2.3.1

Hot Deserts

Test yourself

Overview of Hot Deserts

Hot deserts have the following general characteristics:

Illustrative background for What is the climate like in deserts?Illustrative background for What is the climate like in deserts? ?? "content

What is the climate like in deserts?

  • A desert gets less than 10 inches (25cm) of rain each year.
  • It doesn't rain every week in deserts. Usually, a desert will get 10-20 inches of rain in one burst every 1-2 years.
  • The Sahara desert is usually 45oC during the day and -4oC at night.
  • NASA says that the average daytime temperature of deserts is 38oC.
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What is the soil like in deserts?

  • Soils in the desert are almost like sand.
  • Soil in deserts is very infertile and it is hard for plants to grow.
  • There aren't many plants in the desert, so leaves don't really fall and therefore cannot be decomposed with their nutrients being recycled back into the soil.
  • The soil in deserts feels like sand or gravel.
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Which plants live in the desert?

  • Only plants that are adapted to survive with almost no rainfall can live in the desert biome.
  • Cacti, some short grasses, and thornbushes are one of the only types of plants that can survive in deserts.
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Which animals live in deserts?

  • Snakes, lizards, other reptiles, and several amphibians are best adapted to survive in deserts.
  • Scorpions and insects also live in the desert.
  • Some mammals and birds do live in the desert at some times of year but the percentage of animals in the desert that are mammals is very low. Because of the high temperatures in the day, mammals in the desert are likely to be nocturnal.
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Do people live in deserts?

  • Most people don't live in deserts. Crops are hard to grow and subsistence farming is very difficult.
  • Some nomadic tribes and indigenous populations do live in the desert and they have to consistently move to find fresh water and food sources.
  • Travelling across the desert in the peak of the day is hard and most humans have to shelter during the hottest hours of the day in a desert.

Jump to other topics

1The Challenge of Natural Hazards

1.1Natural Hazards

1.2Tectonic Hazards

1.3Weather Hazards

1.4Climate Change

2The Living World

3Physical Landscapes in the UK

3.1The UK Physical Landscape

3.2Coastal Landscapes in the UK

3.3River Landscapes in the UK

3.4Glacial Landscapes in the UK

4Urban Issues & Challenges

5The Changing Economic World

6The Challenge of Resource Management

6.1Resource Management

6.2Food

6.3Water

6.4Energy

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