Name: Deserts 101 | National Geographic
Uploaded: 2020-01-21T02:31:12.000Z
Duration: 3 min 53 s
Description: Thousands of YouTube videos with English-Chinese subtitles! Now you can learn to understand native speakers, expand your vocabulary, and improve your pronunciation...

- [Narrator] Wind whips over a barren wasteland.

Vast nothingness as far as the eye can see,

Deserts are often defined as areas of land

that receive less than 10 inches of rainfall each year.

evaporating water faster than it is received.

While most deserts are found in the mid-latitudes,

these diverse ecosystems occur on all seven continents

and make up nearly one-third of Earth's total land mass.

Deserts are sometimes classified into four major types:

subtropical, semiarid, coastal, and polar.

Subtropical deserts are found along the equator,

and the Tropic of Cancer, and the Tropic of Capricorn.

that can reach up to 120 degrees Fahrenheit.

through a process called the rain-shadow effect.

Coastal deserts form alongside the tropical western edges

Polar deserts are found in the Arctic and Antarctic.

winter temperatures in the Antarctic Desert

average around minus 50 degrees Fahrenheit.

While deserts experience extreme temperatures

they are still important habitats for plants and animals.

have evolved to withstand harsh desert conditions

and emerging at night, when desert temperatures drop.

Many desert plants, including the saguaro cactus,

have established long and shallow root systems

to better absorb what minimal moisture might be present

Highly specialized to survive in such a harsh environment,

desert wildlife is particularly vulnerable

Existing deserts have become less habitable

Additionally, new desert areas are beginning to form

This phenomenon occurs when factors such as deforestation,

climate change, and resource mismanagement

degrade the biological productivity of a region,

poor irrigation practices and excessive water usage

and formed the youngest desert on the planet.

But by practicing responsible agriculture,

better management of limited water resources,

it may be possible to curb desertification

while protecting our surprisingly rich desert ecosystems.

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Deserts 101 | National Geographic

vulnerable

phenomenon

reveal

vast