Deserts Flashcards
How much of the Earth’s land is covered by Deserts?
30%
How does a place get to be a desert officially?
If it gets less than 25cm of rain per year.
Where do you find most of the deserts?
Around the Subtropics
How did the Sahara deserts form?
Dry cloudless air came from the equator
The high temperatures cause it to lose all the moister.
What is largest hot desert in the world?
The Sahara
How big is the Sahara?
9 million square kilometers
12 countries
Why do deserts in the Centre of Continents not get rain?
Because the are shielded by the mountains.
The moisture rick air from the oceans move up the mountains and form clouds.
These clouds fall as snow or rain BEFORE reaching the deserts beyond.
Give an example of a desert in the Center of a Continent?
The GOBI desert is shielded by the HIMALAYA range
Why do some deserts next to the ocean form there?
Because the water is so cold that it lowers the temperature of the air above it.
Then it rains over the ocean and there is no water left in the clouds when it reaches the land.
Give an example of a desert that is formed by Cold Currents?
ATACAMA desert in CHILE
Polar Deserts also exist…why?
It’s so cold that the water vapour is frozen out of the air
How big is Antarctica?
14 million square kilometers.
