World Deserts Map

A desert is a region that obtains incredibly less amount of precipitation or it can be also defined as an area where more water is lost by evaporation than water received by precipitation. Most deserts receive an average precipitation of less than 400 mm annually.

The deserts in the world are divided into three types.

• Subtropical deserts - they are the hottest deserts with dry terrain and rapid evaporation rate.
• Cool coastal deserts - the average temperature in these deserts is much cooler because of cold offshore oceanic currents.
• Cold winter deserts - they are striking with harsh temperature differences ranging from 38°C in summers to -12°C in winters.

Apart from these the Polar Regions are also measured as deserts because virtually all the moisture in these parts is accumulated in the form of ice.

DESERT	SIZE	LOCATION	FACTS
SUBTROPICAL DESRTS
Sahara	9,400,000 km2	Egypt, Algeria, Eritrea, Chad, Libya, Mauritania, Mali, Morocco, Sudan, Niger, Tunisia, Djibouti and Western Sahara	The world's largest hot desert. The desert climate is very extreme with scorching days and frigid nights.
Kalahari	930,000 km2	Namibia, Botswana and South Africa.	It's a huge semi-arid sandy savannah.
Libyan	1,100,000 km2	Eastern Libya, northwestern Sudan and southwestern Egypt.	This desert is mostly sandy or stony plain.
Nubian	400,000 km2	northeastern Sudan	It's an arid region with virtually no rainfall and oases.
Danakil	150,000 km2	northeast Ethiopia, south Eritrea and Djibouti	It's known as the "Cruelest Place on Earth" the desert is known for its extreme heat and in-hospitability atmosphere.
Rub al Khali	650,000 km2	Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Oman and Yemen.	The largest sand desert in the world. The desert is the most oil-rich site in the world.
Syrian	500,000 km2	Iraq, Jordan, Syria and Saudi Arabia.	It's also known as the Syro-Arabian. The desert is very rocky and flat.
An Nafud	103,600 km2	Saudi Arabia	It's known as the great arc of reddish sand desert in central Saudi Arabia.
Ad Dahna	650,000 km2	Saudi Arabia	With frequent sandstorms the desert is known for its sudden violent winds.
Thar	200,000 km2	India, Pakistan	It is largely a barren region of shifting sand dunes, scrub flora and a rural economy.
Great Victoria	424,400 km2	Australia	It's the largest desert in Australia.
Great Sandy	284,993 km2	Australia	It's the second largest desert in Australia
Simpson	176,500 km2	Australia	It's a large area of dry, red sandy plain and dunes
Gibson	155,000 km2	Australia	It is the home of Aboriginal Indigenous Australians, Red Kangaroos and Emu.
Sonoran	311,000 km2	United States, Mexico	The desert has basins, plains, mountain ridges & is home to the Saguaro cactus.
Mojave	124,000 km2	United States	Although the desert is sparsely populated, several cities can be found here, including the largest 'Las Vegas'.
Sechura	188,735 km2	Peru	The desert is composed of equatorial dry forests.
COLD WINTER DESERTS
Great Basin	492,000 km2	United States	It's the largest United States desert.
Patagonian	670,000 km2	Argentina and Chile	It is the largest desert in Argentina and is the 7th largest desert in the world.
Karakum / Garagum	350,000 km2	Turkmenistan	As the name says 'black sand', the area has significant oil and natural gas deposits.
Kyzyl Kum / Qizilqum	298,000 km2	Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.	Important natural-gas deposits are found in this red sand desert.
Taklamakan	337,000 km2	People's Republic of China	The desert has very little water making it is hazardous to cross.
Gobi	1,300,000 km2	People's Republic of China and Mongolia	It is the largest cold winter desert and is made up of diverse geographic regions based on difference in climate and topography.
Leh / Ladakh	86,904 km2	India	Scant rainfall makes Leh/Ladakh a high-altitude desert with extremely scarce vegetation.
COOL COASTAL DESERTS
Atacama	140,000 km2	Chile, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina	It is the driest desert in the world. The land is often compared with the land on the planet Mars.
Namib	81,000 km2	Angola, Namibia and South Africa.	Most of the precipitation is from fog from the Atlantic Ocean. Unusual species of plants and animals are found only in this desert.

Last Updated on : February 15, 2019