Deserts - Information & Facts
Desert animals, birds and reptiles
How desert animals, birds and reptiles keep cool
Finding food and water in the desert
Definition of a desert
A desert is somewhere that receives less than 25cm (about 10 inches) of rain a year. Deserts cover one fifth to one third of the Earth’s surface and are mainly found around the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere.
Deserts are the driest places in the world.
- Biggest desert – Sahara Desert in North Africa
- Driest desert – Atacama Desert in South America
- Coldest desert – Gobi Desert in Asia
- Hottest Desert – Sahara Desert in Africa.
Types of desert
There are 5 types of desert:
- Sand – sand that drifts in waves, like the sea
- Stone – ground covered in pebbles and gravel
- Rock – bare rock kept clear of sand and gravel by the wind
- Plateau – higher rocky plateaux, with deep erosions
- Mountain – bare and arid mountains with jagged rock peaks.
Sand deserts make up only 15% of the world' s desert surface (parts of the Sahara and Arabia desert).
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