Not all deserts have sand.
Commonly thought to be a large, hot and sandy area, a desert is any area that receives little precipitation (rain or snow) and likely has a moisture deficit, meaning the area loses more moisture than it receives in a year. Subtropical deserts are hot and sandy, while cold-winter and polar deserts are severely cold with snow and ice. The world's three largest deserts are the Antarctic Desert, the Arctic and the Sahara. Roughly one-third of the Earth's surface is covered by desert.
Antarctic Desert
Located in Antarctica, the Antarctic Desert is a polar desert, meaning it is cold and wintry year-round. Covering approximately 5,339,573 square miles, the Antarctic Desert is the world's biggest desert. It spans the entire continent of Antarctica, which is the Earth's fifth-largest and southernmost continent. The Antarctic Desert has no permanent human population, but there are various research stations throughout the region where scientists live temporarily. A few cold-weather animals, such as penguins and seals, live in Antarctica along with many types of algae and microorganisms that are well-suited for the harsh climate.
Arctic
Like the Antarctic Desert, the Arctic is a polar desert. It spreads across more than 5,300,000 square miles and is located in parts of the Alaska, Canada, Greenland, Norway, Iceland, Sweden, Finland and Russia. Unlike the Antarctic Desert, the Arctic is home to humans and several kinds wild animals and plants. Notable Arctic wild animals include the caribou, polar bear, wolverine, seal, walrus and killer whale. The Arctic is shrinking due to global warming. The Arctic is the second-largest desert in the world.
Sahara
The Sahara, which translates to "the Greatest Desert" in Arabic, is a subtropical desert that spreads through most of North Africa, including Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Sudan, Morocco, Libya, Mali, Niger, Mauritania and Tunisia. At more than 3,320,000 square miles, the Sahara is the world's third-largest desert and the largest subtropical desert. Unlike the Arctic and the Antarctic Desert, the Sahara is hot and riddled with sand dunes that can reach to nearly 600 feet high. The Sahara is also windy and experiences regular sand storms. Humans as well as light vegetation and a number of animals live in the Sahara. Notable Sahara fauna include the camel, antelope, ostrich, gazelle and cheetah.
Tags: Antarctic Desert, Antarctic Desert Arctic, Desert Arctic, square miles, more than, more than square