ClassX Video Lessons Deserts of the World | Learn interesting facts about different deserts from around the world
Hey there! When you hear the word “desert,” what do you think of? Maybe a hot, sandy place with camels, cacti, and lots of sunshine. Well, deserts are all that and more! Did you know that deserts cover about 20% of our planet? They can be found on every continent, even in Antarctica, which is a cold desert!
A desert is a place that gets very little rain, usually less than 10 inches a year. This makes it hard for plants, animals, and people to live there. Deserts are places where more water evaporates into the air than falls as rain.
There are four main types of deserts:
These deserts are warm all year and very hot in the summer. They get very little rain, and the plants are mostly small shrubs and trees. Animals like kangaroo rats and burrowing rodents come out at night to stay cool. The Mojave Desert in California is a good example.
These deserts aren’t as hot in the summer and can get cold in the winter. They have spiny plants and animals like rabbits and skunks. The sagebrush region in the western United States is a semi-arid desert.
These deserts have cool winters and warm summers, with about 3 to 5 inches of rain each year. Plants have roots close to the surface, and animals like coyotes and owls live here. The Namib Desert in Africa is a coastal desert.
These deserts have long, cold winters with snow and short summers. The soil is salty and heavy, and only a few plants grow. The Gobi Desert in China and Mongolia is a cold desert.
Let’s explore some famous deserts:
Deserts have unique plants and animals that have special ways to survive with little water. For example, camels store water in their bodies, and cacti have thick skins to keep water inside.
So, deserts are not just hot and sandy places. They are full of amazing life and interesting features. Next time you think of a desert, remember all the cool things that make them special!
Desert Diorama: Create a mini desert scene using a shoebox or a small container. Use sand, small rocks, and toy animals to represent the different types of deserts and their inhabitants. Think about what plants and animals you would find in a hot and dry desert versus a cold desert. Share your diorama with your family and explain the different features of the desert you chose.
Weather Watch: Keep a weather diary for a week. Record the temperature and any rainfall each day. Compare your local weather to what you might find in a desert. Discuss with your family how the weather affects the plants and animals in your area compared to those in a desert.
Desert Detective: Go on a nature walk and look for plants and animals in your neighborhood. How do they compare to those found in deserts? Think about how they get water and stay cool or warm. Draw a picture of a plant or animal you find and write a sentence about how it survives in your environment.
Sure! Here’s a sanitized version of the YouTube transcript:
—
[Music]
**Deserts of the World for Kids**
Hey kids! When I mention the word “desert,” what comes to mind? Maybe a dry, sandy place with camels, scorpions, cactus plants, sand dunes, and a hot sun. Well, all of those can be found in the deserts of the world, but there’s so much more to our planet’s deserts!
Believe it or not, about 20% of the Earth is made up of deserts, and they exist on every continent. In fact, Antarctica itself is a desert! Of course, there are no camels in Antarctica, and it’s definitely not hot there. So, what makes a desert a desert? It’s all about the amount of precipitation that falls each year. A desert is any landmass where there is a deficit of moisture, meaning that there is more water evaporating than falling from the sky. Deserts typically receive less than 10 inches of precipitation per year, which makes life in these dry places really difficult for plants, animals, and people.
There are four types of deserts on Earth: hot and dry deserts, semi-arid deserts, coastal deserts, and cold deserts. Most deserts occur at low altitudes, like Death Valley in California, which is one of the most famous desert locations in the world. Its lowest point is an amazing 282 feet below sea level! In Death Valley, the temperature has been known to hit 120 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer. You better pack your sunscreen!
Other parts of the Mojave Desert are considered high desert and exist at altitudes of up to 4,000 feet. In Mongolia, there are parts of the Gobi Desert that sit at almost 5,000 feet. Almost all of the animals and plants that live in the deserts of the world have special adaptations that allow them to survive with very little water and to thrive in extreme temperatures. The soil in the desert is typically full of nutrients because it needs only water to become productive and has little or no organic matter.
Can you think of animals other than camels that are known to live in the desert? Lizards, rodents like kangaroo mice, snakes, insects, and ground birds like roadrunners are all examples. Small animals don’t need to store as much water as larger ones, so they can survive in desert environments. Camels are an exception to this rule and are especially adapted to live in hot, dry places.
Now, let’s talk about the four types of deserts in the world, starting with hot and dry deserts. In these deserts, it’s warm all year round, but very hot and dry in the summer. Winters bring very little rainfall, and the plants there are mainly short shrubs and small trees. The animals in hot and dry deserts are mostly nocturnal, such as burrowing rodents and kangaroo rats. The Mojave Desert in California is an example of a hot and dry desert.
Next, we have semi-arid deserts. In these deserts, it’s not as hot in the summer, and in the winter, you get low concentrations of rain. Even temperatures can get cold, which helps animals do better. The plants are mostly spiny or silvery and support animals like rabbits, skunks, reptiles, and birds. An example of a semi-arid desert is the sagebrush region of the western United States.
Coastal deserts have cool winters and long, warm summers, averaging about 3 to 5 inches of rain per year. Plants have extensive root systems close to the surface and are mostly small bushes. Animals that live there include insects, coyotes, badgers, owls, eagles, and reptiles. The Namib Desert in Africa and the Atacama Desert in Chile are examples of coastal deserts.
Finally, we have cold deserts. These deserts experience long, cold winters with 6 to 10 inches of snow, more rain than other deserts, and really short summers. The soil there is mostly silty, salty, and heavy, and only about 10% of the ground is covered by short, spiny-leaved plants. You can find jackrabbits, various mice and rats, and coyotes. An example of a cold desert is the Gobi Desert in northern China and Mongolia.
While we categorize deserts into these four main types, it’s important to remember that the Earth has a wide variety of ecosystems, so the types of plants and animals can vary from place to place.
Check out this map showing the major deserts of the world! The two biggest deserts on Earth can be found at the poles: Antarctica and the Arctic. The Antarctic desert covers 5,500,000 square miles, and the Arctic is almost the same size at 5,400,000 square miles. They are both considered cold deserts. In Antarctica, temperatures can range from minus 67 degrees Fahrenheit in the winter to 59 degrees in the summer. Here’s a tip: it’s not a great idea to wear shorts in Antarctica! Precipitation is typically less than 8 inches per year. The Arctic desert partially occupies countries such as Canada, Norway, Sweden, Russia, and the United States.
There are many deserts in the world, some of the most famous being the Sahara in northern Africa, the Great Victoria Desert in Australia, the Arabian Desert in Western Asia, and the Sonoran, Colorado Plateau, and Great Basin deserts in the U.S.
Let’s start with the Sahara in North Africa. At 3.5 million square miles, it’s the largest hot desert in the world, known for its large sand dunes and the Nile River, which flows through it. The Arabian Desert is about 900,000 square miles and includes much of Yemen, the Persian Gulf, Oman, Jordan, and Iraq. Much of the world’s oil supply comes from the Arabian Desert, and its center forms the largest continuous body of sand in the world, known as The Empty Quarter.
In Australia, the Great Victoria Desert covers about 220,000 square miles and does not look like your typical desert; it actually has thunderstorms that provide 8 to 10 inches of precipitation per year. This desert is home to many animals, including rock wallabies, parrots, snakes, camels, and bilbies.
The three most famous deserts in the U.S. are the Sonoran Desert in the southwest, the Great Basin Desert further north, and the Colorado Plateau Desert. The Sonoran Desert is about 100,000 square miles and is home to cities like Phoenix, Arizona. Summer temperatures can hit 118 degrees, and you can find Saguaro cacti lining the landscape. These cacti can live to be 200 years old! The desert supports many animal species, with 65 types of mammals, 340 species of birds, and 2,500 plant species.
The Great Basin Desert is the largest in the U.S., covering about 190,000 square miles, and is bordered by the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada range. This is a cold desert with snowy winters and dry, hot summers. The Colorado Plateau Desert covers about 130,000 square miles and is the only place in the U.S. where four states touch: Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona. It has warm summers and cold winters, and the most famous landmark in this desert is the spectacular Grand Canyon, along with the amazing Red Rocks of Sedona.
As you can see, deserts all have their own amazing features and unique ecosystems with some incredible plants and animals.
So there you have it, the deserts of the world! I hope this video wasn’t too dry. Thanks for following Clarendon Learning! Be sure to subscribe for more free resources and check us out at clarendonlearning.org.
—
This version maintains the informative content while ensuring clarity and appropriateness.
