Deserts cover about one fifth of the Earth's surface and occur where rainfall is less than 50 cm/year. Although most deserts, such as the Sahara of North Africa and the deserts of the southwestern U.S., Mexico, and Australia, occur at low latitudes, another kind of desert, cold deserts, occur in the basin and range area of Utah and Nevada and in parts of western Asia. Most deserts have a considerable amount of specialized vegetation, as well as specialized vertebrate and invertebrate animals. Soils often have abundant nutrients because they need only water to become very productive and have little or no organic matter. Disturbances are common in the form of occasional fires or cold weather, and sudden, infrequent, but intense rains that cause flooding.
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/exhibits/biomes/deserts.php
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/exhibits/biomes/deserts.php
FUN FACTS |
*Although the daytime temperatures of the desert biome are very hot, they can get very cold at night.
*The driest desert on Earth receives on average 1 centimeter of rainfall every 5 to 20 years. *Dust storms occur when the wind picks up dust from the surface. These storms can be up to 1 mile high and travel over a hundred miles. *Some deserts are so hot that when it rains, the water evaporates in the air before ever hitting the ground. *There are some deserts in Antarctica that are known as cold deserts. They are considered deserts because of the small amount of vegetation that grows there. http://www.softschools.com/facts/biomes/desert_biome_facts/167/ |