Deserts exist on all but one of the seven continents (Europe). Together, they take up about 20% of the earth's surface.
All of the deserts combined have a total surface area equal to about 20% of the earth's land surface or 6% of the entire earth's surface (including ocean surface).
There are two kinds of deserts: hot and cold. In a hot desert, the main form of precipitation is rain - usually less than 10 inches (25cm) per year. In a cold desert, the main form of precipitation is snow - usually less than 10 inches (25cm) per year.
13% of the world's population lives in deserts.
Evaporation rates in deserts are often 20 times the annual precipitation.
Sand covers less than 20% of the world's desert areas.
Africa
Highest sand dune recorded is in the SaharaDesert - 1,410 feet high (430m).
The Sahara Desert accounts for around 8% of the world's land area.
Three Major Deserts
Sahara / 8,600,000 sq km is the largest desert in the world, covering part or all of eleven African countries. Sahara is derived from the Arabic word for desert.
Kalahari / 900,000 sq km is a cold, rocky desert in southern Africa.
Namib / 134.000 sq km, in southwest Africa, is one of the hottest, driest places on earth, with less precipitation than even the Sahara.
Asia
The GobiDesert in Mongolia and northern China is a windswept nearly treeless wasteland. It ranks as the coldest, most northern desert in the world. The terrain consists mostly of dry, rocky, sandy soil. Only 5% of the desert is covered with sand dunes.
The Great Indian Desert, also known as the Thar Desert, is one of the most fascinating deserts of the world and is also one of the most densely populated deserts of the world. The average density is nearly 89 persons/sq km(comparable to Turkey and Ghana); the maximum is nearly 264 persons/sq km in Jhunjhnu (slightly more than the UK and Viet Nam); while the minimum density is 9 persons/sq km in Jaisalmer (just more than Russia).
Seven Major Deserts
Arabian / 2,330,000 sq km
Thar / 200,000 sq km
Gobi / 1,166,000 sq km
Iranian / 150,000 square miles
Takla Maken / 270,000 sq km (known as the largest sand-only desert in the world)
Turkistan / 75,000 square miles
Syrian / 20,000 square miles
Australia
Australia is considered the driest continent on earth with 44% of the continent occupied by desert.
Three Major Deserts
Great Victoria / 424,400 sq km
Great Sandy / 415,000 sq km
Gibson / 220,000 sq km
Europe
There are NO deserts in Europe.
North America
Three Major Deserts
Chihuahuan / 200,000 sq mi / largest desert in North America lies south of the international border. In the U.S. it extends into parts of New Mexico, Texas and sections of southeastern Arizona. Its minimum elevation is above 1,000 feet, but the vast majority of this desert lies at elevations between 3,500 and 5,000 feet.
Great Basin/ 190,000 sq mi / largest U. S. desert.Sonoran / 120,000 sq mi / in southwestern Arizona and southeastern California, as well as most of Baja California and the western half of the state of Sonora, Mexico. Hottest North American desert.
Mohave / 25,000 sq mi / transitional region from the hot SonoranDesert to the cooler and higher Great Basin. It is an arid region of southeastern California and portions of Nevada, Arizona and Utah.
South America
The Atacama Desert in South America has been in a super-dry state far longer than any other location on Earth - nearly 40 million years in some places. There are locations where not a single drop of rain has been recorded by humans. Some dry river beds have had no water running through them for 120,000 years!
Although better known for their rain forests, Latin America and the Caribbean are actually about one-quarter desert and drylands.
Driest Desert - Atacama Desert of South America (average yearly rainfall is .4 inches (10cm) ).
Two Major Deserts
Patagonia / 673,000 sq km (largest desert in the Americas - 5th largest desert in the world by area).
Atacama / 181,300 sq km (Driest place on Earth. It is 15 million years old, 100 times more arid than California's Death Valley and is virtually sterile because it is blocked from moisture on both sides by the AndesMountains and by coastal mountains. The average rainfall in the Chilean region of Antofagasta is just 1 mm per year, and there was a period of time where no rain fell in the entire desert for 400 years).
Copyright 2010 Dimidia, LLC All rights reserved. Last Update: March 02, 2010
