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Home , Arabian Desert, Badain Jaran Desert, Erg (landform), Gibson Desert, Great Salt Lake Desert, Great Sandy Desert

Deserts -end matter/4 col 2/5/03 17:59 Page 190

190 atlas of the ’s

armadillos 106 C Domeyko, Cordillera 124 arroyos 45, 46 cacti 81–2, 83, 119, 121 Doughty, C.M. 148 arthropods 90 elephant 81 dragons, bearded 100–1 Ashkhabad 61 opuntia 87 dress 135 Asian deserts Queen of the Night 77 dromedaries 137 Index animals 92, 103, 107, 109–10, 111 roots 77 80 continental deserts 20–1 81, 119, 121 Dumont d’Urville Sea 167 Page numbers in italics refer to picture minerals 175–6 spines 79 28, 29, 33, 52–6, 81 captions. people 139–40 water storage 78 Dust Bowl 184, 185 plants 85–6 Caillé, René 135, 146–7 “dust devils” 56 A Silk Road 61, 69, 138, 139–40 see Death Valley; Great dust storms 56–7 Aborigines 135, 140–1, 149, 151, 157, see also Gobi ; Iranian Desert; Basin; ; Sonoran Dzungarian Desert 72 159, 161, 163 Kara Kum Desert; Taklimakan Desert land rights 155, 161 Desert; 63, 134, 135, 137 E acacias 77, 78, 81, 83–4 asses, wild 72–3, 107 racing 151 , wedge-tailed 105–6 raddiana 77 18, 79, 124–7 Canning 159 146, 174, 176 roots 77 animals 102, 106, 107, 125, 126 109 resources 176–7 85–6 climate 125 caravans 134, 139 see also symbiosis with ants 80 mining/minerals 124, 125, 169, 172, carnivores 89–90, 107–11 , ancient 132–3, 169 adaptations 176 cats, sand 92, 109 El Alamein 30 animal 89, 90–5, 111 people 127, 143 cedar trees, pygmy 77 El Niño 17, 122, 123 plant 75–80 plants 79, 83 centipedes 95 El Tatio Geysers 125 adders Atacama Salt Flat 124 Central Australian Desert 160–1, 162 Empty Quarter (Rub’ al-Khali) 39, 40–1, northern death 101 Atacameño 127 Coober Pedy 161, 177 148 saw-scaled 101–2 Atlas- 29 Uluru 141, 149, 161 emus 104, 162 aeolian landscapes 52 28, 29 Central Kalahari Game Reserve 35 energy 174 African deserts atmospheric pressure, sub-tropical high- Chang Ch’ien 139 solar 169, 174, 175 animals 92, 103, 105, 106, 107–9, pressure deserts 16–18 cheetahs 107–9 ephemeral plants 80, 83, 120 110, 111 Australian deserts 18, 21, 162–3 , deserts see Atacama Desert erg, Great Erg of Bilma 54 minerals 176–7 animals 92, 93, 95, 99–106, 109–10, Chimú Empire 173 ergs 28, 29, 44 people 132–6, 137, 138–9 111, 159, 162, 163, 183 , deserts see ; see weathering and erosion plants 78, 83–5, 86 179 Taklimakan Desert estivation 93 see also ; Kalahari dunes 56 Chinchorro people 127 Etosha Pan 32 Desert; Desert; explorations 148, 149, 150 chotts 29 Etosha Park 32 Desert gibbers 51 Chubut River 128 euphorbias 77, 78, 79–80, 83 Afro-Arabian Shield 39 modern crossings 154, 161 Chuquicamata 124, 169 Euphrates River 50, 133 agaves 78 national parks 158, 159, 161 civilizations, ancient 131, 132–3 evaporation, water 36 “Age of Deserts” 15, 16 people see Aborigines Clapperton, Hugh 146 evening primroses, white 75 Ahaggar Mountains 27 plants 78, 80, 86–7, 159, 163 cliff dwellings 119, 121 explorations, European 146–50 Air Massif 26 resources 159, 161, 176, 177 Cliff Palace 142 Eyre, 161, 162, 163 , resources 176 see also Central Australian Desert; 185 Alice Springs 160, 163 Western Australian Desert coachwhips 102 F alluvial fans and aprons 47 Ayers Rock see Uluru coastal deserts 17, 33, 123, 125, 129 105 American deserts see North American azorellas, three-lobed 83 Coastal Ranges 20 farming 153, 173–4, 182 deserts; South American deserts Coelurosaur 15 fennecs 110 amphibians 93, 102–3 B Colorado, Mesa Verde 142 fennels, giant 86 Amu Dar’ya River 46, 60, 62, 63, 176 55–6, 70 118, 120 fertilizers, from deserts 172 Anasazi culture (Pueblos) 142, 149, Badwater 114 45, 119 Finke Gorge National Park 161 151 bahadas 48 Comodoro Rivadavia 129 Fire, Valley of 77 Western Anasazi (Sinagua) 119, 121 Baja California 119 Comstock Lode 115, 116 fires 86 Mountains, shadow 20 bajadas 47 Conchas, Las 127 fish 94 Andrews, Roy C. 148, 153–4 Bam 65 conifers 75 Fitzroy River 158 androctonus 98 bandicoots 111 continental deserts 20–1 flamingoes 125 animals 89–111, 183 bandy-bandy 102 Convention to Combat Desertification flannel flowers 86–7 polar 23, 165, 167 baobabs 77–8 179 floods 26, 48–50 22–3, 166–7, 169 barchan dunes 37, 54–5, 123 Coober Pedy 161, 177 flowers 75, 85, 86–7 resources 176, 177 Barsa Kel’mes (“Place of No Return”) Coolgardie 159 fogs, coastal 33, 97, 123 Antarctic Circle 166 45, 62 Copiapó 124 food chains 89–90 Antarctic Treaty 167 Barth, Heinrich 147 Coriolis effect 16 formation, desert 13–21 antelope 35 basalts 14 Costa, Cordillera de la 124 Forrest, John and Alexander 150 ant lions 96 bats 93 coyotes 109, 110 15, 128, 167 Antofagasta 124, 127 Bayóvar Depression 123 cram-cram 85 foxes 107–8, 110–11 ants 96 Béchar (Colomb) 29 creosote bushes 77, 80, 81, 82 Franz Josef Land 165 symbiosis with acacias 80 bedouins 40, 135, 136–7, 150, 151 crops, genetically modfied 173–4 Fremont, John 149 Anzo Borrego Desert 113 beetles 33, 89, 97 crustaceans 94 frogs 93, 103, 159 Apaches 143 Benguela Current 17, 18 currents, ocean 17 fronts, weather 18 aquifers 51, 172, 184 Berbers 133–4 see also Humboldt Current ‘Arabah, Wadi 46 165 G Arabian Desert 18, 38–40, 44 Betty Ford Center 121 D Gaborone 35 animals 40, 92, 106 bhakars 66 Dalandzadgad 71 Desert 72 area 39 bindweeds 85 Death Valley 13, 20, 114, 116, 117 garúa 123 Empty Quarter (Rub’ al-Khali) 39, biomass, standing 77 alluvial fan 47 93, 107 40–1, 148 , major 77, 81 minerals 175 gemsbok 35 explorations 39, 147–8 birds 103–6 name 116 Gemsbok National Park 35 a high-pressure climate desert 39 polar 22, 23, 167 degradation and erosion 182–3 139, 140 plants 40 Biskra 29 see also desertification; weathering gerbils, Mongolian 106 resources 176 blackboys (grass trees) 86 and erosion Ghadamis 29 39, 131 “black racers” 102 delta, dry 13 Ghan Railroad 161 see also 115, 116 desalination 153 Ghansiland 35 Arab Revolt 136 Blunt, W.S. 148 Deseado River 129 Ghardaïa 29 60, 183 bobcats 109 Desert Fathers 136 gibbers 51 67 Bonaparte, Napoléon 146 desertification 179, 180–185 21, 56, 158–9, 177 22, 164–5 Bonneville, Lake 115 in the Taklimakan Desert 69 gila monsters 101 Arctic Circle 164 borax 175 desertization 180 Giles, Ernest 150 164 Botswana 34, 35 desert peas, Sturt’s 80 glaciation 164–5 browningias 78–9 desert varnish 26, 47 glaciers fossils 15 budgerigars 104 detrivores 90 Arctic 165 see also Bukhara 131, 140 Devil’s 161 melting 23 Argentino, Lake 129 Buraydah 39 dew 33, 97, 125 glass, desert 30 Argentinosaurus 15 Burckhardt, J.L. 147 dhands 66 global warming 23, 185 Burke and Wills expedition 148, 150 diamonds 32, 35, 37, 159, 165 goannas 99 Anasazi people 142 burrows 91, 92 dingoes 109–10 goats 182 Montezuma Castle National Burton, Richard 147–8 dinosaurs 15, 128, 167 Gobi Desert 15, 19, 21, 70–3 Monument 119, 121 buthus, Saharan 98 Djerid, Chott 29 animals 72–3, 93, 102, 106 Petrified Forest National Park 46 buttes 52 dogs 109–10 explorations 148, 154 Deserts -end matter/4 col 2/5/03 17:59 Page 191

Index 191

fossils 15 Plateau of 64 Las Vegas 115 floods 48 modern crossings 71, 154 Iranian Desert 64–5 Lehman Caves 115 fogs and dew 33, 97 name 72 Dasht-e-Kavir 64, 65 Leichardt, Ludwig 149–50 name 33 plants 72, 80, 86 Dasht-e-Lu- t 53, 64, 65 River 165 national parks 32 population 72, 73 rainfall 65 Letihakane 35 people 33 rainfall 72 salt marshes 64, 65 liaretas 83 plants 33, 79, 81, 84 resources 176 171, 175, 176 , resources 176 rainfall 33 temperatures 44 ironwoods 86 30–1, 132 resources 176, 177 Trans-Mongolian Railroad 71, 73 30, 153, 169, 172–3, 174, limestones 14 33 weathering and erosion in 45 183 Lithops spp. 84, 85 temperatures 33 gold 115, 116, 134–5, 159, 161, 169 Isa, Mount 161 Livingstone, David 34, 147 Namib-Naukluft Park 32 Gold Rush 116 “living stones” 84, 85 Napoléon Bonaparte 146 golf courses 153, 182 irrigation 173 lizards 90–1, 99–101 Native Americans 81, 142–3, 151–2, goosefoots 85 see also Desert monitor 99 154–5 Gosse, William C. 149 Llullaillaco 124 natural gas 63 Grand Canyon 115, 116 J Loa River 125 Navajo 143, 151, 152, 155 grasses 81, 84–5, 87 jackals 111 locusts, desert 94–5 Nefta 51 pampas 83 Ja-fu- rah, Al- 40 lomas 123 Negev Desert 150, 153 grass trees 86 67 Lop Nur 68 irrigation 173, 174 grazing, by livestock 181–182 Jaladah, Al- 40 Los Angeles 119 makhteshim 46 18, 114–17, 175 Jericho 131 Luna, Valle de la 124, 127 Negro River 128 animals 115 Jerome, St. 136 67 Neuquén 128 area 115 67 Lu-t, Dasht-e- 53, 64, 65 climate 115, 117 175 mining 116 formation 117 Joshua Tree National Monument 118 M Valley of Fire 77 people 116 Joshua trees 82, 118, 119, 121 Macdonnell Ranges 160 see also Great Basin plants 115, 116 Jurassic period 15 Magellan, Ferdinand 129 New resources 176 Jwaneng 35 Magellan, Strait of 128 fossils 15 see also Death Valley; Mojave Desert Makgadikgadi Pans 35, 48 pueblos 142, 143 Great Basin National Park 115 K makhteshim 46 White Sands National Monument 49 Great Dividing Range 21 Kachichh, Rann of 67 Mali, resources 176 New Valley Project 30, 174 Great Eastern Erg 29, 55 15, 18, 34–7, 56 mammals 90, 91–2, 106–11 Ngami, Lake 34 Great Erg of Bilma 54 animals 35, 37, 101, 111 Mandalgovi 71 nickel 159, 161 Great Indian Desert see Thar Desert area 36 manushis 102 Niger, resources 176 Great Man-made River 30 explorations 147 Bar 158 Niger River 45 Great Salt Desert (Dasht-e-Kavir; Kavir national parks and game reserves 35 margays 109 River 27, 45, 143 Desert) 64, 65 Okovango Delta 34, 37, 50 Ma’rib 39 nitrates 172 115, 116 people 35, 37, 137, 138–9 marsupials 95, 111 Nitria 136 115, 116 plants 35, 37, 79, 83–4 Marusthali Desert 67 nomadic people 131–2, 151, 152 44, 158, 159, 177 rainfall 36 Mary 61, 63 (robot) 125 159, 160, 177 resources 35, 37, 176, 177 Mauritania, resources 176 North American deserts 19–20, 52 Great Western Erg 29 rock painting from 137 Mecca 39, 147 animals 91, 95, 101, 102, 104, 107, greening the desert 172–4 salt pans 35, 48, 94 Medina 39 109, 110–11 see also irrigation temperatures 36 mesas 52 explored 149 Glacier 165 Kalgoorlie 159 Mesa Verde 142 irrigation 153 groundwater 45, 173, 184–185 kangaroos 111, 161 Mesopotamia 131, 132 minerals 175 guanacos 107 Karakorum 71 mesquites 77 people 142–3, 151–2, 154–5 Gulf War (1991) 169, 171 Kara-Kum Canal 61, 63 metals and minerals 171–2 plants 77, 80, 81–3 gum trees 86, 159 Kara Kum Desert 20–1, 44–5, 46, 60–3 see also minerals/mining rain-shadow deserts 16, 19–20 Gurvan Sayhan 71 animals 63 meteorites 167 -formed rock formations 52 gypsum 49 area 63 Middle Eastern deserts see also Dust Bowl; Great Basin; Barsa Kel’mes (“Place of No Return”) access to water 174 Mojave Desert; H 45, 62 animals 91, 100–2, 107, 109 , resources 176–7 Haber–Bosch process 172 climate 63 oil 152–3, 170, 171 Nullabor 154 haboob 56 formation 63 people 136–7, 151 Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, Alvar 149 Hadley Cells 18 minerals 63 see also Arabian Desert Ha’il 39 name 63 migration 93 O Hajr, Wadi 39 plants 85–6 minerals/mining 35, 37, 124, 125, 161, oases 50–1, 52 Halls Creek 158 population 63 169, 171–2, 175–7 ’ River 165 (hammadas) 28, 44 rainfall 63 mirages 57 oil, crude 152–3, 169, 170–1 hedgehogs, desert 106 sands 62 mites 97, 98 from the Arabian Desert 39, 40 Hedin, Sven 148 takyrs 52 Mogollons 142 from the Arctic 165 hematite 47 Kavir, Dasht-e- (Kavir Desert; Great Salt Mojave Desert 18, 19, 94, 118–19, 121, from the Iranian Desert 65 herbivores 89 Desert) 64, 65 175 from the Kara-Kum Desert 61 mammalian 106–7 Kavir Buzu-rg 64 area 119 from the Libyan Desert 30 repelled by plants 79–80 Kavir National Park 64 birds 104 from the Taklimakan Desert 69 hermits 136 kavirs 64, 65 climate 119 wars over 171 Herrerasaurus 15 Kazakhstan 176 minerals 119, 176 Okovango Delta 34, 37, 50 Himalaya mountains, rain-shadow 19, Kenya, desert management 181 plants 119, 121 Olga, Mount 161 21 Kerma-n 65 moles, marsupial 111 opals 177 history 130–43 Kerulen River 45 molochs 100 Oranjemund 32 Hohokam Indians 121 Khauz-Khan reservoir 61 Mongolians (Mongols) 59, 73, 139, Organ-pipe Cactus National Monument Hornemann, F.K. 146 Khoi people 33 140, 154 118 horses, Przewalski’s 73 Kimberley Plateau 158 monks 136 orographic lifting 19 Hotan 69 Kitt Peak Observatory 119 Montezuma Castle National Monument oryxes 107 Humboldt Current 122, 124, 125, 126 Kopet-Dag Oasis 61 119, 121 ostriches 103–4 Humboldt River 115 kopjes 36 morama bulbs 84 Oswell, W.C. 147 humus 44 Koussi, Emi (Mount Koussi) 26, 28 Mormons 116 owls, elf 104 Husayn ibn ‘Ali 136, 137 Kubango River 50 Morocco, resources 176 Hussein, Saddam 152–3, 171 Kufrah, Al- 30 moths, yucca 83 P hyacinths 86 Kunlun Shan 68 “mud volcanoes” 45 Pacific, War of the 125, 172 Hyderabad 67 Kutse 35 mulgas 78 Pahlavi, Mohammed Reza 152 hyenas 107–8, 111 176 mummies and mummification 127, 132 paintings, rock 137, 141 Kyzyl-Kum Desert 60, 62 Murgab Oasis 61 , desert see Thar Desert I Murgab River 61 Palgrave, William 148 ice, causing weathering 45 L Musa, Mansa 135 Palm Springs 118, 120, 121 Idaho, desert see Great Basin Laghouat 29 70 palm trees, Livingstone 86 118 Laing, Alexander 146 Palmyra 39, 131 , desert see Thar Desert 45, 48 N Pamirs 68 Indira Ghandi Canal 67 Lambayeque 123 Nabi Shu’ayb, Mount An- 39 pamperos 20 67 lanceheads, snouted 102 Nafu-d, An (Great Nafud) 39 Pan-American Highway 153 insects 33, 89, 92–7 languages, click 138 Namib Desert 17, 18, 32–3, 43, 44 Panamint Mountains 20 inselbergs 33 “La Niña, Lake” 122 animals 33, 97, 101, 111 Pangaea 13–14, 15 Iran larkspur 86 a cold-water coastal desert 17, 18, 33 pans, salt 34, 35, 39, 48 minerals 176 “Last Frontier, the” 162 dunes 33, 54 Parque Nacional Los Glaciares 128 Deserts -end matter/4 col 2/5/03 17:59 Page 192

192 atlas of the world’s deserts

Parque Nacional Perito Morena 128 Ross Sea and Ice Shelf 167 Smith, Jebediah 149 see also Kara Kum Desert Patagonia 15, 19, 20, 46–7, 106, Route 40 128 snakes 33, 91, 101–2 Turpan Depression 68 128–9 Rub’ al-Khali (Empty Quarter) 39, soils 44, 182–183 animals 107, 129 40–1, 148 solifuges (sun spiders) 91, 98 U climate 129 Rum, Wadi 14 Sonoran Desert 118–21 Ulaanbaatar 71 name 129 animals 104, 119 Uluru 141, 149, 161 national parks 128 S climate 120–1 182 people 129, 143 Sab’atayn, As- 39 a green desert 120 Ur 133 plants 83, 129 safety, when traveling 152 name 119 rivers 46–7 Safsaf Oasis 52 people 121 Anasazi people 142 Patagonian ice sheet 128 sagebrush 81, 82, 115 plants 113, 119, 120 Rainbow Bridge 47 pediments 47 Saguaro National Park 119 Sossusvlei 32, 33 116 peludos 106 Sahara Desert 18, 26–8, 44, 53 South American deserts 20 see also Great Basin penguins, Adélie 22 animals 92, 95, 101–2, 103, 107, animals 104, 107, 109, 126 Uyuni Salt Flat 125 people 131–43, 151–2, 154–5 109 explorations 149 perenties 99 Atlas-Erg 29 minerals 175 V Permian period 13–14 climate 28 people 143 Valdés Peninsula 129 , deserts see dunes 28, 29, 54 plants 81, 83 Valley of the Dead 20 131 during the last ice age 180 rain-shadow deserts 16, 20, 126 Valley of Fire 77 petrels, snow 22 dust storms 56–7 see also Atacama Desert; Patagonia; Varthema, Ludovico di 147 Petrified Forest National Park 46 explorations 146–7, 148 Sechura Desert Vatna Glacier 165 see oil, crude Great Erg of Bilma 54 Southern Ocean 167 Velociraptor 15 Philby, Harry St. John 148 a high-pressure desert 28 south pole 167 vicuñas 107, 126 phosphates 123 Libyan Desert 30–1, 132 space, deserts seen from 52 , Lake 128 photosynthesis, CAM 78 modern crossings 153 spinifex 87 Vinson Massif 167 phyllodes 78 name 28 spreading deserts 179–85 vipers pigs 182 oases 51 spurges 83 Asiatic pit 102 pines, bristlecone 82–3, 117 people 28, 133–6, 151 squirrels, ground 92 saw-scaled 101–2 pipelines plants 27, 84–5 streams, exotic 45 sidewinding 91, 101 oil 61 resources 176 stringers 56 Vizcaino Desert 119 water 30, 31, 32 rivers 27, 29, 30 Stuart, John McDouall 150 volcanoes, in Antarctica 167 pistachio trees 85, 86 184 Stuart Highway 161 vultures, turkey 106 122 shifting 180, 181 Sturt’s Stony Desert 51 123 size 28 Subtropical Convergence 167 W “Place of No Return” 45, 62 temperatures 27 subtropics, high-pressure deserts 16–18 wadis 14, 27, 39, 45, 46 plants 22, 74–87 Ténéré Desert 25, 27, 55 succulent plants see agaves; cacti; Walker, Joseph 149 preventing desertification 181–2 terrain 28 euphorbias Warburton 158 see also crops trade routes 28, 134–5 , resources 176–7 Warburton, Peter 150 playas 48 Sahel 184 sun spiders (solifuges) 91, 98 water see also salt flats/pans/lakes salars 48 supercontinent, Pangaea 13–14, 15 animals and 90, 91, 96 poikilotherms 90 see also salt flats/pans/lakes symbiosis 80, 83 aquifers 51, 172, 184 polar deserts 22–3, 165 salt 134, 172 Syrian Desert 39, 131 desalination 153 mirages in 57 salt basins, largest 35, 48 effects 45–7 Polo, Marco 72, 140 salt flats/pans/lakes 39, 40, 45, 48, 51, T groundwater 45, 173, 184–185 poppies 85 94, 124, 127 Tademait Plateau 26 metabolic 91 “Porcelain Desert” (White Sands Salt Lake City 116 Taklimakan Desert 19, 21, 68–9, 95, mismanagement 183–184 National salt marshes (kavirs) 64, 65 138 pipelines 30, 31, 32 Monument) 49 118 resources 176 plants and 76, 77–8 predators 107–9 Salt River 119 takyrs 52, 62 surface water 45 prehistoric deserts 13–15 Samarqand 131, 140 Tamanrasset 26 wars over 174 pressure, atmospheric see atmospheric San 35, 37, 135, 137, 151 tamarisks 85 weathering and erosion by 46–7, pressure languages 138 Tamerza 51 48–51 prickly pears 87 sand 44, 52–7 161 see also irrigation productivity, primary 77 gypsum 49 Tarim River 45, 68 wealth from deserts 169–77 pronghorns 107 sandfish 100–1 Tashk, Lake 65 see also gold; minerals/mining; oil Pueblo Indians 154 sandgrouse 105 Tehran 64 weathering and erosion 43–4, 182–183 pueblos 142, 143 sandstone 14, 15, 52 Tehuelches 143 by water 48–51, 445–7 Purnululu National Park 158 sandstorms 56–7 temperatures by wind 28, 51–2, 53, 127 pyramids 30, 132 sand verbena, pink 75 affecting weathering 44–5 effects of heat and cold 44–5 San Pedro de Atacama 125 animals and 90, 91, 92–3 onion-skin weathering 45 Q Santa Cruz 128 Ténéré Desert 25, 27, 55 plants prevent 182 qanats 173 satellite photography 52 terminalia trees 86 wells, Great Man-made River and 30 27, 28 39, 145, 151, 152, 153, termites 92–3 welwitschia 33, 77, 84 Qiemo 68 175 Thar Desert (Great Indian Desert) 16, Western Australian Desert 158–9 Queen of the Night cactus 77 saxual trees 85 66–7, 176 Gibson Desert 21, 56, 158–9, 177 quiver trees 78, 79 scarabs 97 resources 176 Great Sandy Desert 44, 158, 159, 177 scorpions 97–8 Thesiger, Wilfred 148 Great Victoria Desert 159, 160, 177 R seafog see fogs, coastal Thomas, Bertram 39, 148 Western Desert, irrigation 30 rabbits 183 sebkhas 39, 40 thorny devils 100 whirlwinds 56 railroads 71, 73, 154, 161 Sechura Desert 18, 78–9, 122–3, 172 Tian Shan 68 White Desert 23 Rainbow Bridge 47 ancient people 123 Tierra del Fuego 129 White Sands National Monument 49 rain forests 17 animals 107, 123 –Euphrates River 45 Whitney, Mount 114 rain-shadow deserts 18–20, 117 climate 123 toads 102–3 “willy willies” 56, 159 rats, kangaroo 111 a cold-water coastal desert 123 Tocopilla 125 16, 17–18 rattlesnakes, sidewinding 91 dunes 123 Tombouctou (Timbuktu) 26, 134, 135, erosion by 28, 51–2, 53, 127 Rawson 129 minerals 123, 175, 176 146 66 “red racers” 102 Pan-American Highway 153 Tom Price, Mount 177 moving sand 52–7 regs (desert pavements) 28, 44 plants 78–9, 83, 123 torpor 93 and rain-shadows 18–20 reptiles 90, 92, 99–102 secretary birds 105 tortoises 99 and sandstorms 56–7 resources 175–7 seif dunes 54 Toubkal, Mount 29 trade 16 see also minerals/mining; oil, crude selenite 177 tourism 153 wind spiders see sun spiders rheas 126 Sequoia National Park 114 Trans-Altay Gobi 70 wood 181, 182 ringtails 111 Shawia people 29 Trans-Mongolian Railroad 71, 73 Wyoming, desert see Great Basin Rio Negro (province) 128 sheet wash 47 transportation 152, 153–4 rivers shepherd’s trees 84 trees 181, 182 Y dry channels 45, 46 shrimps 94 Triassic period 14–15, 15 yams 83, 84 ephemeral 43, 45–6 20, 114, 115, 116 17–18 52, 64–5 Riyadh 39, 145, 153 rain shadow 13, 114 Tuareg 26, 133–4, 146, 151 Yelyn Valley National Park 71 roadrunners 104 Silk Road 61, 69, 131, 138, 139–40 dress 135 yuccas 83 roads, Pan-American Highway 153 21, 161 Tularosa Basin 49 119, 120 rocks 14–15, 44 Sinagua Indians 119, 121 tulips 86 formations 47, 52, 53 Siwa 30 Turkmen 63 Z see also weathering and erosion Skeleton 32, 33 Turkmenistan Zaunguzk Plateau 46 rodents 106 skinks 99–100 minerals 176 Zeil, Mount 160 roots, plant 76, 77 slaves 135–6 natural gas 63 zeugen (pedestals) 52