The mere word "desert" evokes in us the corresponding associations. This space, which is almost completely devoid of flora, has a very specific fauna, and is also located in the zone of very strong winds and monsoons. The desert zone is about 20% of all the land of our planet. And among them there are not only sandy, but also snowy, tropical and many others. Well, get to know this natural landscape more closely.
What is a desert?
This term corresponds to flat terrain, the type of which is homogeneous. Flora here is almost completely absent, and the fauna has a very specific characteristic. The desert relief zone is vast territories, most of which are located in the tropical and subtropical zones of the Northern Hemisphere. The desert landscape also occupies a small part of South America and most of Australia. Among its features, in addition to plains and plateaus, are also called arteries of dried up rivers, or closed reservoirs, where lakes could previously have been. Also, the desert zone is a place where there is very little rainfall. On average, this is up to 200 mm per year, and in particularly arid and hot areas - up to 50 mm. There are also such regions of deserts where rainfall has not been falling for a decade.
Animals and plants
The desert natural zone is characterized by completely sparse vegetation. Sometimes the distances that lie between the bushes reach kilometers in length. The main representatives of the flora in such a natural belt are spiny plants, only a few of which have the usual green foliage. The animals that live on such lands are the simplest mammals or reptiles that accidentally wandered here and reptiles. If we are talking about the icy desert, then only animals live here that tolerate low temperatures well.
Climatic indicators
To begin with, we note that in its geological structure, the desert zone is no different, say, from the flat terrain in Europe or in Russia. And the severe weather conditions that can be traced here were formed due to the trade winds, which are characteristic of tropical latitudes. They literally disperse the clouds over the terrain, preventing them from irrigating the land with rainfall. So, in the climate sense, the desert zone is a region with very sharp temperature drops. During the day, due to the scorching sun, there can be as much as 50 degrees Celsius, and at night the thermometer will drop to +5. In deserts that lie in the more northern zones (temperate and arctic), daily temperature fluctuations have the same indicator - 30-40 degrees. However, here the air heats up to zero during the day, and cools down to -50 at night.
Semi-desert and desert zone: differences and similarities
In temperate and subtropical latitudes, any desert is always surrounded by a semi-desert. This is a natural area in which there are no forests, tall trees and conifers. All that is available here is a flat terrain or plateau, which is covered with grasses and shrubs, unpretentious to weather conditions. A characteristic feature of the semi-desert is not aridity, but, in contrast to the desert, increased evaporation. The amount of precipitation that falls on such a belt is sufficient for the full existence of any animals here. In the eastern hemisphere, semi-deserts are often called steppes. These are vast flat terrain where you can often find very beautiful plants and see stunning landscapes. On the western continents, this territory is called the savannah. Its climatic features are somewhat different from the steppe ones, strong winds always blow here, and plants are much smaller.
Earth's most famous hottest deserts
The zone of tropical deserts literally divides our planet into two parts - Northern and Southern. Most of them are in the Eastern Hemisphere, and very few in the West. Now we will consider the most famous and beautiful such zones of the Earth. Sahara is the greatest desert of the planet, which occupies all of North Africa and many lands of the Middle East. Locals divide it into many “deserts”, among which Belaya is popular. It is located in Egypt and is famous for its white sands and vast limestone deposits. Along with her in this country there is also Black. Here the sands are mixed with a stone of a characteristic color. The widest red sandy expanses are the lot of Australia. Among them, respect deserves the landscape called Simpson, where you can meet the highest dunes on the continent.
Arctic desert
The natural zone, which is located on the northernmost latitudes of our planet, is called the Arctic desert. It includes all the islands that are in the Arctic Ocean, the extreme coasts of Greenland, Russia and Alaska. Throughout the year, most of this natural area is covered with glaciers, because there are practically no plants here. Only in the territory that emerges to the surface in summer, lichens and mosses grow. On the islands you can find coastal algae. Among animals, the following individuals are found here: the Arctic wolf, deer, arctic foxes, polar bears - the kings of this region. Near the waters of the ocean we see pinnipeds - seals, walruses, fur seals. The most common here are birds, which, perhaps, are the only source of noise in the Arctic desert.
Arctic climate
The ice desert zone is the place where the polar night and polar day pass , which are comparable with the concepts of winter and summer. The cold season lasts about 100 days, and sometimes more. The air temperature does not rise above 20 degrees, and in especially harsh times it happens -60. In summer, the sky is always cloudy, it rains with snow and constant evaporation occurs, due to which the air humidity rises. The temperature on summer days is around 0. As in the sandy deserts, winds that form storms and terrible snowstorms constantly blow in the Arctic.
Conclusion
There are still a number of deserts on our planet that differ from sand and snow. These are salt open spaces, Akatama in the territory of Chile, where in arid climates a bunch of flowers grow. Deserts can be found in Nevada, USA, where they echo the red canyons, forming unrealistically beautiful landscapes.