Download Location and Climate

The Desert
Facts and Information
Location and Climate
Like the tundra, the desert is
also a biome of extremes:
extreme heat and cold and
extreme dryness. When
you think of the desert, a
picture of huge sand
dunes often comes to mind.
However, deserts do not
always look like that.
Deserts can be either hot or cold. Deserts can be
found all over the world. Cold deserts include: the
Sonoran desert (the smallest) of the southwest US
and Mexico, the Patagonian desert of South
America, and the Gobi and Turkestan deserts of
Central Asia. Hot deserts include: the Sahara (the
largest), the Kalahari and the Namib deserts of
Africa, the Takla Makan desert of China, the
Great Outback of Australia and the Arabian
desert of southeast Asia.
The cold deserts have hot summers, but fairly cold
winters. The hot deserts are hot during the day, all
year. Both deserts can get quite cold at night. In a
hot desert, temperatures can reach as high as
110˚F in the daytime and drop as
much as 80˚ lower (30˚F) at
night. The one thing hot and
cold deserts have in
common is their lack of rain.
Precipitation in the desert is
usually
less
than
20
centimeters per year.
Desert Plants
Very few plants grow in the desert
and those that do, must be adapted to
life without a constant
supply of water. One plant
that is adapted to desert life is the cactus. It has the
ability to store water to use when rainfall is scarce.
Other plants have very deep root systems to search
for water or small leaves to prevent water loss.
These plants can include mesquite bushes, thorny
bushes and small flowering plants and grasses.
Desert Animals
Animals of the desert must also adapt to life in an
extreme environment. One
adaptation that helps animals
survive the hot
climate is being nocturnal.
Nocturnal animals spend the
day underground, resting and do their activities
during the cooler night. Desert animals are also
camouflaged to hide from predators or prey during
the hunting periods. Some animals that can be
found in the desert are rattlesnakes, rats, gophers,
lizards, tortoises, eagles, hawks, scorpions, owls,
vultures, jackrabbits, camels and armadillos.