Deserts

Hot, dry deserts have mostly short woody trees and very low shrubs, some examples include Prickly Pears, Turpentine Bush, Brittle Bush, and Barrel Cactus. Cold deserts mainly have deciduous plants and scrub brush with spiny leaves. Sagebrush is frequently found in cold deserts.

All animals (as well as humans) require three basic things to survive:

Food
Water and
Shelter

With resepct to animals in the desert:

some dig burrows which enable them to keep cool during the day: some of them even plug up the tunnel entrance to help keep out the heat

some dig burrows to enable them to reach the water table under the desert

many creatures do not need to actually drink water, but obtain their moisture needs from the foods or other animals they eat

some have special adaptations, such as the Australian thorny devil, a lizard with sharp spikes which actually channel moisture to its mouth

reptiles are cold-blooded, meaning they actually require the heat to warm them enough so they can move around and feed

many creatures are active at night and in the early morning when it is cooler

some reptiles, amphibians and arthropods remain dormant beneath the ground until the rains come, stimulating their breeding cycle

many desert creatures have pale skin which does not absorb the heat as much

some animals, such as camels, have special protective thick pads, or thick eyelashes that keep out the desert sand

If a desert suddenly experiences a big rainfall, flash flooding can occur.

Animals live in hot deserts in diffrent ways..

Lets Take a camel as a Example, when camels drink water, the water goes in two rooms in a camel body, 10% of the water gets drinked, and 90% left saved in the camels body, so he can drink it when he is thirsty...

Because deserts are defined by the amount of precipitation, the best examples, also the largest, are Antarctic and Arctic. Other good desert examples are the Sahara in Africa, Gobi in Asia, and Arabian in the Middle East.

All continents have deserts, some hot some cold- the not obvious ones are:

* The parts of East Antarctica not covered with ice constitute the Maudlandia Antarctic desert * Europe's only true desert is the Tabernas desert in Almería province, Andalusia, Spain

1. Antarctica - not including the coastal regions-about 14 million sq km, Antarctica

2. Sahara - 9.4 million sq km, North Africa

3. Arabian - 2.3 million sq km, Arabian peninsula

4. Gobi - 1.3 million sq km, China and Mongolia

5. Kalahari - 900,000 sq km, Angola, Botswana, Namibia and South Africa

6. Patagonian Desert - 673,000 sq km, Argentina and Chile

7. Great Basin - 492,000 sq km, USA

8. Great Victoria Desert - 424,400 sq km, Australia

9. Chihuahuan Desert - 453,000 sq km, Mexico and USA

10. Kara-Kum - 349,650 sq km, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan

A desert is define as a region that receives less than 10 inches (250 mm) of precipitation on average per year. Most deserts have brief rainy season in the summer when the majority of the rain falls.

The Turkestan Desert is a Cold desert located in the Middle-east, Asia.

Of course, water vapor will be higher, much higher, above a rain forest than a desert.

The amount of snow a desert receives would depend upon where the desert is located. Some deserts never, or rarely, receive snow. Others my receive a few inches of snow each year that, usually, is quickly melted or evaporated. The qualifying factor is that the region receives less than 10 inches (250 mm) of precipitation (rain and melted snow) per year on average. Since 10 inches of snow equates to about 1 inch of rain, a desert could, theoretically receive about 100 inches (250 cm) of snow and still be considered a desert.

Yes. Things like off roading, mining, human population growth, and animal and plant collecting have ruined this precious habitat. To keep it safe, try to avoid this things. The desert is a precious biome.

An animal like the camel has specific adaptations to desert life. It is able to go without drinking water for long periods of time. It has long lashes to protect its eyes from wind blown sand and dust, it also has large, wide feet which help to spread it weight on the unstable desert surface. Many desert animals live in burrows to avoid the intense heat during the day and are active at night. Most desert animals have adapted to a low water environment. Specific species often have specific adaptations and a complete list would be enormous.

There are two basic classifications of deserts - hot (subtropical) deserts and cold deserts. Cold deserts are subdivided into 3 classifications:
Polar Deserts - such as Antarctica
Cold Winter Deserts - such as the Gobi Desert
Cool Coastal Deserts - such as the Namib Desert and the Atacama Desert

"Limited" is a big stretch here. Basically, people will last about 3 days after they run out of water- tops. The heat alone might kill even a well-hydrated person. Assuming a scorching sun, no shade, limited supplies, and no water probably 2 days before people are incapacitated and just lying around. ---- However, people such as the Australian Aborigines and the Kalahari bushmen are skilled enough to survive by collecting water from the dew that forms in the morning. They know how to get moisture from the stunted and limited plant life in any given area, and most of all, they know how and where to dig to find water. Although sections of the Australian desert, for example, are completely inhospitable to non-natives, there is nowhere on the Australian continent where the indigenous people would be unable to put their water-finding survival skills to adequate use.

Healthy tortoises have enormous appetites! Growing grass, weeds, dandelions, alfalfa, nopales (Opuntia cactus), and rose and hibiscus flowers are excellent food sources. Supplement this diet with vegetables such as endive, escarole, broccoli, squashes such as zucchini, chopped carrots, mixed vegetables, small amounts of kale, romaine and other dark-green leafy vegetables. Sprinkling the food with ground-up rabbit or guinea pig pellets is a good way to add extra fiber to the diet. Tortoises have a high calcium requirement: occasionally sprinkle the food with calcium carbonate or offer a calcium-rich source such as boiled chicken eggshells or cuttlefish bone for them to eat. Occasionally sprinkle the food with a suitable vitamin preparation. Provide a shallow dish of water for drinking and soaking.

The Lut Desert is in Iran in Asia.

during the day, the minute holes in sand trap the heat of the sun and make the surrounding environment hot. whereas in night there is no sun and therefore no heat so the heat escapes from the sand and make environment cold....

by bhomesh

Even in a hot desert it can get very cold at night. Sometimes, depending on the location of the desert and the time of the year, it may drop below freezing at night.

The Mojave occupies the most desert land in California. However, the Great Basin Desert, which also enters the state, is the largest desert overall as it covers most of Nevada and a large portion of Utah.

The Kalahari Desert covers most of Botswana.

Great Victorian Desert
Great Sandy Desert
Simpson
Tanami
Gibson
:)

carbon dioxie

Arizona has true deserts. Alaska does not.

There are many more than three deserts in Australia, but the main ones and their location are:

Great Victoria Desert (Western Australia): 424,400 km2 (163,900 square miles)

Great Sandy Desert (Western Australia): 284,993 km2 (110,036 square miles)

Tanami Desert (Western Australia and Northern Territory): 184,500 km2 (71,235 square miles)

Each of these deserts is either in or primarily in Western Australia, in the western third of the continent.