Major Deserts of the World. Picture from National Geographic’s Surviving the Sahara.
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Transcript of Major Deserts of the World. Picture from National Geographic’s Surviving the Sahara.
Major Deserts of the World
Picture from National Geographic’s Surviving the Sahara
• What is a desert?• Where are deserts found?
• What do all deserts have in common?• How do you think deserts are formed?• If you found yourself in the desert, what
might you see?• How do people affect deserts?
Learning Goals
Know what a desert is and its characteristics.
List the characteristics of both hot and cold deserts.
Name the world’s largest deserts and be able to show where they are found on a map.
Desert – an ecosystem where there is very little precipitation.
The essential feature of any desert is its dryness, or aridity.Deserts average less than 10 inches of precipitation a year.Precipitation - moisture in the form of rain, snow, hail, or sleet.
Desert Temperatures
Hot and dry.
Temperatures can range from 30° at night to 136° during the day.
Cold
Temperatures can be below freezing .
Deserts located closer to the ___________ tend to be the hottest.
Desert Landforms
Bedrock
Gravel
Sand
Wind erosion helps to shape the
desert.
Gravel “Desert Pavement”
Water erosion helps to shape
the desert.
The Grand Canyon was formed through water erosion.
Life in the Desert
How can there be life in the desert with very little water and extreme temperatures?
Adapt: to change or adjust for survival
The key survival factor for people, animals, and plants is their ability to adapt to the environment.
Desert PlantsMany plants are found in the desert. They usually grow close to the ground.These plants have special parts that help them save water.The special parts are: thick stem, shallow and wide roots, and thick skin covered with spines instead of leaves.
Desert AnimalsThere are many animals in the desert.They can survive by eating other animals or by eating plants that store water.To protect them from the hot sun, they stay in the shade or in their shelter.Some animals sleep during the day and are active at night.
Nocturnal: Active or awake at night or taking place during the night
Some animals have hard shells to protect them from losing much water.More animals live in hot deserts than in cold deserts.
Humans have changed the desertsShrinking deserts:
We have brought water in through irrigation.
We have built dams to transport water to desert regions to help farmers and keep up with growth in the cities.
Growing deserts:
Desertification: the growth or expansion of deserts due to human activities.
Semi-arid: receiving 10-12 inches of annual precipitation and supporting only short grass.
Deserts in Africa
Deserts in Australia
Marsupial: A type of mammal that carries its
young in a pouch that is part of its abdomen
Aborigine: A native person who
originally settled and lived in an area.
Deserts in Asia
Deserts in North America
Mojave Desert
California
Nevada
Arizona
Utah
Fault lines: a crack in Earth’s outer crust
along which movement takes place
Sonoran Desert
California
Arizona
Chihuahuan Desert
Arizona
New Mexico
Texas
South America ~ Patagonia
Basalt: A dark or black rock that looks like glass;
Basalt forms when volcanic rock cools.
Habitat: the environment in which a
plant or animal normally lives.
VocabularyAborigine: a native person who originally settled and lived in an area.
Adapt: to change or adjust.
Basalt: a dark or black rock that looks like glass; basalt forms when volcanic rock cools.
Desertification: the growth or expansion of deserts due to human activities.
Fault line: a crack in Earth’s outer crust along which movement takes place.
Habitat: the environment in which a plant or an animal normally lives.
Marsupial: a type of mammal that carries its young in a puch that is part of its abdomen.
Nocturnal: active or awake at night or taking place during the night.
Precipitation: moisture in the form or rain, snow, hail, or sleet.
Semi-arid: receiving 10-12” of annual precipitation and supporting only short grass.
Learn more about desertshttp://www.jlhs.nhusd.k12.ca.us/Classes/Science/Net_Lessons/Biomes/deserts.html#anchor325870
Desert information
http://idptv.state.id.us/dialogue4kids/season3/desert/plants.htmlDesert information
http://mbgnet.mobot.org/sets/desert/tplants.htm Desert plants
http://www.brainpop.com/science/ecology/desert/index.weml?&tried_cookie=true
Desert
