Desert:
Chilly where you are? The desert is just getting warmed up! Come have fun in the sun in an unbelievable paradise. Just like in the movies, the rolling hills of sand are a sight to see!
Location:
The desert is located all over the world, including North & South America, Africa, Europe, Asia and Australia. In fact, deserts cover approximately one fifth of the earth’s land surface!
Climate:
There are two types of desert, so make sure to research your destination before packing! There is a hot & dry desert and a cold desert. As you can imagine the hot & dry desert is, well, hot & dry. The temperature ranges from 20°-25° C (in extreme conditions, it can get as hot as 43°-49° C). There is hardly and rainfall, approximately 15cm a year. The cold desert is much cooler. In the winter it can be as cold as 2°-4° degrees Celsius and in the summer temperatures range from 21° to 26° C. Cold deserts have a lot of snow and some rainfall in the spring. The average annual rainfall is 15-26cm a year.
For the hot desert you should pack summertime clothes, LOTS of sunscreen, closed toe shoes and a hat. Also, don’t forget your sun block!
The cold desert, you’ll need warmer clothes. A heavy jacket will be needed if you’ll be traveling during the winter.
Wildlife:
There are many animals here that are completely unique to the desert biome. You’ll be able to spot bobcats, coyotes and desert tortoises. The animals are able to survive in the desert because they burrow under the sand to keep themselves both warm and cool. The sand protects them from the cold weather as well as the sun.
The plants are a remarkable sight also. In the hot & dry desert, you’ll see plants such as cacti and prickly pears. There are not many plants in the hot desert, but the ones that are there must be able to store water for long periods of time. In the cold desert, there are more plants, but still not a lot. The plants that do live here live primarily in the shade.
Critical issues:
There are several issues with the desert. One of them is that with global warming, the desert (along with the rest of the earth) is getting hotter. This affects vegetation. The survival of plants is important to the animal life here. Hotter temperatures and fewer plants will affect the population of native animals. Fewer plants and animals in this biome will also affect the human population. There is not enough water to support communities that are being built in deserts, such as New Mexico. They are in constant danger of running short on water.
Interesting Facts:
*Mountains on the edge of deserts prevent rain from entering. The rain stays on the other side of the mountain creating rain forests next to many deserts. These deserts are called rain shadows.
*The world's deserts are growing through desertification. This happens when grasslands that border the desert become as dry as the desert. Desertification can also be caused by intense farming.
*Deserts are second only to tropical rain forests in the variety of plants and animals that live there.