The Great Indian Desert

14 JAN 2018

 The Great Indian Desert lies to the west of the Northern Plains.  It is also known as the Thar Desert  The Great Indian Desert Thar lies mostly in Rajasthan states of India, and extended into the some portion of Haryana, Punjab and Rann of Kutch in Gujarat.  The Great Indian Desert stretches from the Aravalli hills in the east to the border of Pakistan in the west and from Rann of Kachchh in the south-west to the border of Haryana.  The Great Indian Desert is partly rocky and partly sandy. It has many low sand hills called sand dunes. These sand dunes keep on moving as a result of strong dust storms.  The Great Indian Desert receives little rainfall. Some areas do not get rain at all for many years. There are no permanent rivers.  The only river that flows through this desert it the Luni. It is a seasonal river and dries up soon in the summer. So there is always a shortage of water.  During summer, the days are very hot but nights are cold because the sand cools down quickly after sunset.  During winter, the days are generally warm but the nights are very cold.  During summer, dust storms are very common.  Due to shortage of water, people have to walk many kilometers to bring water from wells. So, life in the desert is very difficult.  However, in some places, the underground water comes to the surface and forms big pools. Such a place is called an oasis.  The water from oases is used to grow crops. Trees like date palm, kikar, babool and cactus also grow near the oases.