The Desert

Alexandria SegoviaGilbert Soles

Vanessa De La CruzBelinda De La Torre

The Desert

Around the World Deserts

Deserts cover about one-fifth of the Earth’s land surface.

Most deserts are near the Tropic of Capricorn or the Tropic of Cancer.

Deserts can be found all around the world, particularly in southwest United States, south America, northern Africa, central Australia, the middle east, and China.

Climate

Deserts are areas of land that usually receive less than thirty centimeters of rain each year.

Deserts have cold nights, and extremely hot days. Most deserts usually receive about fifteen centimeters of rain each year.

Plants

Deserts have very little foliage, and cacti are usually scattered across the dry, barren land.

Plants that grow in the desert are just shrubs and woody trees.

Cacti store water in there bodies when it rains so they can retrieve it for later use.

Desert vegetation is scattered and spread out and almost all of the plants have spiny leaves.

Some Plants Include:

Barrel Cactus Brittle Bush Chainfruit Cholla Creosote Bush Crimson Hedgehog Cactus Desert Ironwood Joshua Tree Jumping Cholla Mojave Aster Ocotillo Palo Verde Pancake Prickly Pear Cactus Saguaro Cactus Soaptree Yucca Triangle-leaf Bursage

Animals

Most of the animals that live in the desert have adapted to be able to live in the hot weather by burrowing underground during the day and only coming out at night.

Animals in the desert have also developed a unique ability to store water, which could come from the seeds they eat, or the animals they eat.

Animals are usually small nocturnal carnivores.

Some Animals Include:

Armadillo Lizard Banded Gila Monster Bobcat Cactus Wren Coyote Desert Bighorn Sheep Desert Kangaroo Rat Desert Tortoise Javelina Cactus Ferruginous Pygmy Owl Sonoran Desert Toad Sonoran Pronghorn Antelope Thorny Devil

References:

http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/desert.htm