Deserts for any traveler or just a person who is interested in geography have been and remain one of the most mysterious phenomena in the science of the structure of the Earth.
Deserts attract and frighten tourists. On the one hand, the harsh climate, the minimum amount of flora and fauna, the lack of developed infrastructure should repel even the most desperate adventurers. However, in addition to objective shortcomings, they have their own charms, which only the most sophisticated travelers can appreciate.
We represent the 10 smallest deserts on the planet: we find out what arid places of the world fell into this rating and what they are called.
List
- 10. Lower California desert, 77,000 km²
- 9. The Great Salt Lake Desert, 55,000 km²
- 8. Deshte Loot, 52,000 km²
- 7. Ryn-sands, 40,000 km²
- 6. Owaihi, 36,000 km²
- 5. Mojave, 35,000 km²
- 5. Negev, 13,000 km²
- 4. The Great Salt Desert, 77,600 km²
- 3. Judean Desert, 22 km²
- 1. Carcross, 2.59 km²
10. Lower California desert, 77,000 km²
Lower California Desert - a desert region in North America, which is located on the territory of the California Peninsula (Mexico). It is essentially an elongated sandy-rocky strip, stretching along the coast of the peninsula with an area of 77,700 km².
The Lower California desert is considered part of the Bahia ecoregion, which is located in Mexico, more specifically, in the territory of Baja California and Southern Baja California.
9. The Great Salt Lake Desert, 55,000 km²
Great Salt Lake Desert - This is a large dry lake in Northern Utah (USA), located on the border of the state of Nevada. It is known for the white evaporating salt deposits of Lake Bonneville.
Several small mountain ranges cross the edge of the desert, including cedar mountains, mountains on the lake, Silver Island mountains, Hogup Mountains, grassy mountains and Newfoundland mountains. On the western edge of the desert, immediately beyond the border with Nevada, stands Pilot Peak in the pilot range.
The desert is cool in winter and includes unusual plants adapted to arid conditions. Most of the desert receives less than 8 inches (200 mm) of annual rainfall. The salt crust covering the desert changes every year when rains evaporate.
Utah military test site is located in the northern part of the desert. The lowest part of Juab County is located south of the Dagway Test Site, approximately 1.5 miles (2.4 km) northwest of the northwest corner of the Fish Springs Range.
8. Deshte Loot, 52,000 km²
Desert lootcommonly known as Deshte Loot (Persian: “hollow plain“), Is a large salt desert located in the provinces of Kerman, Sistan and Balochistan in Iran. On July 17, 2016, it was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Its sand surface was measured at temperatures up to 70 C (159 F), making the desert one of the driest and hottest places in the world.
Iran is climatically part of the Afro-Asian desert belt, which extends from the Cape Verde Islands in West Africa to Mongolia near Beijing. A spotted, elongated, bright object in the foreground (parallel to the mountain range) is the northernmost of the dry lakes of Dashta, extending southward for 300 kilometers (190 miles).
In near-tropical deserts, most of the precipitation falls on elevated areas. As a result, the desert is largely an abiotic zone.
7. Ryn-sands, 40,000 km²
Desert Ryn or Ryn Sands (Kazakh: Naryn Umy, Naryn-Kum) Is a desert in Western Kazakhstan that extends north of the Caspian Sea and southeast of the Volga Upland.
The borders of the desert are very poorly defined. Some maps show the desert almost entirely within the Caspian basin, extending almost to the coast of the Caspian Sea, while others show it to the north of the basin.
It lies west of the Ural River between 46 north latitudes and 49 north latitudes and from 47 east longitude to 52 east longitude. In summer, the temperature here can reach extremes: from 45 to 48 C (from 113 to 118 F), and in winter it can drop to a minimum of -28 to -36 C (from -18 to -33 F).
Many small cities are scattered throughout the Rin Desert, with a population density of 1 to 15 people per square mile. Rin is located in a semi-arid climate zone and receives very little rainfall.
6. Owaihi, 36,000 km²
Owaihi - This is an arid region in the USA, the bulk of which is a full-fledged desert. Owaihi is located on the southern edge of the Columbian Plateau, at the junction of the Oregon, Idaho and Nevada borders, south of the Owaihe River. Area 36,000 km². This region is located at an average altitude of 1600 meters above sea level.
5. Mojave, 35,000 km²
Mojave Desert - The arid desert-rain desert and the driest desert in North America. It is located in the North American southwest: mainly in southeastern California and southern Nevada, and covers 35,000 km². Small areas also extend to Utah and Arizona.
5. Negev, 13,000 km²
Negev Desert (in Hebrew, in Arabic, al-nakab) Is a desert of Asia located in the south of Israel, in the Southern District. Its name comes from the Jewish root, which means "dry", as in Arabic but in biblical Hebrew Negev also assumed "south" due to the location of the desert.
The Negev desert covers an area of about 13,000 km² in the shape of an inverted triangle, the southern peak of which is located in Eilat, on the Red Sea coast. In the west, it borders the Sinai Peninsula (Egypt), and in the east - with the southern part of Jordan, serving as the border with Wadi Arava.
The main city, Be'er Sheva, is located on the northern edge of the desert (200,000 inhabitants). Other important cities are Eilat in the south (on the Red Sea coast), Dimona, Mitspe Ramon and Rakhat.
4. The Great Salt Desert, 77,600 km²
The desert is about 800 km long and 320 km wide, and its total area is about 77,600 km². It got its name from the salt marshes (Kavirs) found there.
Climate Great Salt Desert almost no precipitation, and the region is very arid. The temperature can reach 50 C in the summer, and the average temperature in January is 22 C.
3. Judean Desert, 22 km²
Judean Desert - This is a desert in Israel, which extends east of Jerusalem and descends to the Dead Sea. It is located from the north-eastern Negev east of Beit El and is marked by natural terraces with ledges.
The desert ends with a steep cliff descending to the Dead Sea and the Jordan Valley. The Judean Desert has many ravines, most of them deep - from 1,200 feet in the west to 600 feet in the east.
The Judean Desert is an area with a special morphological structure, located east of the Judean Mountains.
The main urban areas that this desert affects include Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Gush Etzion, Jericho and Hebron.
Rainfall in the Jewish region ranges from 400-500 mm (16-20 inches) in the western hills, rising to 600 mm (24 inches) around West Jerusalem (in central Judea), falling to 400 mm (16 inches) in East Jerusalem and dropping to about 100 mm in the eastern parts due to the rain shadow effect.
The climate ranges from Mediterranean in the West and desert in the East, with a strip of steppe climate in the middle.
1. Carcross, 2.59 km²
Carcross Desert, located outside of Carcross (Yukon, Canada), is rightfully considered the smallest desert in the world. The Carcross Desert is about 1 square mile (2.6 km²), or 640 acres.
The Carcross desert is commonly called the desert, but it is actually a series of northern sand dunes. The climate of this area is too humid to be considered a real desert.
Sand formed in the last ice age, when large glacial lakes formed and silt was deposited. When the lakes dried up, the dunes were left behind. Now sand comes mainly from nearby Bennett Lake. Dunes contain a wide variety of plants, including unusual varieties such as Baikal sedge (Carex sabulosa) and Yukon lupine.
The Yukon Territorial Government made efforts to protect the Carcross Desert in 1992, but failed due to resistance from locals who use the dunes for recreational purposes.