Desert - Climate, Ecosystems, Adaptations | Britannica
Jan 12, 2026 · The arid conditions of the major desert areas result from their position in subtropical regions to either side of the moist equatorial belt. The atmospheric circulation pattern known as the …
Desert | Definition, Climate, Animals, Plants, & Types | Britannica
Jan 12, 2026 · Desert, any large, extremely dry area of land with sparse vegetation. It is one of Earth’s major types of ecosystems, supporting a community of plants and animals specially adapted to the …
Texas | Map, Flag, Population, History, Geography, & Facts | Britannica
3 days ago · The soil of the southern Texas coast and inland to the Rio Grande is sandy, like that of East Texas, but it is less eroded and leached. The Blackland Prairie, a belt of fertile black clay to the …
Location, History, Map, Countries, Animals, & Facts - Britannica
Dec 21, 2025 · Sahara, largest hot desert in the world. Filling nearly all of northern Africa, it measures approximately 3,000 miles (4,800 km) from east to west and between 800 to 1,200 miles from north …
Mali | Culture, History, Maps, & People | Britannica
6 days ago · Beginning in the latter half of the 20th century, deforestation, overgrazing, and repeated episodes of drought served to greatly speed the rate of naturally occurring desertification, resulting in …
North American Desert | Climate, Flora & Fauna | Britannica
North American Desert, vast, irregular belt of inhospitable terrain that stretches north to south down the western side of the North American continent from southern Oregon and Idaho to northern Mexico.
Gobi Desert | Map, Plants, Animals, & Facts | Britannica
Dec 13, 2025 · Much of the Gobi (from Mongolian gobi, meaning ‘waterless place’) is not sandy desert but bare rock. Although vegetation is rare, the Gobi’s fauna is varied and includes camels, kulan, and …
Libya | History, People, Map, & Government | Britannica
5 days ago · Most of the country lies in the Sahara desert, and much of its population is concentrated along the coast and its immediate hinterland, where Tripoli (Ṭarābulus), the de facto capital, and …
Sahel | Location, Facts, Map, & Desertification | Britannica
Dec 27, 2025 · Sahel, semiarid region of western and north-central Africa extending from Senegal eastward to Sudan. It forms a transitional zone between the arid Sahara (desert) to the north and the …
Jerusalem | History, Map, Religion, & Facts | Britannica
3 days ago · Jerusalem is an ancient city of the Middle East that since 1967 has been wholly under the rule of the State of Israel. Long an object of veneration and conflict, Jerusalem has been governed …