The New Childrens Encyclopedia

63

LOOK CLOSER: DESERT FEATURES

 DUNES form large

“sand seas” called ergs.

The wind sculpts their

graceful shapes.

O

Deserts have formed in many

different landscapes, wherever

water is in short supply. Because

there aren’t many plants on the

surface, deserts are vulnerable

to weathering and erosion.

Also, the huge variation in

temperature can cause massive

rocks to crack.

 ARCHES Erosion

and sandstorms can

puncture a rocky ridge

to form an arch.

 EARTH Natural

salts can cement rocks

together into “desert

pavement.”

 BUTTES form

when a plateau has

been eroded to leave a

flat hill with steep sides.

FENNEC FOXES use

their huge ears to help

them locate prey. The large

surface area also allows

heat to escape.

DESERT ANIMALS

From insects and reptiles

to huge mammals, most

desert animals have highly

specialized characteristics

that are precisely suited to

their extreme conditions.

Some get their water from

the food they eat, for

example, while others

sleep during the hot days.

COLD DESERTS

The coldest and most northern of all the world’s deserts,

the Gobi Desert (shown here) stretches across China and

Mongolia. Like many cold deserts, it sits on a high plateau,

where the temperature is naturally lower than at sea level.

JERBOAS keep

cool by sealing

themselves in an

underground den.

SANDSTORMS

Strong, dry winds blow across

the desert, carrying clouds of

sand that reduce visibility to

almost zero. Roads and wells

are often covered completely,

and a violent storm can

dehydrate—or even suffocate—

animals and people. Sandstorms last for hours, and

some can even go on for days.

AND ECOLOGYENVIRONMENT

DESERTS

THORNY

DEVILS have skin

that absorbs water

like blotting paper.

(c) 2012 Dorling Kindersley. All Rights Reserved.(c) 2012 Dorling Kindersley. All Rights Reserved.