3.4. The Hot Desert and Mid-latitude Desert Climates

Distribution: Deserts are regions of scanty rainfall which may be hot like the hot deserts of the Saharan type or temperate as are the mid- latitude deserts like the Gobi. The major hot deserts of the world are located on the western coasts of continents between latitudes 15º and 30ºN and S. They include the Sahara Desert, the largest single stretch of desert, which is 3,200 miles from east to west and at least 1,000 miles wide. The next biggest desert is the Great Australian Desert which covers almost half of the continent. The other hot deserts are the Arabian Desert, Iranian Desert, Thar Desert, Kalahari and Namib Deserts. In North America, the desert extends from Mexico to USA and is called by different names at different places, e.g. the Mohave Sonoran, Californian and Mexican Deserts. In South America, the Atacama or Peruvian Desert is the driest of all deserts with less than 0.5 inches of rainfall annually. The Patagonian Desert is more due to its rain- shadow position on the leeward side of the lofty Andes than to continentality.