Most people think of deserts and immediately picture the Sahara. They imagine endless orange dunes, a sun that wants to kill you, and maybe a lonely camel. It's a classic image. But if you're actually asking where is deserts located, the answer is way weirder than just "Africa" or "near the equator."
Deserts are everywhere. Literally.
You’ll find them at the poles, tucked behind massive mountain ranges, and hugging the coastlines of South America. Some are freezing. Others are just... dry. That’s the thing—deserts aren't defined by heat. They are defined by a lack of moisture. Specifically, a place is a desert if it loses more water through evaporation than it gets from rain or snow. Usually, we’re talking less than 10 inches of precipitation a year.
The Global Layout: Where Is Deserts Located Exactly?
If you look at a map, you’ll notice a pattern. A lot of the world's most famous "hot" deserts sit in two specific bands around the Earth. These are roughly between 15 and 35 degrees north and south of the equator. Geographers call these the horse latitudes.
Why there?
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It’s all about air. At the equator, the air is hot and wet. It rises, dumps all its rain (hello, rainforests), and then moves toward the poles. By the time that air sinks back down at those 30-degree marks, it’s bone-dry. This creates a permanent high-pressure zone. This is why the Sahara in North Africa, the Arabian Desert in the Middle East, and the Great Victoria Desert in Australia all line up so neatly. They are victims of global air circulation.
But that’s just the beginning.
The Rain Shadow Effect
Sometimes, a desert exists because a mountain range is acting like a giant bouncer. Take the Sierra Nevada in California or the Himalayas in Asia. When wet air from the ocean hits these mountains, it's forced upward. The air cools, the water condenses, and it rains on the "windward" side.
By the time the air climbs over the peak and slides down the other side? It’s empty.
This is why the Gobi Desert exists in China and Mongolia. It’s far from the ocean, sure, but it’s also blocked by the massive Himalayan plateau. The Death Valley in the US is another classic rain shadow victim. It’s not just hot because it’s low; it’s dry because the mountains to the west stole all the clouds.
Cold Deserts: The Polar Surprise
Honestly, the biggest desert in the world isn't the Sahara. It's Antarctica.
I know, it sounds fake. Antarctica is covered in ice. But remember the rule: it’s about precipitation. The interior of Antarctica gets almost no new snow. It’s a frozen wasteland where the air is too cold to hold any moisture at all. If you’re wondering where is deserts located in the most extreme sense, look at the very bottom and the very top of the globe. The Arctic is also considered a desert.
These are "cold deserts." They don't have cacti. They have ice sheets and rock.
The Coastal Oddities
Then you have places like the Atacama in Chile. This is arguably the driest non-polar place on Earth. Some weather stations there have never recorded rain. Not once.
What’s crazy is that it’s right next to the Pacific Ocean. You’d think it would be humid and tropical, right? Nope. Cold ocean currents (like the Humboldt Current) run along the coast. These currents cool the air so much that it can’t hold moisture as it moves toward land. You get fog, but you never get rain. It’s a haunting, Martian landscape that NASA actually uses to test Mars rovers because the soil chemistry is so similar to the Red Planet.
A Quick Look at the Major Players
- The Sahara (Africa): The king of hot deserts. It’s roughly the size of the United States.
- The Arabian (Middle East): A massive expanse of sand and gravel.
- The Gobi (Asia): A "cold" desert where temperatures can swing from -40 degrees to 113 degrees.
- The Kalahari (Africa): Not a true desert in some parts because it gets too much rain, but it’s still semi-arid and brutal.
- The Great Basin (North America): A high-altitude desert that covers most of Nevada.
Why Does Location Matter?
Knowing where is deserts located helps us understand the future of the planet. There’s a process called desertification. It’s basically when fertile land turns into desert because of drought, deforestation, or bad farming.
The edges of the Sahara, a region called the Sahel, are currently "creeping" southward. This isn't just about sand moving; it's about the ecosystem collapsing. When the plants die, the soil blows away. Once the soil is gone, you can't just "un-desert" a place. It’s a one-way street for a long time.
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Dr. Sarah Milton, a specialist in arid land ecology, often points out that human activity is essentially "shifting the borders" of where we expect deserts to be. We are seeing parts of Southern Europe and the American Southwest become significantly more arid. The lines on the map are moving.
The Life You Didn't Expect
Just because a place is a desert doesn't mean it’s dead. That's a huge misconception.
In the Sonoran Desert of Arizona and Mexico, you’ve got the Saguaro cactus. These things are giants. They can live for 200 years and soak up tons of water in a single storm. In the Namib Desert of Africa, there are beetles that literally "harvest" water from the morning fog by standing on their heads and letting the droplets roll into their mouths.
Life finds a way.
Even the soil is alive. In many deserts, there’s something called "biological soil crust." It’s a mix of cyanobacteria, lichens, and mosses. It looks like black, crusty dirt, but it’s actually a living carpet that holds the sand together and fixes nitrogen. If you step on it, you kill decades of growth. That’s why hikers are always told to "stay on the trail" in places like Moab.
Practical Steps for Exploring or Living Near Deserts
If you find yourself heading to any of these locations—whether it's the high-altitude deserts of Chile or the red sands of Australia—you need a different mindset than a beach trip.
1. Hydration is a Lie (Sorta)
Don't just drink when you're thirsty. In dry air, your sweat evaporates instantly. You don't feel "sweaty," so you don't realize how much water you're losing. If your urine isn't clear, you're already behind.
2. Respect the Sun and the Cold
Deserts have no "blanket" of clouds. During the day, the sun hammers the ground. At night, all that heat radiates back into space immediately. It’s common for a desert to be 100 degrees at noon and 40 degrees by midnight. Bring layers. Always.
3. Watch the Wash
Flash floods are the number one killer in many deserts. Because the ground is so hard and dry, it can't absorb a sudden downpour. The water just runs off. You could be standing in a dry creek bed under a blue sky, while a wall of water from a storm ten miles away comes rushing toward you. Never camp in a wash.
4. Protect the Crust
As mentioned, the soil is often alive. Stick to established paths or rock surfaces. Once you break that biological crust, the wind takes the sand, and the desert starts to "grow" in a way that hurts the local environment.
Deserts are some of the most beautiful, quiet, and terrifying places on the planet. They aren't just "wastelands." They are complex systems governed by global winds, ocean currents, and mountain heights. Whether you’re looking at the vastness of the Sahara or the frozen silence of Antarctica, the answer to where is deserts located is ultimately a story of how our planet breathes and moves its water.
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Next Steps for Arid Land Research:
Check the current drought maps provided by the National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) if you are in the US, or the Global Drought Observatory for international data. These tools show in real-time how desert-like conditions are expanding or contracting based on seasonal shifts. If you're planning a trip, look up "High Desert" vs "Low Desert" requirements, as the gear you'll need for the Mojave is vastly different from what you'll need for the Altiplano.