The Sahara Desert is the largest hot desert in the world
A desert is an area on the earth which gets less than 10 inches of accumulative precipitations in a a year. They generally contain very limited vegetation, a variety of animal life and have large to enormous rock formations. Temperatures in desert regions can become extremely hot in the daytime, reaching well above 100 degrees Fahrenheit regularly, while in winter temperatures can fall to around freezing at night.
Kalahari Desert
The Kalahari Desert is situated in South Africa. It is semi-arid to arid and extends 350,000 square miles which covers most of Botswana and many parts of Namibia. The Kalahari Desert is the seventh largest of all desert regions on the globe. It averages anywhere from 3 to 7 inches of precipitation every year. Plant life in the Kalahari Desert includes primarily grasses and acacia trees, while desert animals include antelope, warthogs, jackals, meerkats, brown lions and giraffes.
Sahara Desert
The Sahara desert is about 2.5 million years old and is the largest non-Arctic desert in the world, covering approximately 3.5 million square miles in Northern Africa. A variety of animals inhabit the Sahara Desert, which includes antelopes, gerbils, spotted hyena, jackal, the desert fox, camels, African wild dogs and ostriches. Vegetation in this region is sparse due to the extreme heat and dryness however, areas of grass can be found as well as the occasional olive tree.
Arabian Desert
The Arabian Desert covers approximately 900,000 square miles. It is located throughout areas of the Persian Gulf to Yemen, Jordan and Iraq, occupying the majority of the Arabian Peninsula. It gets an average of only about 1.4 inches per year of precipitation which makes it friendly to only a few types of plant growth. Plants which can be found in the Arabian Desert include the Date Palm, Juniper and the caper. Animals in this region include the dromedary camel, Egyptian vulture, flamingo, hedgehog, Arabian horse, fox, hyena and jackal.
Gobi Desert
The Gobi Desert is the second largest desert in all of Asia, and the third largest in all of the world. It covers about 500,000 square miles which includes the southern portions of Mongolia. The temperatures in the Gobi Desert vary greatly, dropping as low as 40 degrees below zero Fahrenheit in winter and getting as hot as 113 degrees F in the summer months. The Saxaul Tree is one of the few plants that can be found in many parts of this region. Animals that inhabit the Gobi Desert include camel, wild horses, wild asses and antelopes.
Great Victoria Desert
The Great Victoria Desert stretches over more than 250,000 square miles in the western and southern regions of Australia. Plants that can be found in this area include wildflowers, acacia trees, black desert oak, marble gums, spinifex, cacti and hibbertia. Animals that live in the Victoria Desert include snakes, camels, wallabies and lizards.
Tags: square miles, Gobi Desert, Kalahari Desert, Arabian Desert, Desert include, largest desert
