Life In Deserts

Deserts

• Desert is an arid land with little or no vegetation.

• Depending on the temperatures, deserts are of two types:

→ Hot deserts

→ Cold deserts

The Hot Desert - Sahara

• Sahara is the world’s largest desert.
• It has an area of around 8.54 million sq. km.
• Sahara desert touches eleven countries:

→ Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Sudan, Tunisia and Western Sahara.

• Sahara is covered with gravel plains and elevated plateaus with bare rocky surfaces.

Climate

• Extremely hot and dry with short rainy season.
• Day temperatures may rise as high as 50°C.
• Night temperatures may fall to near 0°C.

Flora and Fauna

• Vegetation includes cactus, date palms, and acacia.
• Oasis are green islands with date palms.
• Animals: camels, hyenas, jackals, foxes, scorpions, snakes, lizards.

People

• Nomadic tribes like Bedouins and Tuaregs inhabit Sahara.

→ They rear goats, sheep, camels and horses for milk, hair and leather.

• Settled population in oasis and Nile Valley grow crops and cotton.
• Oil discovered in Algeria, Libya, and Egypt is transforming Sahara.

→ Modern buildings, highways, trucks, and tourism are replacing old lifestyles.

The Cold Desert - Ladakh

• Ladakh lies in the Great Himalayas, east of Jammu and Kashmir.
• Bounded by Karakoram Range (north) and Zanskar mountains (south).
• Indus River is the most important river here.
• Gangri glacier is one of many glaciers found in Ladakh.

Climate

• Altitude varies from 3000m to 8000m, making it very cold and dry.
• Summer: Just above 0°C; Winter: below –30°C.
• Rainfall: Less than 10 cm per year.
• Weather: Freezing winds and hot sunlight.

Flora and Fauna

• Vegetation: Sparse; thin grasses and shrubs.
• Summer fruits: Apples, apricots, walnuts.
• Birds: Robins, redstarts, snowcock, raven, hoopoe.
• Animals: Wild goats, sheep, yaks, special dogs.

→ Reared for milk, meat, hides.

People

• Crops cultivated in summer: barley, potatoes, peas, beans, turnip.
• Winter: People engage in festivities and ceremonies.
• Women: Work in house, fields, shops, and small businesses.
• Leh (capital) is well connected by road and air.

→ NH 1A connects Leh to Kashmir through Zoji La Pass.

• Tourism is a major industry, attracting domestic and international visitors.

MCQs

1. In Ladakh the word 'La' means

(a) Mountain Pass

(b) Plain Pass

(c) Desert Pass

(d) Plateau Pass

► (a) Mountain Pass

2. In Ladakh ___ milk is used to make cheese and butter

(a) Cow

(b) Yak

(c) Wild sheep

(d) Dog

► (b) Yak

3. Tafilalet Oasis is in

(a) Egypt

(b) Algeria

(c) Morocco

(d) Libya

► (c) Morocco

4. Ladakh lies in the rain shadow of

(a) Aravali

(b) Alps

(c) Himalaya

(d) Kanchenjunga

► (c) Himalaya

5. Sahara rocky surface are ___ m high

(a) 2500

(b) 1048

(c) 500

(d) 2047

► (a) 2500

6. Sahara once used to be a

(a) lush green desert

(b) lush green plain

(c) lush green mountain

(d) lush green plateau

► (b) lush green plain

7. Ladakh is also known as

(a) Khapa-tuaregs

(b) Khapa-chan

(c) Khapa-bedouins

(d) Khapa-drass

► (b) Khapa-chan

8. Following crops are grown in the Sahara Desert

(a) date palm, rice, wheat, barley

(b) date palm, rice, wheat, jowar

(c) date palm, rice, wheat, gram

(d) date palm, rice, wheat, maize

► (a) date palm, rice, wheat, barley

9. It is an arid region characterised by extremely high or low temperatures and has scarce vegetation

(a) Mountain

(b) Desert

(c) Plateau

(d) Plain

► (b) Desert

10. In Ladakh it is freezing cold in the winters when the temperatures may remain below ______ for most of the time

(a) 0°C

(b) -30°C

(c) -50°C

(d) −40ºC

► (a) 0°C

11. Sahara desert found in which continent

(a) Asia

(b) Australia

(c) Africa

(d) Europe

► (c) Africa

12. The Karakoram Range in the ____ and the Zanskar mountains in the ___ enclose Ladakh.

(a) east, west

(b) north, south

(c) west, south

(d) east, south

► (b) north, south

13. Manali - Leh highway crosses how many passes

(a) 11

(b) 1

(c) 2

(d) 5

► (d) 5

14. Due to high altitude the climate of Ladakh is

(a) Cold and wet

(b) Cold and dry

(c) Hot and dry

(d) Hot and wet

► (b) Cold and dry

15. Which of the following is world's largest desert

(a) Thar

(b) Kalahari

(c) Sahara

(d) Namib

► (c) Sahara

16. The Sahara desert touches _____ countries

(a) 10

(b) 11

(c) 5

(d) 8

► (b) 11

17. People live in Sahara Desert

(a) Bedoiuns and Tuarega

(b) Bedauins and Tuerags

(c) Bedauins and Tauregs

(d) Bedouins and Tuaregs

► (d) Bedouins and Tuaregs

18. Shey in Ladakh is famous

(a) Monastery

(b) Mosque

(c) Church

(d) Temple

► (a) Monastery