Transcript Deserts, Wind, and Dunes

DESERTS
What is a desert?
Desert -arid land with less than 250 mm (10
inches) precipitation per year. It’s not always
hot and dry.
*Includes 25% of the world's land area
outside the Polar Regions.
Deserts and Arid Regions
Remember deserts don’t have to be
hot. The arctic and Antarctic are
deserts.
The Atacama desert in Chile is the
driest place on Earth.
Some people live in a desert. The Afar people of
Ethiopia, Africa living in a desert where the
temperatures are between 35 and 40 degrees Celsius
all year round. The Afar people have found ways to
survive in these conditions.
DESERT PLANTS
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Many 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 ANIMALS
There 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.
 Animals may build their shelters inside
plants.
 Some animals sleep during the day and are
active at night.
 Some animals have hard shells to protect
them from losing much water.
 More animals live in hot deserts than in cold
deserts.
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Anteater
Camel
Roadrunner
Gila monster (lizard)
Scorpion