What is a Desert Science for Kids

Hey kids! In todays video, we will be learning about deserts. Are you ready? Let's begin! Deserts are found on all seven continents. Deserts are also called arid areas. Arid comes from the Latin word aridus and means dry. Most plants in the deserts are heat, drought and salt tolerant. Some plants store the water in their leaves, stems or roots. Desert plants often have deep roots and waxy leaves where they can store water and often they also have thorns such as cacti to deter herbivores. So what is desert? desert is region that receives less than 25 cm/10 inches of rain per year. In any desert or arid area, there is very little rainfall and moisture. Big differences in daily temperatures are experienced in the deserts. The temperature during the sunshine hours are usually very high while night temperatures are cold as the heat can quickly escape. The average temperatures range from 38°C (during the day) to -3.9°C (during the night). Animals and plants living in the deserts have adapted to the environment. Animals usually are night active and live in burrows such as the cayote or the fennec fox. Some animals receive their water intake from the water in coastal deserts or store water in humps such as the camel. There are twelve deserts you should be familiar with. The Antarctic Desert The world’s coldest dry desert is located in Antarctica. There is almost no flora except for algae or mosses. The Antarctic Desert is also the world's largest desert by area. The Arabaian Desert The centre of the desert is the Rub' al Khali, the so-called 'The Empty Quarter'. The sand here has red-orange colour and the terrain is covered mainly by sand dunes, some gravel plains and rocky plains. The Aralkum Desert The Aralkum Desert is known as the youngest desert of our planet. It formed in the 1960s when irrigation projects for the huge cotton plantations in the area drained the waters from the Aral lake. By 2014, the eastern basin of the Aral Sea was completely dried up. The Atacama Desert This desert is known as the driest desert in the world. Some parts of the region receive less than 2 / 0.08 inches of rain every year. The Atacama desert stretches over 1,600 km/ 1000 miles along the coastline from Chile to Peru. The Gobi Desert The Gobi Desert is located in eastern Asia and is the world’s largest cold desert. This desert spreads from Mongolia to China. The Gobi desert is Asia's second largest desert after the Arabian desert. Mojave Desert The Mojave Desert is the driest desert on the North American continent. Death Valley, one of the hottest spot in the world, is located in the Mojave Desert. Mojave comes from the Spanish word for 'place besides the water'. The largest city in the Mojave desert is Las Vegas with roughly 3 million people. The Namib Desert The Namib has some of the highest dunes in the world with heights of over 300 m/ 980 ft. The coastal desert is also known as the oldest desert in the world. The Pinnacles Desert The pinnacles in Nambung National Park are limestone pillars and some reach up to 3.5 m/ 11.5 ft in height. Wild emus can be found in this desert. This desert is only small Australian desert but is known for its scenic landscape. The largest desert in Australia, however, is the Great Victoria Desert. The Sahara Desert The Sahara Desert is the world’s largest hot desert. It is also the hottest of all the deserts on our planet. The word sahra in Arabic means 'desert'. Salar de Uyuni The Salar de Uyuni is desert in South America that has been formed by salt crystallization through water evaporation of huge salt flat or playa. The word salar comes from the Spanish and means 'salt flat'. The thick salt crust contains more than 10 billion tonnes of salt. When it rains the Salar looks like huge mirror measuring 129 km/ 80 miles across. The salt flats are breeding ground for pink flamingos. Tabernas Desert It is also called Deserto de Tabiernas, in Spanish. The high altitude of the region and the scenic landscape of this desert has been beneficial for film making. Many Western-style movies as well as one scene in the Game of Thrones series have been filmed in the Tabernas. Thar Desert The Thar Desert is known as the world's most densely populated desert area. About 40% of Rajasthan's population live in the Thar Desert. Desert safaris around Jaisalmer are popular tourist attraction. The subtropical Thar Desert is home to many species of migratory and endemic birds. Now here are fun facts about Deserts 1. The five largest deserts in the world are: Antarctic Desert Arctic Desert Sahara Desert Australian Desert Arabic Desert The largest cold desert is the Gobi Desert in Asia. The largest hot desert is the Sahara Desert in Africa. Desert areas receive less than 50 cm/20 inches rain per year while rainforests receive at least 200 cm/80 inches rain per year! The largest desert city in the world is Cairo in Egypt with about 20 million inhabitants. And that is all for todays video. hope you enjoyed learning about deserts today. Take care now. Bye bye!