deserts around the world

Africa

       Algerian Desert – part of the Sahara located in Algeria

       Blue Desert – a desert in Egypt

       Kalahari Desert – a desert covering much of Botswana and parts of Namibia and South Africa

       Karoo – a semi-desert region in South Africa

       Libyan Desert – part of the Sahara located in Libya

       Namib Desert – a desert in present day Namibia

       Nubian Desert – a desert in present day Sudan

       Owami Desert – a desert in Nigeria

       Sahara Desert – the world's largest hot desert covering most of Northern Africa

       White Desert – a desert in Egypt

Asia

       Akshi Desert – a desert in India

       Badain Jaran – a desert located in China

       Cholistan – a desert in Pakistan

       Gobi – a desert in Mongolia and China

       Indus Valley Desert – a desert located in Pakistan

       Kara Kum – a large Central Asian desert

       Kharan desert – a desert located in Pakistan

       Kyzyl Kum – a desert in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan

       Lop Desert – a desert in China

       Ordos – a desert in northern China

       Rub' al Khali – a desert located in Saudi Arabia

       Taklamakan – a desert located in China

       Thal Desert – a desert in Pakistan

       Thar Desert – a desert in Pakistan and India

       Arabian Desert – a vast desert complex on the Arabian Peninsula comprising the Al-Dahna Desert, Empty Quarter, Nefud Desertand other deserts

       Dasht-e Kavir – a desert in central Iran

       Dasht-e Lut – a large salt desert in southeastern Iran

       Judean Desert – a desert in eastern Israel and the West Bank

       Maranjab Desert – a desert in central Iran

       Negev – a desert located in southern Israel

       Ramlat al-Sab`atayn – a sandy desert in central & northeastern Yemen, part of the Empty Quarter

       Sinai Desert – a desert located on the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt

       Wahiba Sands – a desert in Oman

Australia

Main article: Deserts of Australia

       Central Desert – a central Australian desert

       Gibson Desert – a central Australian desert

       Great Sandy Desert – a northwestern Australian desert

       Great Victoria Desert – the biggest desert in Australia

       Little Sandy Desert – a western Australian desert

       Simpson Desert – a central Australian desert

       Strzelecki Desert – a south-central Australian desert

       Tanami Desert – a northern Australian desert

Europe  

             Accona Desert – a semi-desert in central Italy

             Aleshkovskie peski – a sandy desert in Ukraine

             Bardenas Reales – a semi-desert in Navarre, Spain (455 km²)

             Błędowska Desert – a desert located in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland (32 km²)

             Deliblatska Peščara – a desert located in Vojvodina, Serbia (300 km²)

             Highlands of Iceland – the interior plateau of Iceland; not a desert by climate, but effectively one because precipitation penetrates the volcanic soil so quickly that it is unavailable to plants

             Monegros Desert – a semi-desert in Aragón, Spain

             Oleshky Sands – a desert located in Ukraine near Askania-Nova biosphere reserve (15 km in diameter)

             Oltenian Sahara – a desert spanning approximately 80,000 hectares or 800 km² in the Romanian historical province of Oltenia[1]

                                                         Piscinas – a desert located in southwest Sardinia, Italy (5 km²)

                                                         Ryn Desert – a desert in western Kazakhstan and southeastern Russia, north of the Caspian Sea and southeast of the Volga Upland. It is the largest sandy desert in Europe

                                                         Stranja Sahara - a desert in southeastern Bulgaria near the city of Burgas. It is about 80,000 hectares, sometimes estimated to about 850 km². It is near the borders of Turkey and northwestern Greece[2]

                                                         Tabernas Desert – a desert in Almería, Spain (280 km²)

             Pumas Desert - a desert in Spain (province)

North America

List of North American deserts

          Central Valley of California (which is divided into the Sacramento Valley in the north, and the San Joaquin Valley in the south) – this area has largely been transformed, due to irrigation canals, to an agricultural area. It is technically a semi-arid climate

          Chihuahuan Desert

          Colorado Desert

          Mojave Desert

          Sonoran Desert

]South America

             Atacama – a desert in Chile and Peru, the driest place on Earth

             La Guajira Desert – a desert in northern Colombia and Venezuela

             Monte Desert – in Argentina, a smaller desert above the Patagonian Desert

             Patagonian Desert – the largest desert in the Americas, located in Argentina and Chile

             Sechura Desert – a desert located south of the Piura Region of Peru

Polar Regions

          Antarctica Desert – the largest desert in the world

          Arctic Desert – the second largest desert in the world

          North American Arctic – a large tundra in North America

          Russian Arctic – a large tundra in Russia

Oceania

          Rangipo Desert – a barren desert-like plateau (with 1.5-2.5 m/yr rainfall) on the North Island Volcanic Plateau in New Zealand

Tibetan Plateau

Leaf morphology and the timing of the rise of the Tibetan Plateau

The Tibetan Plateau, arguably the earth’s most significant topographic feature, has an average elevation of over 5000 m extending over an area about 1000 by 2500 km.  The plateau formed largely as a result of the collision of India into Asia, which started around 55 m.y. ago; but uplift of the plateau has taken place over a fairly long period since then, and appears to have happened in a stepwise manner (Tapponier et al., 2001).

The Himalayan-Tibetan uplift has had a profound effect on the earth’s climate.  On the one hand its impact on the rates of silicate-rock weathering is thought by many to have been important in drawdown of atmospheric CO₂ and cooling during the Tertiary, and on the other it plays an important role in controlling the Asian Monsoon, the rainfall system that is responsible for feeding almost half of the world’s population.  We know that monsoons have been happening for approximately the past 8 million years, but we don’t have a very clear picture of the timing of the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau.

A recent research project, led by geologists from Britain’s Open University, provides some additional data that helps to establish the timing of uplift of part of the plateau.  Spicer et al., (2003) have studied Middle Miocene (ca. 15 m.y.) leaves from volcanic ash-rich lake sediments in the Namling region of southern Tibet.  The fossiliferous rocks are now situated at 4300 to 4600 m elevation.  By careful description of a wide range of leaf morphological features, and comparison with existing data sets, they have determined that the leaves grew in a setting with a mean annual temperature of around 6.8º C.  Based on comparisons with Miocene climate models, and with other leaf studies on similar-aged rocks formed at close to sea level in Japan, the authors conclude that the Namling leaves grew at an elevation of close to 4600 m. 

Spicer et al. propose that the Namling region, along with most of southern Tibet, has been at an elevation of around 5000 m since at least the Middle Miocene; however they are careful to point out that some parts of the existing plateau may have been elevated earlier, and some parts later.