The hot and cold desert

Though no one would prefer to stay in the desert, it’s unavoidable. Deserts cover more than one fifth of the earth’s land and are located on every continent. Deserts are dry lands that are extremely hot during the day and cold at night. Despite the common belief that deserts are only hot, there are some cold deserts. The largest hot desert in the world is the Sahara in northern Africa with temperatures reaching 122◦F. The deserts have plants, animals and people who live in it. Examples of animals are the camels and horses that people use for transport and desert tortoise. A few plant species like cactus can tolerate the desert environment. Basically, deserts are made up of sand dunes formed by wind. For this reason desert dwellers dress up in clothes that cover their whole body, faces and just leave small holes for the eyes. People in the desert basically feed on beef, camel milk and at times food like rice. They live in tents made of thick walls that help resist the late night cold. A place where to find water in a desert is called an Oasis. Some desert places like in Egypt have developed irrigation schemes for getting water from River Nile. This has enabled them to grow crops like rice and wheat. Examples of deserts in Africa are the Sahara in northern Africa and the Kalahari in southern Africa. Ends