DESERT FACTS

A desert is an area of land that is marked by very sparse vegetation due to extreme climatic conditions and extremely low levels of precipitation. There are hot deserts as well as cold deserts. The Antarctic desert which spans across the continent of Antarctica is the most prominent example of a cold desert! Due to extremely low temperatures, vegetation and plant life is very sparse in these regions and the soil is ill suited for farming and cultivation. In hot deserts, the complete lack of moisture coupled with the extremely high temperatures make normal vegetation and cultivation of food items an impossible task. Only about 20% of the Earth's deserts are covered by sand. Based upon topography and region, there are precisely four types of deserts - Mountain-Basin deserts, Plateau Deserts, Regs and Intermontane Basins.

GEOGRAPHY STANDARDS

Eighteen Standards That the Geographically Informed Person Knows and Understands

The World in Spatial Terms

1. How to use maps and other geographic representations, tools, and technologies to acquire, process, and report information.

2. How to use mental maps to organize information about people, places, and environments.

3. How to analyze the spatial organization of people, places, and environments on Earth's surface.

Places and Regions

4. The physical and human characteristics of places.

5. That people create regions to interpret Earth's complexity.

6. How culture and experience influence people's perception of places and regions.

Physical Systems

7. The physical processes that shape the patterns of Earth's surface.

8. The characteristics and spatial distribution of ecosystems on Earth's surface.

Human Systems

9. The characteristics, distribution, and migration of human populations on Earth's surface.

10. The characteristics, distributions, and complexity of Earth's cultural mosaics.

11. The patterns and networks of economic interdependence on Earth's surface.

12. The process, patterns, and functions of human settlement.

13. How forces of cooperation and conflict among people influence the division and control of Earth's surface.

Read more.......