Simpson Simpson Desert, Mojave Desert Mojave Simpson Desert, Desert, Mojave Desert The Simpson and Mojave deserts are two of Earth’s most incredible places. This information report compares and contrasts the climates, wildlife, and histories of these sun-scorched, seemingly barren parts of the world. Other Information Reports (Compare/Contrast) in Springboard 5: Daintree Rainforest, Amazon Springboard 5 Rainforest Murray River, Mississippi River Written by Tracey Michele For inspection teachers' Simpson ONLY Desert, Mojave Desert Contents Introduction .......................................4 The Simpson and Mojave Deserts .....8 Climate ............................................10 History ............................................ 14 Desert Vegetation ............................ 17 Desert Animals ...............................24 Threats to the Deserts .....................29 Glossary ...........................................31 Index ................................................32 For inspection teachers' Introduction Cactuses are world-famous desert icons. Places that are extremely dry, or arid, are known as deserts. ONLY Deserts do not have much rainfall. Some of Earth’s deserts are hot and others are cold. Some are sandy and rocky. Other deserts are snowy and icy. Deserts cover about one-fifth of the planet’s land. Most deserts are in hot places near two regions of Earth called the tropics. The tropics are north and south of an invisible line round the middle of Earth. This line is the equator. The equator is the place on Earth nearest the sun, making it very hot. The places just north and south of the tropics are the subtropics, where most hot deserts are. In hot subtropical deserts, the sun beats down every day. Deserts of the World ASIA EUROPE NORTH AMERICA TROPIC OF CANCER AFRICA EQUATOR SOUTH AMERICA TROPIC OF CAPRICORN AUSTRALIA Key Hot desert Cold desert ANTARCTICA 4 5 For inspection teachers' Deserts are amazing places. Some of Earth’s deserts Even though deserts can be harsh places, a lot of plants contain large areas of sand and dry rock. Other deserts have and animals live in them. A lot of the plants and animals enormous sand dunes. Some have massive plains covered have special features to help them live in such hot, dry ONLY in salt, called salt pans. A lot of Earth’s salt pans formed places. millions of years ago, when inland seas dried up and left This book will look at two deserts in the subtropics. behind the salt. Sometimes, salt pans still fill up with water These are the Simpson Desert in Australia and the Mojave from rivers and rain. Water leaves behind the salt in salt Desert in the United States. pans when heat from the sun turns the water into a gas called water vapour. Water turning into water vapour is evaporation. Salt pans form over thousands of years. Other deserts have wet areas from rivers or underground springs. A huge, jutting formation of scarred desert rock in the Monument Valley Tribal Park in Arizona 6 7 For inspection teachers' The Simpson and Mojave Deserts The Mojave Desert is in the west of the United States. It covers 130,600 square km. The Mojave is in four American states. These states are California, Utah, Nevada, and So, where exactly are the Simpson and Mojave Deserts? ONLY Arizona. The Mojave is between two other deserts. To the The Simpson Desert is in the middle of Australia. It covers north is the Great Basin Desert, which is a cold desert. The 170,000 square km of land. The Simpson is spread across Sonoran Desert is a hot desert to the south. The Colorado parts of South Australia, Queensland, and the Northern River runs through part of the Mojave Desert. Territory. Lake Eyre is in the south of the desert. As the area is so dry, a lot of the time the huge lake has no water. When it is dry, Lake Eyre is a salt pan. Location of the Mojave Desert Location of the Simpson Desert C A NORTHERN L NEVADA United States I TERRITORY F UTAH O R Australia QUEENSLAND r N e v I i A R WESTERN o PACIFIC Las Vegas ad AUSTRALIA Lake Eyre Color OCEAN SOUTH AUSTRALIA NEW SOUTH WALES ACT ARIZONA 0 km 500 VICTORIA Mexico Key Mojave Desert Key TASMANIA PACIFIC Great Basin Desert Simpson Desert OCEAN Sonoran Desert 8 9.