
What is a Desert?
A desert is a region that can support little plant life because it gets very little rain and has very dry soil.
Deserts cover about a fifth of the earth's land area.
The largest desert in the world is the Sahara in northern Africa.
In North America, deserts cover about 500,000 square miles and many people who live there live in adobe or mud houses that provide insulation from the heat and cold.
Hot deserts are dry, barren region usually sandy and without trees, with little rainfall or practical use of land unless irrigated.
To see a map of the 12 major deserts of the world click
here:
http://www.livingdesert.org/worlddes.htm
Take a field trip though the desert
http://www.field-trips.org/tours/sci/desert/_tourlaunch5.htm
Desert Biomes from Enchanted Learning - may printouts available here http://www.enchantedlearning.com/biomes/desert/desert.shtml

Did you know?
1. No two deserts are the same, but there are certain things they all have in common:
- Super-dry air
- Little rain....less than 10 inches a year
- High daytime temperatures
- Lots of wind
2. The desert is full of life!
Animals:
Desert Animals
http://www.livingdesert.org/animalst.htmUse your mouse to explore different kinds of desert animals http://library.thinkquest.org/28855/animals.html
Search for desert animals
http://horizon.nmsu.edu/ddl3/ddl.qry?function=formHow do animals survive in a desert?
http://www.desertusa.com/animal.htmlPlants:
- How do plants survive the desert?
http://www.desertusa.com/flora.html- Desert Plants
http://mbgnet.mobot.org/sets/desert/tplants.htm
