Where Are the World's Largest Deserts Located?

Deserts—areas receiving <250 mm (10 in) annual precipitation—cover ~1/3 of Earth's land surface. They exist on every continent except Europe (though semi-arid zones exist in Spain). The largest are concentrated in subtropical high-pressure belts (~30°N/S) and rain shadows.

The Top 5 Largest Deserts

1. Antarctic Desert (Polar): 14.2M km². Coldest, driest, windiest continent. Ice sheet = frozen desert.
2. Arctic Desert (Polar): 13.9M km². Arctic Ocean + northern lands (Greenland, Canada, Russia, Scandinavia).
3. Sahara (Subtropical Hot): 9.2M km². North Africa. Largest hot desert. Ergs (sand seas), hamadas (rock plateaus), oases.
4. Arabian Desert (Subtropical Hot): 2.3M km². Arabian Peninsula. Rub' al Khali (Empty Quarter) = largest continuous sand body.
5. Gobi (Cold Winter Desert): 1.3M km². Mongolia/China. Rain shadow of Himalayas. Extreme temperature swings.

Other Notable Deserts

• Kalahari (S. Africa): 900K km². Semi-arid savanna; San people.
• Great Victoria (Australia): 647K km². Part of the "Outback" (1.7M km² total arid zone).
• Patagonian (Argentina): 670K km². Rain shadow of Andes.
• Great Basin (USA): 492K km². Cold winter desert; includes Death Valley (hottest spot on Earth).
• Atacama (Chile/Peru): 105K km². Driest non-polar desert—some weather stations never recorded rain.
• Chihuahuan (Mexico/USA): 360K km². Largest North American desert; high elevation, diverse.
• Thar (India/Pakistan): 200K km². Most densely populated desert.

Why These Latitudes?

Subtropical highs (Hadley cell descent) create persistent sinking air, inhibiting clouds/rain at ~30°N/S. Rain shadows (leeward of major ranges) create mid-latitude deserts (Gobi, Patagonian, Great Basin). Polar deserts are frozen, precipitation-starved.