Today, many tourists and travelers prefer to rest in India, which is understandable. After all, one of the most popular attractions of nature is considered to be the magnificent Thar Desert, which occupies the territory of the north-west of India (the state of Rajasthan and others) and the south-east of Pakistan. It is one of the most densely populated natural systems of this kind on the entire globe.
You can learn about where the Thar Desert is located, about its unique features, diverse flora and fauna, by reading this article.
General information
The Great Desert got its name, according to one version, from the word Tahl, which means "ridges of sand dunes" in the local dialect. Tar is a man-made unique corner of the Earth. It is not the result of natural phenomena.
The Thar Desert appeared as a consequence of centuries-old, unfortunately, irrational and wrongagricultural activity by people, from the time of the existence of the most ancient civilizations of the Indus to the present day.
Thar Desert: photo, location, description
Tar is also called the Great Indian Desert. On the territory of the states of Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Punjab, most of it extends. The people of Pakistan call the desert in their own way - "Cholistan".
The total area of the desert is more than 300 thousand square meters. kilometers, length in length - 800 kilometers, in width - 485. Between several ridges in these places there are even small lakes. Sometimes sandstorms also occur in this arid region. Thar is the only large desert in India.
From the northwest side it is limited by the Sutlej River, from the east by the Aravalli mountains, from the south by the s alt marshes of the Rann of Kutch, and from the west by the famous Indus River.
Approximately half of the surface of these places are rocks, the rest is sandstones with dunes and dunes. The Thar desert is romantic and attractive with its unusualness.
Animal world
This amazing place has a not exactly mild climate. But, despite this, there is quite a dynamic and vibrant nature. It is one of the most densely populated deserts.
There are a great variety of plant and animal species that have managed to adapt to fairly harsh environmental and climatic conditions.
Thar Desertlocated in a peculiar and unique place where the most diverse and hardy living creatures can survive.
Among the numerous mammals, the following species of animals live here: Indian gazelle, fox, jackals, desert cats, nilgai antelope and jungle cat. These species are widely distributed in the national park of the same name. This natural area provides excellent natural conditions for the living and survival of various species of lizards, desert rats, snakes and other living creatures.
In many areas of the park, the presence of a rather unusual animal has become quite normal and commonplace. The Thar Desert is the habitat of the oldest lizards with spiny tails unseen today. The most common reptiles here are vipers, sand boas and rat snakes.
Plant world
Just like animals, desert plants survive perfectly in the Indian desert, adapting to rather difficult environmental conditions. The leaves of these plants are able to shrink in size to minimize the evaporation of moisture from the surface.
Most of the representatives of the local flora do not have leaves at all - only stems with very small leaves grow, which helps save life-giving water. Tricks like these allow perennials to survive fairly long dry spells.
Climate
The Thar Desert has a subtropical continental climate. Most of the precipitation in these places falls from July to September (during the summer monsoon), and from May to June it is very common here.dust storms sweep through.
Mechanisms of Survival
Most of the desert creatures have developed their own ways of surviving in such conditions.
They reduce activity during the hot period: they hide in the sands or in the liquid shade of few plants. In addition, in these places, despite the exorbitant air temperature and the hot surface of the earth, an animal that has buried only a few centimeters in the sand feels quite comfortable even on the hottest day.
Many of the inhabitants of the national park (foxes, lizards, cats, snakes, etc.) live in holes. Moreover, the peak of their activity falls on the earliest hours or during a decrease in temperature, when the sun begins to set.
There are animals, such as the gazelle, which, due to their size, are not able to hide from the scorching heat either in a hole or in the shade. But they are able to withstand an increase in body temperature above normal up to seven degrees, without any he alth complications. These animals can live without water for several days, eating only green plants and getting the missing moisture from the leaves.
Geological aspects of origin
The Thar Desert is also interesting and curious from a geological point of view. There are suggestions that the geographical feature is located in the place where the Triassic sea once was. It disappeared, having existed for 25 million years, and instead, only fossilized fragments of fauna and flora remained, which were found in the rock deposits of many areas of the desert.
After a few million years, this area again became the sea. In the sandstones and limestones in the Jaisalmer region, ammonite fossils have been found preserved from those ancient times. In the Cretaceous period (lower), lush forests grew in this area. At the very end of the Cretaceous and at the beginning of the Cenozoic period (63 million years ago), the sea again captured these areas. The remains of living beings accumulated at the bottom of an ancient natural reservoir and their subsequent slow decomposition is the basis for the formation of hydrocarbons (in particular oil) and gas in this region.
There is a very curious village in the Thar desert - Akal. Petrified trees preserved in its vicinity and near Jaisalmer are fragments of ferns and forests that flourished here in the early Jurassic period (approximately 180 million years ago) as the main vegetation. To date, approximately 25 fossilized tree trunks are on display at Akala's Ancient Fossil Park. The largest tree here, judging by the finds, was about 7 meters high.
Conclusion
Amazing, saturated with the mystical spirit and wisdom of the East, India attracts numerous travelers from all over the world. This country is very famous not only for its cultural heritage, rich national and religious traditions, excellent, unique cuisine, but also for its beautiful, peculiar nature, a rather significant part of which is the Indian desert described above.
Thus, making a journey throughIndia and, in particular, through the amazing desert, observing its most unique inhabitants and peculiar vegetation, admiring its huge sandy expanses stretching for many kilometers, one should not forget that it is necessary to be very sensitive and careful about the world around us, sincerely love and protect it.
