A desert is a area that receives almost no rainAlthough that is not why we should think that a desert does not have life of any kind. It does, and just as there are arid deserts and almost no flora or fauna, there are others that are almost, in their own way, an orchard.
When we look at the map of the world's deserts, we realize that there is a significant concentration of deserts in North Africa and in much of Asia. In Asia there are about twenty-three deserts or semi-deserts, deserts that are ancient and others that are in formation. But there are some who are exceptional and famous and they are the great deserts of Asia.
The Arabian Desert
This is a huge desert, of 2.330.000 square kilometers, which goes from Yemen to the Persian Gulf and from Oman to Iraq and Jordan. The desert is located in the Middle East, western Asia, and almost entirely occupies the Arabian Peninsula. It is Dry weatherThere are red dunes, loose sands and temperatures that melt by day, of 46ºC, and freeze at night.
Some species of flora and fauna have been adopted to live here and others have perished due to the growth of cities and continuous human hunting. This Asian desert is rich in deposits of sulfur, phosphates and natural gas and oil and it is thought that perhaps these activities are the ones that are putting its conservation in check.
The Gobi Desert
It is a very large desert that occupies part of China and Mongolia. The Himalaya Mountains block the clouds that bring water from the Indian Ocean so it is a dry desert, with almost no rain. It has an area of 1.295 thousand square kilometers and it is the largest desert in Asia.
The Gobi is not a desert with a lot of sand and mostly its bed is exposed rock. At the same time it is a cold desertIt can even freeze and you can even see snow-covered dunes. All because it is at a high altitude, between 900 and 1520 meters. -40ºC is a possible temperature in winter and 50ºC in summer is also usual.
The Gobi is one of those deserts that does not stand still and continues to grow, and it does so in alarming proportions due to the rapid desertification process that you experience. And yes, it is famous because it is the cradle of the Mongol Empire, that of Genghis Khan.
Karakum desert
This desert is in central asia and in Turkish it means black sands. Much of the desert is in the lands of Turkmenistan. It does not have much population and also it rains very little. Inside is a mountain range, the Bolshoi Mountains, where Stone Age human remains have been found, and a couple of welcome oases for those who decide to hike it.
This desert also has oil and natural gas fields. In fact, inside here is the famous Door to Hell, the Darvaza crater, a natural gas field that collapsed in 1971. Since then it has been permanently lit on purpose, to avoid risks: it is 69 meters in diameter and 30 meters deep.
Last, some hundred-year-old tracks cross it: it is the Trans-Caspiano train It follows the Silk Road and was built by the Russian Empire.
Kyzyl Kum Desert
This desert is in Central Asia and its name in Turkish means red sand. It is right between two rivers and today it occupies the lands of three countries: Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. It has 298 thousand square kilometers.
Most of this desert has white sands and they exist some oases. On the banks of the two rivers that press it and in these oases there are some villages of farmers.
Takla Makan Desert
This desert is within China, in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, a region with a Muslim majority. It is surrounded by mountains to the north and west and also the Goni Desert itself surrounds it to the east. It occupies an area of 337 thousand square kilometers and more than 80% of its dunes move constantly changing the landscape.
China has built a highway linking Luntai with Hotan, two cities. Like the Gobi desert, the Himalayas keep rain clouds out, so it is a rather dry desert, and in winter temperatures can be below 20 ºC. There is very little water so oases are valuable.
Thar desert
Al Thar is known as the Great Indian Desert and it is an arid area that works like natural border between India and Pakistan. It is a subtropical desert and if we talk about percentages, more than 80% of it is in Indian territory where it covers 320 thousand square kilometers.
The Thar has a dry part, to the west, and a semi-desert part, to the east, with dunes and a little more rain. Most of this Indian desert are shifting dunes They move much more before the monson season due to high winds.
This desert has only one river, the Luni, and the little rain that falls does it between July and September. There are some salt water lakes that fill up with rain and disappear in the dry season. Both Pakistan and India have designated some areas as "Protected areas or natural sanctuaries". Antelopes, gazelles, reptiles, wild asses, red foxes and various species of birds inhabit it.
The Thar has the peculiarity that it is the most inhabited desert in the world. Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Sindhis and Kolhis live, some in India, others in Pakistan, at the rate of 83 people per square kilometer who are dedicated to livestock and agriculture and have a rich cultural life that includes folk festivals.