The Sahara is the largest hot desert in the world.
Deserts comprise one-fifth of the Earth's surface, according to the University of California. A desert is any region that receives less than 19.7-inches of precipitation each year. The environments of deserts vary considerably, from vast sand dunes to rocky snowfields. They exist due to natural barriers from moisture, such as mountains which cause increased evaporation on one side of the range. Deserts are present on every continent.
Asia
Mongolia's Gobi desert formed due to the blockage of moisture and precipitation from the Himalayan Mountains. The Gobi desert is cold for the majority of the year. Asia also contains the Takla Makn, Kyzyl Kum and Kara Kum deserts.
Middle East
Deserts of the Middle East include the Jordanian, Rub'al-Khali and Arabian. The Rub'al-Khali desert lies in the southern portion of the Arabian Peninsula. At 250,000 square miles, this desert is equivalent to the size of Texas.
Africa
The African continent contains three main deserts: the Sahara desert, the Namib desert and the Kalahari desert. The western Sahara and Namib deserts are considered fog deserts since the majority of moisture these deserts receive during the year is from fog.
Covering the north of Africa, the Sahara is the largest hot, dry desert in the world and is equivalent in size to the U.S., according to the California Academy of Sciences. The Kalahari desert of southern Africa covers portions of seven countries. This semi-arid desert has a large number of migratory animals.
South America
The Atacama desert of Chile is the driest desert in the world and contains regions that receive no measurable amount of moisture. Although this coastal desert is more than 600 miles long, it extends only 100 miles inland at its widest point. The Atacama desert lies between the Pacific Ocean and the Andes mountain range.
South America also contains the Peruvian and Patagonian deserts. These deserts exist due to tall mountain ranges that create a rainshadow. Rainshadows cause the air coming down from mountain ranges to increase in temperature and evaporation rate. The low humidity and high temperatures create deserts.
North America
North America contains semi-arid deserts, which occur throughout portions of the Great Basin, Montana and Newfoundland, according to the University of Berkeley. These deserts contain sagebrush and other plants that tolerate the long, dry summers. The Sonoran, Mojave and Chihuahuan deserts are hot, dry deserts where daily temperatures can fluctuate as much as 100 degrees.
Nearctic and Antarctic Regions
Cold deserts occur in the Greenland, Antarctic and Neararctic regions of the world. These deserts experience long, cold winters and short, mild summers. Cold deserts receive more moisture during the colder months than in summer. The entire continent of Antarctica is a desert due to low-precipitation levels.
Australia
Australia rests along the tropic of Capricorn, which is an area of high atmospheric pressure. In this region, the rate of evaporation exceeds precipitation and results in deserts. Nearly 25 percent of Australia is desert land. The Simpson is the largest Australian desert and is known for its red sand dunes.
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