4The Western Desert Get Set! Tick () what you find in a desert. 2. 3 The land to the west of the Aravalli Rann of Kachchh in Gujarat through Hills, in Rajasthan, is rocky Rajasthan to the borders of Haryana and sandy. This is the Great Indian (see Map 4.1). Desert, also known as the Thar Desert. It stretches from the The land The Thar Desert is covered a N with thick sheet of W NORT. loose sand. At some , N PLAINS angu KIHERNNPr places, there are small hills of sand called sand BIkaner dunes. Sometimes strong winds which blow here carry a aisaime THAR DESERTARAVALLI HILLS amount of large sand with them. Jodhpur They can FactWise --- Sand SOUTHERN dunes are WESTERN COASTAL PLAIN PLATEAL S| also found on Wind can shift Mars. Map 4.1 Location of the Thar Desert these sand ones found in dunes like the 32 Earth's deserts. see inside front cover. *For detailed instructions, OASIS shift the sand dunes. There are very few streams in the Thar Desert. They mostly remain dry. Luni is the most important river. At some places, oases are found. The land around A lush area green surrounding a water source in a desert is called an oasis. an oasis is fertile. here. People grow crops Thus, Indian bustards are found in this most villages are situated around region. The camel is the most useful an oasis. animal. Can you tell why? Climate Water supply The Thar Desert remains hot and dry There is always very little water. throughout the year. There is very Village women walk long distances to little or no rainfall. In summer, days fetch water. The state government is are very hot and nights are cool. trying to provide water for domestic In winter, days are warm and nights use and irrigation. Water from River are very cold. Satluj has been brought to the desert through the Indira Gandhi Canal. Natural vegetation Farmers can thus grow wheat, mustard A hot and dry climate means that and cotton. mostly scattered You will find sand dunes, thorny shrubs and camels in the Thar Desert. bushes and thorny shrubs grow here. The khejri, kikar and babul trees grow in the eastern part of the desert. Animals such as camels, blackbucks, chinkaras and great Houses roof and a have a flat Most houses walls are windows. The lew small heat out so that the 1 thick to keep the houses cool. Some have houses remain store raunwater. underground tanks to taankas. Such tanks are called Rainwater stored in a taanka is used Lifestyle during the dry period. Women in villages wear ghaghra, choli and odhni. Checkpoint Men wear dhoti, Write T for True or F for False. kurta and turban. The Thar Desert is in People love to Himachal Pradesh. eat dal-baati- 2. The Luni river flows through the desert. T choorma. 3. The region receives They celebrate very little rainfall. I Gangaur and 4. The Jawaharlal Nehru Canal Teej. Ghoomar is in Rajasthan. and Kalbeliya are popular People of Rajasthan wear Occupations folk dances. colourful clothes. People mostly rear sheep. goat, camel and cattle. Some of them are farmers. Major cities They grow bajra, jowar, maize, sesame Jaipur, Udaipur, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer and groundnut. Some people also travel and Bikaner are some big cities. Jaipur from one place to another in search of is called the Pink City. It is famous food for themselves and their animals. for blue pottery. A large number of Such people are called banjaras. Life in tourists from all over the world visit the Thar Desert is thus very hard. Rajasthan every year. The Jaisalmer Fort, also known as the Golden Fort, is a major tourist attraction .