desert- / dezert /

Noun A dry, Barren area of land, esp. one covered with sand

Receive less than ten inches of rain a year

Many deserts have extremes in temperature, with very high temperatures in the day and cold temperatures at night

Four major types of desert are: •Hot and Dry •Semiarid •Coastal •Cold

Deserts cover about one fifth of the Earth's surface

The landscape of deserts vary greatly; but all deserts have 1 thing in common . They are all extremely dry, and can be one of the harshest places on earth

Although you may not always be able to see the water in the desert, it is often present. Water can be found in two forms: either surface water, or water below the surface called sub-surface.

Large, extremely dry area of land with fairly sparse vegetation. It is one of the Earth's major types of ecosystems. Areas with a mean annual precipitation of 10 in. (250 mm) or less are generally considered deserts. They include the high-latitude circumpolar areas as well as the more familiar hot, arid regions of the low and mid-latitudes. Desert terrain may consist of rugged mountains, high plateaus, or plains; many occupy broad mountain- rimmed basins. Surface materials include bare bedrock, plains of gravel and boulders, and vast tracts of shifting sand. Wind-blown sands, commonly thought to be typical of deserts, make up only about 2% of North American deserts, 10% of the Sahara, and 30% of the Arabian desert. (Mirriam-Webster)