Deserts

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Deserts
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What Defines a Desert Biome?

• A desert is a landscape or region that receives
  very little rain. Deserts can be defined as areas
  that receive an average annual precipitation
  (Rain) of less than 10 in or as areas in which
  more water is lost than falls as rain.

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Deserts cover about one fifth (20) of the
Earth's surface
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2 Types of Deserts

• HOT
• and
• COLD

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Hot Deserts of North America

• North American deserts Chihuahuan, Sonoran,
  Mojave and Great Basin
• The seasons are generally warm throughout the
  year and very hot in the summer. The winters
  usually bring little rainfall.

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Sonoran Desert (Arizona, Northern Mexico)
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Mojave Desert (Nevada, California, Arizona)
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Chihuahuan Desert (Southern New Mexico, Northern
Mexico)
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Great Basin Desert Utah, Colorado, Nevada,
California
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Plants of North American Hot Deserts

• Yucca
• Ocotillo
• Saguaro
• Palo Verde Tree
• Mesquite Trees
• Prickly Pears
• Agaves
• Brittle Brush

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• Yucca
• Ocotillo

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Saguaro Palo Verde
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Mesquite Tree Prickly Pear Cactus
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Agaves Brittle Brush
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Animals of the North American Hot Deserts
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Horned Lizard
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Coyote
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Tarantula
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Scorpion
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Kangaroo Rat
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Rattlesnake
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Gila Monster
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Road Runner
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Road Runner
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Mountain Lion
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Bob Cat
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Mountain Sheep
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• Hot Deserts outside of the United States

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Arabian Arabian Peninsula

• Covered almost entirely by sand has some of the
  most extensive stretches of sand dunes in the
  world.
• Plant Life acacia, oleander, saltbush 
• Animal Life desert locust, dromedary camel,
  gazelle, lizard, jackal, Oryx 

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Kalahari Southwestern Africa

• Covered by sand dunes and gravel plains
• Plant life acacia, aloe 
• Animals gazelle, gerbil, ground squirrel,
  hyena, jackal, sand grouse, springbok
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• Cold Deserts of the World

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Atacama Coasts of Peru and Chile

• Covered by sand dunes and pebbles. One of the
  driest areas on earth.
• Plant Life bunchgrass, cardon cactus, tamaruga
  trees
• Animal Life lizards, llama, Peruvian fox,
  nesting area for many seabirds

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Gobi Northern China and Southern Mongolia

• Covered by sandy soil and areas of small stones
  called "Gobi."
• Plant Life camel's thorn, grasses
• Animal Life Bactrian camel, gazelle, gerbil,
  jerboa, lizards,, wolf

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Great Basin Western United States (Idaho,
Nevada, Oregon, and Utah)

• Covered by sand, gravel, and clay. Many mountains
  ranges, basins, and large expanses of salt flats.
• Plant Life greasewood, sagebrush, shad scale
• Animal Life bighorn sheep, jackrabbit, pocket
  mouse, poor-will, pronghorn antelope, sage
  thrasher, side-blotched lizard

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