The Sahara Desert is the Earth's largest hot desert, covering one third of the African continent. It is located in North Africa and covers an area that is comparable to the U.S. in size. The Sahara desert is located in North Africa and is one of the hottest places on earth. Temperatures in the Sahara can reach 136 degrees Fahrenheit. The Sahara is extremely dry, and receives fewer than 3 inches (7.6 cm) of rain in a year. The name Sahara comes from the Arabic word for desert. The Sahara divides the African continent into North and sub-Saharan Africa.
Antarctica is considered a desert because it has less than 254 mm or 10 inches of annual precipitation. It is the world's largest desert. The difference between the Antarctica and other deserts is the fact that there is very little evaporation from Antarctica. This means that, whenever any snow falls in this area, it never goes away, leading to a buildup of thick ice sheets, thousands of years old. In Antarctica, the precipitation does not fall as water; rather, it falls as snow. The Antarctica is a cold desert. In fact, Antarctica is the coldest place on earth. The reason why the Antarctica is cold is because much of it is situated more than three kilometers above sea level.
The Gobi Desert is located in Asia, spanning part of the northern and northwestern China and some parts of Southern Mongolia. The Gobi is a cold desert with frost and occasional snow. It receives about 7 inches of precipitation annually. The reason why the Gobi Desert is so cold is because of its elevation. It is about 1,520 meters above sea level at its highest point. The Gobi Desert is the fifth-largest desert on the planet.
The Namib Desert is located in the southwest corner of Africa. It is one of the oldest deserts in the world. The temperature in the Namib can reach as high as 150 degrees Fahrenheit in the mid-afternoon. The Namib is divided in two by the Kuiseb River, which flows into the Atlantic. The Namib receives its precipitation in the form of fog from the Atlantic Ocean.
