The Middle East and North Africa are one of the driest regions on Earth.  Nearly two-thirds of the Middle East and North Africa is desert.  A desert receives an average of less than ten inches of rain annually.  The Sahara Desert of northern Africa is the largest in the world.  It stretches across 3.5 million square miles, an area larger than the United States if you exclude Alaska and Hawaii.  The Rub ‘al-Khali, or “Empty Quarter,” is a large desert in Saudi Arabia.  It is the largest area of continuous sand on Earth.

Desert air contains little moisture, so few clouds form over the land.  Without clouds to block the sun, temperatures may reach as high as 125oF during the day.  Without the clouds to contain the heat, the desert temperature can fall to as low as 40oF at night.

Sandy desert

Desert

A desert is land that receives an average of less than ten inches of rain per year. Most of the land of the Middle East and North Africa is hot and dry, but some deserts look very different. Most of Antarctica is a desert but there is no sand on the continent and the climate of Antarctica is the coldest on earth.

Extreme temperatures and little rainfall make desert life difficult for people, plants, and animals.  Yet, some life forms have adapted to even the most severe desert environments.  Camels can survive long periods without food or water.  Many desert plants have long, shallow root systems.  This allows the plants to reach out to collect water over great distances.  Other desert plants have taproots.  Taproots grow very deep, so they can tap sources of underground water.  Plant life in the desert is usually spread out over great distances.  This is why deserts are often described as barren or lifeless.

When many people think of a desert, they often think of endless miles of hot sand, but a desert does not have to be hot or sandy.  Most of the Middle East and North African land is hot, dry desert land, but some deserts look very different.  Most of Antarctica is a desert, but there is no sand on the continent and the climate is the coldest on earth.

Resources

Download this lesson as Microsoft Word file or as an Adobe Acrobat file.
Listen as Mr. Dowling reads this lesson.

Mr. Donn has an excellent website that includes a section on the Middle East and North Africa.

Desert

607desertplant

Many desert plants have long, shallow root systems. This allows the plants to reach out to collect water over great distances.