in the Sahara, except for rains, is the Nile, crossing it in the east. However, thanks to the underground waters in the waterless desert there are oases with deep wells, it is in the oases that there are hotels for tourists who come to drive the Sahara in jeeps, the most luxurious date palm trees and sweet grapes grow in oases.

Arabian desert

Arabian desert. 2,330,000 km²

The Arabian Desert is the second on the list of the largest deserts in the world. The Arabian desert is located on the Arabian Peninsula, is located in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, occupies part of Iraq, Syria, southern and eastern Jordan. The vast expanses of the Arabian desert are occupied by moving dunes and sand massifs, in the center of which is Rub’al Qali, one of the largest sand massifs in the world. Most of the territory is uninhabited due to frequent sand and dust storms and strong winds, high temperatures with large daily amplitudes typical of deserts. The temperature range is 40-50 ° C in summer, the average temperature in winter is 5-15 ° C, although it can drop to 0 ° C.

Gobi 1,166,000 km²

Gobi - one of the largest deserts in the world, takes 3rd place in the ranking. It is located in Central Asia, on the territory of Mongolia and China, extends from the Altai and Tien Shan mountains in the east to the North China plateau in the west; in the north, the Gobi passes into the steppes on the territory of Mongolia, in the south it is limited to the Yellow River. The word "goby" of Mongolian origin and means "waterless place", with this word in Central Asia generally mean deserted and semi-desert places. In the aggregate of desert territories, the Gobi is the largest desert in Asia.

Australian desert

Australian desert. 647,000 km²

Among Australia's sandy deserts, the largest is the Arunta Desert, or the Simpson Desert. It is located in the central part of the continent, closer to the west.

Kalahari

Kalahari. 600,000 km²

The Kalahari Desert, the largest of the deserts of South Africa, covers an area of \u200b\u200babout 600 thousand square meters. km and is located in Botswana, South Africa and Namibia. The Kalahari Desert occupies the southwestern part of the eponymous depression located at an altitude of 900 m. In the west, the edge of the Kalahari lies at an altitude of 1,500 m above sea level, in the east - even higher; The lowest point of the desert is located at an altitude of 840 m above sea level. The Kalahari surface is composed of horizontally lying continental strata of sandstones, pebbles and breccias.

Recently, the desert has been expanding its borders and invading the territory of Angola, Zimbabwe and Zambia. Precipitation (up to 500 mm) is confined to the summer period (November - April), but their value varies significantly both in time and in area. Kalahari is one of the hottest areas of South Africa. The average maximum temperature is plus 29 °, and the average minimum temperature is plus 12 °.

Karakum

Karakum. 350,000 km²

Karakum, a sandy desert in the south of Central Asia, occupies more than 80% of the entire territory of Turkmenistan.

In Karakum, in Turkmen, it is “black sand” (from Turkic. “Kara” - black and “Kum” - sand). Despite such a frightening name, the desert is inhabited: there are several thousand species of arthropods, several dozen species of reptiles, two dozen species of mammals and about three dozen species of birds, plants - about 270 species.

The plans of Turkmenbashi were to replace the ugly desert with a beautiful forest, planting trees in separate areas, and it was also planned to build a zoo for penguins on its territory that would attract visitors from all over the world. After the death of the Father of all Turkmen about these plans, fortunately, nothing has been heard so far.