|
|
The World's Largest Desert
A desert is a landscape or region that receives very little precipitation - less than 250 mm per year (about ten inches). Approximately 1/3 of Earth's land surface is a desert.
The largest areas on Earth that fit this definition are the polar regions. Antarctica has a surface area of about 14 million square kilometers (5.5 million square miles), making it the largest desert in the world.
The largest non-polar desert is the Sahara Desert of northern Africa. The Sahara has a surface area of 9 million square kilometers (3.5 million square miles), and it stands as the largest non-polar desert in the world. See our Google map of the Sahara Desert to learn more about this interesting environment.
|
World Desert Map (non-polar deserts)
Enlarge the World Desert Map - Image by USGS
Major Deserts of the World |
Name |
Type of Desert |
Surface Area |
Location |
Antarctic |
Polar |
5.5 million mi² |
Antarctica |
Arctic |
Polar |
5.4 million mi² |
Alaska, Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Norway,
Sweden, Finland, Russia |
Sahara (map) |
Subtropical |
3.5 million mi² |
Northern Africa |
Arabian (map) |
Subtropical |
1 million mi² |
Arabian Peninsula |
Gobi |
Cold Winter |
500,000 mi² |
China and Mongolia |
Patagonian (map) |
Cold Winter |
260,000 mi² |
Argentina |
Great Victoria |
Subtropical |
250,000 mi² |
Australia |
Kalahari (map) |
Subtropical |
220,000 mi² |
South Africa, Botswana, Namibia |
Great Basin (map) |
Cold Winter |
190,000 mi² |
United States |
Thar (map) |
Subtropical |
175,000 mi² |
India, Pakistan |
Chihuahuan (map) |
Subtropical |
175,000 mi² |
Mexico |
Great Sandy (map) |
Subtropical |
150,000 mi² |
Australia |
Kara-Kum (map) |
Cold Winter |
135,000 mi² |
Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan |
Colorado Plateau |
Cold Winter |
130,000 mi² |
United States |
Gibson |
Subtropical |
120,000 mi² |
Australia |
Sonoran (map) |
Subtropical |
120,000 mi² |
United States, Mexico |
Kyzyl-Kum |
Cold Winter |
115,000 mi² |
Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan |
Taklamakan (map) |
Cold Winter |
105,000 mi² |
China |
Iranian |
Cold Winter |
100,000 mi² |
Iran |
Simpson (map) |
Subtropical |
56,000 mi² |
Australia |
Mojave (map) |
Subtropical |
54,000 mi² |
United States |
Atacama (map) |
Cool Coastal |
54,000 mi² |
Chile |
Namib (map) |
Cool Coastal |
13,000 mi² |
Angola, Namibia, South Africa |
|
|
|
