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External Websites
- Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy - Desert
- USGS - What is a Desert?
- National Geographic Society - Desert
- MIT OpenCourseWare - Deserts
- DesertUSA - What Is a Desert?
- Untamed Science - Desert Biome
- Pressbooks at Virginia Tech - Virginia Cooperative Extension Gardener Handbook - Desert
- University of California Museum of Paleontology - The desert biome
- Young People's Trust for the Environment - Desert Regions
- Geosciences LibreTexts - Deserts
Britannica Websites
Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.
A list of selected deserts of the world is provided in the table.
name (location) | area | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
sq miles | sq km | |||
Africa | Sahara (northern Africa) | 3,320,000 | 8,600,000 | |
Libyan (Libya, Egypt, and Sudan) | … | … | ||
Kalahari (southwestern Africa) | 360,000 | 930,000 | ||
Namib (southwestern Africa) | 52,000 | 135,000 | ||
America, North | Great Basin (southwestern U.S.) | 190,000 | 492,000 | |
Chihuahuan (northern Mexico) | 175,000 | 450,000 | ||
Sonoran (southwestern U.S. and Baja California) | 120,000 | 310,800 | ||
Colorado (California, U.S., and northern Mexico) | … | … | ||
Yuma (Arizona, U.S., and Sonora, Mexico) | … | … | ||
Mojave (southwestern U.S.) | 25,000 | 65,000 | ||
America, South | Patagonian (southern Argentina) | 260,000 | 673,000 | |
Atacama (northern Chile) | 54,000 | 140,000 | ||
Asia | Arabia (southwestern Asia) | 900,000 | 2,300,000 | |
Rubʿ al-Khali (southern Arabian Peninsula) | 250,000 | 650,000 | ||
Gobi (Mongolia and northeastern China) | 500,000 | 1,300,000 | ||
Kyzylkum (Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan) | 115,000 | 300,000 | ||
Takla Makan (northern China) | 123,550 | 320,000 | ||
Karakum (Turkmenistan) | 135,000 | 350,000 | ||
Kavir (central Iran) | 100,000 | 260,000 | ||
Syrian (Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria, and Iraq) | 100,000 | 260,000 | ||
Thar (India and Pakistan) | 77,000 | 200,000 | ||
Lut (eastern Iran) | 20,000 | 52,000 | ||
Negev (Israel) | 4,700 | 12,300 | ||
Australia | Great Victoria (Western and South Australia) | 250,000 | 647,000 | |
Great Sandy (northern Western Australia) | 150,000 | 400,000 | ||
Gibson (Western Australia) | … | … | ||
Simpson (Northern Territory) | 55,000 | 143,000 |