Sand dunes

       Desert

         Buttes

Deserts are arid places; they have very little water. Deserts can be both hot and cold. The cold deserts are found in very cold places such as the tops of very high mountains and Antarctica. The hot deserts are in the same belt that holds the rainforests, near the equator between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn.

Plants grow low to the ground and hold water in their leaves and/or stems. Cactus is an example.

Animals have adapted ways to stay cool. Many sleep during the day and are awake at night.  These animals are nocturnal. Others, such as jackrabbits and Fennec foxes, cool themselves because their long ears help heat to escape from their bodies.

Animals such as camels, scorpions, tarantulas, jackrabbits, jackals, hyenas, meerkats, roadrunners, monitor lizards, and rattlesnakes have adapted to life in the deserts. Pronghorns live in mountain deserts.

Plants, Animals and Climate of the Desert (Blue Planet Biomes)

Animals of the Deserts (Blue Planet Biomes)

Endangered Animals of the Desert (Quesper Online)

(Picture Source; Microsoft ClipArt)