Hot Desert Environments - Paper 1 Flashcards
What latitude are hot deserts found at?
Between 15° and 35° north and south of the equator. Near the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn.
Give 2 descriptions of a desert’s climate:
Hot and dry.
How much annual rainfall is there in deserts?
Less than 250mm annually.
What is the largest desert?
The Sahara Desert.
How big is the Sahara Desert?
9 million km².
What are sand dunes?
Coastal sand hills above the high tide mark, shaped by wind action and covered with grasses and shrubs.
What are desert fringe areas?
Semi-arid areas on the borders of hot deserts.
Give an example of a desert fringe:
The Sahel, it borders the south of the Sahara.
What is an example of a desert which hasn’t seen rain for years?
Parts of Chile’s Atacama desert have not seen rain for 400 years.
What is the typical amount of rainfall experienced in hot desert regions?
Around 100-200mm of rainfall in most years.
Give an example of high temperatures in a hot desert region:
57.8°C was once recored in the northern Sahara at El Azizia in Libya.
Why is there a range of temperatures experienced during the day in deserts?
Cloudless skies during the day allow high levels of insolation, as well as rapid heat loss at night.
What is the name for the difference between the highest and lowest temperatures in a 24 hour period?
Diurnal temperature range.
Why are soil-forming processes limited in hot climates?
Because of the shortage of water and vegetation.
Why are some desert soils potentially very fertile?
Because important nutrients for growth, such as calcium, have not been leached away over time.
