What is a desert?
• an area where the rainfall is less than 25 cm (10 in) per year.
• areas of the world with very low rainfall, and which also experience extremes of heat and cold.
Characteristics of a desert :
• area of land that receives very little rain
• so dry• few plants and
animals grow in them• areas of extremes• temperatures may be
hot during the day and cold at night
What are deserts generally made of?
• almost all sand and rocks• oasis- spot that has water, where plants and
animals mostly live
Name Location Approx. Area
sq mi sq km
Atacama Chile 50,000 129,000
Dasht- Kavir Iran 100,000 259,000
Gibson Australia 85,000 220,000
Gobi Mongolia and China 500,000 1,295,000
Great Sandy Australia 150,000 388,000
Great Victoria Australia 250,000 647,000
Kalahari Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa 120,000 310,000
Kara Kum Turkmenistan 140,000 363,000
Kyzyl Kum Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan 110,000 285,000
Namib Namibia 50,000 129,000
Nefud Saudi Arabia 50,000 129,000
Rub al Khali Saudi Arabia 250,000 647,000
DESERTS OF THE WORLD
Name Location Approx. Area
sq mi sq km
SaharaAlgeria, Chad, Egypt, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Sudan, and Tunisia 3,500,000 9,000,000
Simpson Australia 60,000 155,000
Sonoran Mexico and the United States 120,000 310,000
Syrian Syria, Jordan, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia 100,000 259,000
Taklimakan China 120,000 311,000
Thar India and Pakistan 80,000 207,000
continuation …
The four major types of desert :
• Cool Coastal Desert• Cold Winter Desert• Polar Desert• Subtropical Desert
Dry Tropical Climate :
• Temp Range 16 degrees Celsius• Annual Precipitation: 0.25 cm. All months less
than 0.25 cm ( 0.1 in )• Latitude Range: 15 degrees to 25 degrees N
and S• Global Range: Southwestern United States and
northern Mexico, Argentina. North Africa, south Africa, central part of Australia.
Organisms found in deserts :
• plants like cactus• animals like camels, pack rats, horned
toads and rattle snakes
Means of survival of organisms in the desert :
• Existence of oasis• Most animals sleep by day & hunt for food by
night.• Cactus is a source of food and water for animals
and plants.
Desert Trivia :
• driest desert - Atacama Desert, in Chile, is the driest place on earth. No rain had fallen from 1570-1971.
• largest desert - The Sahara, in Chile, is about the same size as the entire United States.
• Sahara’s past - Millions of years ago it was covered in grasslands & forests. Cave paintings confirm that 4,000 years ago running rivers and animal life existed.
More pictures of deserts :
• Granite Mountain in the Great Basin Desert
• Zabriskie Point in Death Valley California.
What is a chaparral?
An ecological community especially of Southern California composed of a dense impenetrable thicket of shrubs or dwarf trees.
Characteristics of a chaparral :
• forest-like growth of stunted trees and hard leaved- shrubs covering mountain slopes in warm, arid regions of the world
• thick growth of bush and small trees that occur mostly in southern California
• In California, includes such plants as chamise, manzanita, scrub oak and wild lilac.
• Most chaparral plants have small, hard leaves that do not fall off in winter.
Organisms found in chaparral :
• deer• foxes
• quail
• rabbits
• chipmunks
• Scrub Jays
• Acorn Woodpecker
Chaparral Climate:
• In the winter, the temperature range is between 30 and 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Chaparrals can be found 30-50 degrees N and 30-40 degrees S latitudes.
Mediterranean Climate
• ave. annual temp- 59 degrees Fahrenheit• highest temp- 91 degrees Fahrenheit• lowest temp- 37 degrees Fahrenheit• ave. temp for winter- 46 degrees Fahrenheit• ave. temp for summer- 71 degrees Fahrenheit• ave. temp for spring- 56 degrees Fahrenheit• ave. temp for fall- 65 degrees Fahrenheit
References:
• Young People’s Encyclopedia• The Children’s Pictorial Book of
Knowledge• Junior Encyclopedia• The Merriam Webster Dictionary• Two-Can First Encyclopedia• The World Book Encyclopedia• Collier’s Encyclopedia