Tropical deserts are very dry areas located between 5-30 degrees latitude in both hemispheres. They include the Sahara Desert and Great Basin Desert. Tropical deserts receive little to no rainfall some years and have sandy or rocky soil. Plants include cacti, cholla, and brittlebush, and animals include kangaroo rats, coyotes, and camels that have adapted to the harsh, dry conditions. Human inhabitation of tropical deserts is increasing pollution and damaging the environment unless laws are enacted to protect it, as seen by the differences between how the Mojave Desert and Atacama Desert are handled.
2. ■ Two other names: 1. Sahara Desert
2.The Great Basin Desert
■ South and North hemispheres (between 5 and 30 degrees latitude)
■ You can find a lot of soil in a tropical desert.
■ The driest and hottest place on Earth. Rainfall is not common in these areas, in some
years their is 0% precipitation.
8. Human Impact
■ Our human impact on tropical deserts is increasing because people are moving to
tropical deserts because of the warm climate. By inhabiting these areas we are
polluting it and damaging the natural resources the tropical deserts have to offer.
■ MDC: Mojave Desert in California, US
The Outback inAlice Springs,Australia
■ LDC:Arabian Desert in Saudi Arabia
Atacama Desert in Peru
Differences in how it’s handled
■ In the U.S people are inhabiting deserts but are enacting laws to protect the
environment while in less developed countries they don’t have any concern towards
the environment and they are abusing it.The LDC are not controlling their impact.
9. Secondary Succession
■ It takes a desert a long time due to abiotic factors since the
desert does not receive enough water throughout the year.
