Earth:List of deserts by area
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Short description: List of the largest deserts in the world by area
This is a list of the largest deserts in the world by area. It includes all deserts above 50,000 km2 (19,300 sq mi).
![](/wiki/images/thumb/e/e2/Deserts.png/775px-Deserts.png)
Some of Earth's biggest non-polar deserts
Rank | Name | Type | Image | Area (km2) |
Area (sq mi) |
Location[note 1] | Nation(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Antarctic Desert | Polar ice and tundra | ![]() |
[1] | 14,200,0005,482,651 | Antarctica | N/A |
2 | Arctic Desert | Polar ice and tundra | ![]() |
[1] | 13,900,0005,366,820 | Eastern Europe Northern America Northern Asia Northern Europe |
Canada , Finland , Greenland, Iceland, Jan Mayen, Norway , Russia , Svalbard, Sweden, and the United States |
3 | Sahara Desert | Subtropical | ![]() |
[1] | 9,200,0003,552,140 | Eastern Africa Middle Africa Northern Africa Western Africa |
Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Eritrea, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, the Sudan, Tunisia, and Western Sahara |
4 | Great Australian | Subtropical | ![]() |
2,700,000 | 1,042,476 | Australia | Australia |
5 | Arabian Desert | Subtropical | ![]() |
[2] | 2,330,000899,618 | Western Asia | Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen |
6 | Gobi Desert | Cold winter | ![]() |
[1] | 1,295,000500,002 | Eastern Asia | China and Mongolia |
7 | Kalahari Desert | Subtropical | ![]() |
[3] | 900,000347,492 | Southern Africa | Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa |
8 | Patagonian Desert | Cold winter | ![]() |
[1] | 673,000259,847 | South America | Argentina |
9 | Syrian Desert | Subtropical | ![]() |
[4] | 500,000193,051 | Western Asia | Iraq, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Syria |
10 | Great Basin | Cold winter | ![]() |
[4] | 492,098190,000 | Northern America | United States |
11 | Chihuahuan Desert | Subtropical | ![]() |
[4] | 453,248175,000 | Northern America | Mexico and the United States |
12 | Karakum Desert | Cold winter | ![]() |
[4] | 350,000135,136 | Central Asia | Turkmenistan |
– | Great Victoria[note 2] | Subtropical | ![]() |
[1] | 348,750134,653 | Western Australia, South Australia | Australia |
13 | Colorado Plateau | Cold winter | ![]() |
[4] | 337,000130,116 | Northern America | United States |
14 | Sonoran Desert | Subtropical | ![]() |
[4] | 310,000119,692 | Central America Northern America |
Mexico and the United States |
15 | Kyzylkum Desert | Cold winter | ![]() |
[4] | 300,000115,831 | Central Asia | Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan |
16 | Taklamakan Desert | Cold winter | ![]() |
270,000 | 104,248 | Eastern Asia | China |
17 | Ogaden Desert | Subtropical | ![]() |
256,000 | 98,842 | Eastern Africa | Ethiopia, Somalia, and Somaliland |
18 | Thar Desert | Subtropical | ![]() |
238,254 [5] | 77,220 | Southern Asia | India and Pakistan |
20 | Puntland Desert | Subtropical | ![]() |
200,000 | 77,220 | Eastern Africa | Somalia |
20 | Ustyurt Plateau | Temperate | ![]() |
200,000 | 77,220 | Central Asia | Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan |
21 | Guban Desert | Subtropical | ![]() |
175,000 | 67,568 | Eastern Africa | Somalia/Somaliland |
22 | Namib Desert | Cool coastal | ![]() |
160,000 | 61,776 | Middle Africa Southern Africa |
Angola, Namibia, and South Africa |
23 | Dasht-e Margo | Subtropical | ![]() |
150,000 | 57,915 | Southern Asia | Afghanistan |
24 | Registan Desert | Subtropical | ![]() |
146,000 | 56,371 | Southern Asia | Afghanistan |
25 | Atacama Desert | Mild coastal | ![]() |
[4] | 140,00054,054 | South America | Chile and Peru |
26 | Danakil Desert | Subtropical | ![]() |
137,000 | 52,896 | Eastern Africa | Djibouti, Eritrea, and Ethiopia |
27 | Mojave Desert | Subtropical | ![]() |
[6][7] | 124,00047,877 | Northern America | United States |
28 | Chalbi Desert | Subtropical | ![]() |
100,000 | 38,610 | Eastern Africa | Kenya |
29 | Columbia Basin | Cold winter | ![]() |
[4] | 83,13932,100 | Northern America | Canada and the United States |
30 | Dasht-e Kavir | Subtropical | ![]() |
[8] | 77,00029,730 | Southern Asia | Iran |
31 | Ferlo Desert | Subtropical | ![]() |
70,000 | 27,027 | Western Africa | Senegal |
32 | Ladakh Desert[9] | Cold winter | ![]() |
59,146 | 22,836 | Southern Asia | India |
33 | Dasht-e Lut | Subtropical | ![]() |
[8] | 52,00020,077 | Southern Asia | Iran |
Notes
See also
- Desert
- Desertification
- List of deserts by continent
- Polar desert
- Tundra
- United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 "Top ten largest (non-polar) deserts". https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/world/.
- ↑ "Arabian Desert". http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9110527/Arabian-Desert.
- ↑ Bass, Karen (2009-02-01). "Nature's Great Events:The Okavango Delta, Kalahari Desert". press.uchicago.edu. University of Chicago Press. http://www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/9780226471549_blad.pdf.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 "Largest Desert in the World". http://geology.com/records/largest-desert.shtml.
- ↑ "Thar Desert | Map, Climate, Vegetation, & Facts". 24 May 2023. https://www.britannica.com/place/Thar-Desert.
- ↑ "Mapping Perennial Vegetation Cover in the Mojave Desert". pubs.usgs.gov. USGS Western Geographic Science Center. 2011-06-01. http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2011/3077/fs2011-3077.pdf.
- ↑ "Recoverability and Vulnerability of Desert Ecosystems". USGS. 2006-03-03. http://mojave.usgs.gov/rvde/.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Wright, John W., ed (2006). The New York Times Almanac (2007 ed.). New York, New York: Penguin Books. p. 456. ISBN 0-14-303820-6. https://archive.org/details/newyorktimes200600wrig.
- ↑ The Cold Desert – Ladakh
![]() | Original source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List of deserts by area.
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