Desert Destinations Inc.

Your Agent: Tara Bosch

Proudly Serving Canadians since 1986

Biome:Hot/Dry Desert

How hot can you get?

Climate: What to Expect• Dry desert climate

formed by high-pressure zones that has cold air descending upon it

• Very little rainfall- often less than 15cm per year

• Rain usually occurs in short periods between long rainless periods

• All months have average temperatures over 180C

Satellite image of the Atacama desert in South America. From left to right is the Pacific Ocean, Atacama desert, and the Andes mountains. By looking at the Andes mountains it can be seen that the moisture completely stops at the Atacama desert.

TRAVELERS TIP: Make sure to bring LOTS of sunscreen

Climate: Seasonal Info & Climagraph • Weather is warm

during spring & fall, extremely hot in Summer

• Winter has little or no rainfall

• A mere 9.8 cm of rain is the average amount of yearly precipitation shown in the climagraph

• Temperatures on the climagraph highest in summer months

Climagraph of the average yearly rainfall and temperatures in a hot/dry desert

TRAVELERS TIP: If booking in Summer months, be prepared to expect extreme heat

Type of Vegetation• Plants in the desert are xerophytes

-> plants that have adapted to survive in a water-lacking environment

• Low-down shrubs that have waxy coatings and intricate root systems exist

• Leaves are packed with nutrients• Little or no organic matter due to

lack of water

Barrel Cactus, one of the largest cacti’s that can grow up to 11 ft

tall

A prickly pear cactus located in

the Sonora desert

TRAVELERS TIP: Hungry? Native Americans used to stew the barrel cactus to make a _ cabbage-like food

Vegetation: Adaptations• Plants use dew for moisture, taking

it in through their leaves/stems -> ex. Cacti

• At night time when temperatures drop, some plants open up their stomata to breath -> ex. Brittlebush

• Plants adapt in different ways to avoid water loss -> ex. Living stones plant is mainly underground to escape sun’s radiation so it avoids evaporation

• Ability to stand extremely hot weather

• Some plants slow down growth rate to conserve moisture -> ex. Saguaro cactus

Acacia trees in the Rajasthan Desert (India) that have lost their leaves to avoid

evaporation of moistureA closer view of the stomata that helps some plants to breath at night by transporting gases in and out

<- What the Saguaro cactus looks like

TRAVELERS TIP: Be sure to drink lots of water

Type of Soil & Global Position• Packed with nutrients- needs minimal water to

be productive• Soil is shallow, rocky, and gravely with no sub-

surface water• Course due to less chemical weathering• Deserts cover approx 1/5 of worlds surface• Latitude range is 15-280 south of the equator• Majority of hot/dry deserts located near the

Tropic of Cancer or the Tropic of Capricorn

TRAVELERS TIP: Make sure to pack a good pair of sandals

Rocky, gravely soil that is typically found in deserts. The red color comes from the iron in the soil

Soil Profile

Alkaline flat in the Alvord Desert, formed due to

translocation. Alkaline flats contain large concentrations

of salts, which is why they are often shining and white.Diagram that illustrates a hot/dry deserts soil profile in

comparison to other biomes• Lack of water = small amount of vegetation = limited

amount of decomposing litter -> soils lack hummus -> nutrients aren’t developed

• Rate of evaporation exceeds precipitation, so translocation occurs

Soil Profile Con’t

Soils of the World map, with the pale yellow representing aridisols soil classification

Natural vegetation regions of the world map, with the bright yellow representing

hot /dry deserts

• Little hummus due to small amount of vegetation• Mineral deposits on surface of soil due to translocation• Water movement is towards the surface• Coarse sand particles are evident

Aridisols Soil Classification:

Cold & Hot DesertsCOLD:• Snow in the wintertime,

temperature ranges from -2 to -40C

• Located near the arctic part of the world

• Precipitation from 15 to 26cm yearly, with snow in the winter and rainy periods in the spring

HOT:• Warm year round, summer

temperature between 43.5 to 490C

• Located near the tropic of capricorn & cancer

• Precipitation less than 15cm yearly

The Antarctic desert, weather conditions in this cold desert can change fast & without warning

“What makes the desert beautiful is that somewhere it hides a well.”

-Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Tourist Attractions

Pyramids built by ancient Egyptians in the Sahara desert

The grand canyon located in the Mojave Desert

One of the fossils that can be found in

the Gobi Desert

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TRAVELERS TIP: Spiders and reptiles you must be alert, because all these things you will find in a desert

BIBLIOGRAPHY• http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/deser

t.htm• http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/exhibits/

biomes/deserts.php • http://www.seafriends.org.nz/enviro/soil

/geosoil.htm• http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/exhibits/

biomes/deserts.php#hot• http://www.thefreedictionary.com/

Humboldt+Current• http://googlesightseeing.com/map

s?p=12774&c=&t=k&hl=en&ll=-22.755921,-64.775391&z=7• http://ngm.nationalgeographic.co

m/ngm/0308/feature3/• http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/d

esert_plant_page.html