Major Deserts of the World (By Continent)

There is no single authoritative list of "every desert"—definitions vary by aridity index, vegetation, and classification system. But the major deserts (>50,000 km²) by continent are:

Africa

• Sahara (9.2M km²) — largest hot desert
• Kalahari (900k km²)
• Namib (81k km²) — coastal fog desert

Asia

• Arabian (2.3M km²)
• Gobi (1.3M km²) — cold winter desert
• Taklamakan (337k km²) — shifting sands
• Thar (200k km²) — India/Pakistan
• Karakum (350k km²), Kyzylkum (300k km²) — Central Asia
• Dasht-e Lut, Dasht-e Kavir — Iran

North America

• Chihuahuan (360k km²) — largest in NA
• Great Basin (492k km²) — cold desert
• Mojave (124k km²) — Death Valley
• Sonoran (260k km²) — saguaro, biseasonal rain

South America

• Atacama (105k km²) — driest non-polar
• Patagonian (670k km²) — cold, rain shadow
• Monte (460k km²) — Argentina
• Sechura (50k km²) — Peru

Australia

• Great Victoria (348k km²)
• Great Sandy (284k km²)
• Tanami (184k km²)
• Simpson (176k km²)
• Gibson (156k km²)

Polar Deserts

• Antarctic Desert (14.2M km²) — largest overall, coldest, driest.
• Arctic Desert (13.9M km²) — northern polar regions.

Smaller deserts, semi-deserts, and "desert" ecoregions (e.g., Colorado Plateau, Red Desert, Alvord) number in the hundreds. The Köppen BWh/BWk classification is the standard for mapping.