Deserts are called natural areas characterized by flat surfaces, a small amount of flora or its complete absence. Often they have a rather specific fauna. Deserts can be sandy, rocky, clay and saline. Snowy (Arctic) are isolated separately. According to the nature of the soil and soils, there are nine types, and according to the dynamic precipitation - three.
Sugar
What is the largest desert in the world? There are many of them on the planet. But there are not so many really big ones among them. And the largest desert in the world is the Sahara. It is located in northern Africa. Its area is more than 8.5 million square meters. km. This is almost 1/3 of the continent. Despite the harsh conditions, approximately 2.5 million people live on its territory. But still, the population density there is the lowest on earth. The main peoples living on its territory are the Berbers and Tuareg.
The Age of the Sahara Desert
Few people know that this desert is much "younger" than many people believe. It is generally accepted that the Sahara is five and a half thousand years old. Scientists have found that 6000 years ago this desert"lived" - it had trees, gardens and a lot of lakes. But over time, she changed. According to the latest research from the scientific community, most tend to believe that the Sahara "deserted" only 2.7 thousand years ago.
Territorial highlights
There are several states on the territory of the Sahara - Libya, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, Chad, Niger, Sudan and Western Sahara. The conducted researches show that the territory of the desert is unstable. She is constantly changing. From satellites received data that the Sahara periodically increases or decreases.
Curious facts about the Sahara
In some places of this desert during the day you can fry scrambled eggs on hot sand, and at night right there the thermometer can drop to minus ten. Therefore, in past centuries, trade caravans moved through the desert only at night, and during the day they pitched tents and rested.
In addition to the usual information about the Sahara, there are many interesting facts. She also has one more feature - this is one of the few rare places on the planet where evaporation far exceeds precipitation: in the ratio - from 2000 to 5000 mm / 100 mm.
Under the Sahara there is a huge underground lake, which is even larger than Lake Baikal, and oases exist precisely because of it. There is not so much sand in the desert - only 1/5, and the rest of the territory is occupied by rocky land, and quite a bit - sandy-pebble and simple pebble wastelands.
The desert sand cover is approximately 150 meters deep,and the largest sand dunes are similar in height to the Eiffel Tower. And if all of humanity is going to scoop up the sand of the Sahara, then each of them will have over 3 million buckets.
Strong winds constantly blow in the desert. For the whole year there are only twenty calm days. Khamsin is one of the most famous winds in the desert, translated as "fifty", which indicates how fast it blows. Interestingly, this coincides with the Egyptian wind season, which lasts the same number of days.
Mirages
The largest desert in the world has an interesting phenomenon - mirages, which were previously considered to occur anywhere, but it turns out that they have a permanent location. And today there is even a special map on which they are applied.
It is also interesting that this gives a complete description of the mirage at this place - a palace, a well, a mountain range, an oasis, a palm grove. Each of them is basically permanent. Every year they are observed up to 160 thousand. Mirages can have several options - wandering, vertical, stable and horizontal.
Flora and fauna of the Sahara
From plants here, semi-shrubs and shrubs mainly prevail. On the south side are ephemeroids and ephemera. Animals fast moving, with the ability to dig sand (having hair brushes, claws, bristles on their paws).
The largest desert on earth is famous for a place called Death Valley. It is considered the hottest and driest place on earth.
Despite the harsh living conditions onThe territory of the Sahara is inhabited by many species of representatives of flora and fauna: 545 plants, 12 amphibians, 13 fish (in lakes of oases), and more than 80 mammals and reptiles.
The largest deserts in the world: captivating and dangerous
Sahara is not the only big desert in the world, there are almost equal to it. There are nine more large deserts on our planet. All of them are smaller than the Sahara in area, but in relation to the rest - much larger. Every continent has a similar locality.
The largest desert in the world after the Sahara is Arabian. Its territory is 2,330,000 sq. m. And it captures the territory of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Jordan and Syria. Basically, this desert is uninhabited due to the strongest winds and sandstorms, and the temperature fluctuations here are quite large. In the sand, an egg can be fried in just 10 minutes. And at night, from the cold, even stones crack.
The Gobi Desert is located on the lands of China and Mongolia. Bert started from the Altai mountains. Its territory is 166,000 sq. km. If you translate its name, then it will sound like "waterless place".
The desert of Australia is the next largest desert on the planet in terms of area (647,000 sq. km). It is here that you can meet the famous red dunes, the height of which reaches 40 meters.
Kalahari means "painful". Its territory is equal to 600 thousand square meters. km. But its area is constantly increasing, capturing the territories of Botswana, Angola, Zambabwe andZambia.
Karakum means "black sands". Its territory is equal to 350 thousand square meters. km. The height of the ridges can reach 60 meters. This desert is located in most of Turkmenistan. Due to the small vegetation that prevails there, the locals have adapted it as a pasture for livestock.
Takla Makan is located in Central Asia, its territory is 337,600 sq. km. There, in 2008, not only were very low temperatures observed, but even snow fell!
Many are wondering what is the largest s alt desert? To this we can answer that the Salar da Uyuni is considered the greatest in the world. On its territory, s alt is estimated in billions of tons. And the passing rains, dissolving it, turn the desert into a huge mirror.
Atacama is the largest desert in Chile. This is the driest place on earth. Plants nevertheless were able to adapt, having developed their own ways of surviving in this place. During drought, they even refuse to reproduce and grow.
Antarctica is the world's largest ice desert. Its area is over 14 million square meters. km. And surprisingly, it is this desert that is considered the driest place on the planet. There is an explanation - all the moisture is "dry" by the cold, and precipitation here does not exceed 4 cm per year. And 1983 was marked by its lowest temperature - 89 degrees Celsius.
