An Interactive Notebook © Iman’s Homeschool © Iman’s Homeschool Deserts Interactive Notebook What is a Desert ? Deserts are dry, hostile regions that have little vegetation and less than 250mm of rainf all a year. Clear blue skies make many deserts scorch with the sun's heat by day, but with no clouds to trap the heat, temperatures may drop below freezing at night. A fifth of the Earth's surface is covered by deserts and they can be found on every continent throughout the world. Deserts are often made up of sand, rocks or gravel. Not all deserts are blazing hot, there are cold deserts as well. The Gobi desert in Asia is always cold because it lies at a high altitude. The coldest desert in the world is the Antarctic. Animals such as the polar bear, penguin, seal, blue whale and the albatross have adapted well to the freezing cold temperatures. The Sahara in North Africa is the largest hot desert in the world, with temperatures reaching 55°C in the shade. Few animals are active during the day and prefer to come out at night when it's cooler. These animals are called nocturnal. They spend the day in burrows or under rocks, away from the scorching sun. Camels are a good example of animals that have adapted to the lack of water. They can survive for a long time without eating or drinking. Plants have also adapted to the hot climate by growing long roots that can soak up water from deep underground. The cactus stores water in its stem and its sharp spikes protect it from plant-eating animals. Only 20% of the Earth's deserts are covered by sand. New deserts can form in areas where droughts are common and where people cut down the trees and allow their animals to graze on the plants. This process is called overgrazing. The Sahel region of central Africa was turned into desert during the 1970's because of drought and over-grazing. Sadly, the problem still exists today. © Iman’s Homeschool Deserts Interactive Notebook What is a Desert ? What is the How much of the definition of a Earth’s surface is desert? covered by desert? Why does the Where is the temperature drop Gobi Desert? so low at night? Why is the Gobi What is the Desert so cold? coldest desert in the world? Name 3 animals that What is the have adapted to living world’s largest in cold deserts? hot desert? What percentage of What caused the the Earth’s deserts Sahel region to are sand? become desert? © Iman’s Homeschool Deserts Interactive Notebook Deserts of the World Draw and label the World’s deserts onto the globe below. SUGGESTION: Colour the hot deserts light brown and the cold deserts blue Sahara Australian Great Basin Namib Arabian Atacama Kalahari Sonoran Patagonian Gobi Mojave Chihuahuan Antarctica © Iman’s Homeschool Deserts Interactive Notebook The Gobi Desert The Gobi is the fifth largest desert in the world. It is 1,300,000 sq km and stretches across Central Asia over large parts of China and Mongolia. The Gobi is a cold desert, with ice and snow covering large parts of it in the winter. This is partly because the Gobi is very high, roughly 1,500 m above sea level. There is less than 200 mm of rainfall per year, making the Gobi one of the driest places on Earth. Most of the rain is blocked by the Himalayas. During the winter, temperatures can drop as low as -40°C and reach 50°C in the summer. Unlike the Sahara, the Gobi is mostly bare rock with gravel and dirt. There are many unusual animal species that live in the Gobi, including the mountain sheep, snow leopard, ibex, lynx, gazelle, bactrian camel, wolf and a small population of Gobi bears. Common plants in the Gobi include the saxual tree, wild onions, shrubs and grass. The Gobi is also famous for the discovery of dinosaur fossils and in 1923 fossilised dinosaur eggs were discovered. Most of the people living in the Gobi desert are Mongolian. They are nomadic which means that they move from one place to another to find better living conditions. They traditionally herd five types of animals: horses, sheep, goats yaks and camels. The live in decorated round tents called gers. © Iman’s Homeschool Deserts Interactive Notebook The Gobi Desert Where is the Is the Gobi a hot Gobi desert? or cold desert? How high is the Why is the Gobi Gobi desert one of the driest above sea level? deserts? What is the Name 3 animals temperature range that inhabit the in the Gobi? Gobi? What was What is a discovered in the nomad? Gobi desert in 1923? © Iman’s Homeschool Deserts Interactive Notebook The Bactrian Camel The Bactrian camel is recognised by the two humps on its back and its long, woolly fur that helps keep it warm at night and protects it from the heat of the Sun during the day. They shed a lot of fur in the Summer. It inhabits the rocky deserts of Central and Eastern Asia. It is a herbivore, eating huge amounts of grass and vegetation, especially dry, thorny plants that other animals cannot eat. It can reach a height of 2.1 metres and lives up to 50 years old in the wild. Wild Bactrian camels are endangered and are at risk of extinction because domesticated grazing camels are eating all their sources of food. Camels have long eyelashes to protect their eyes during dust storms and from freezing frosts. They have large, flat padded feet that help them travel long distances over rocky ground. Camels can drink as much as 135 litres of water in 15 minutes. People used to believe camels store water in their humps. This is not true. The two humps are stores of fat which the camel uses to provide energy when it cannot find food or water. When the Bactrian camels humps are full of fat they stand upright, but when their fat reserves are running low, their humps become droopy. Female camels give birth to one calf after 12-14 months gestation. The calf can stand almost immediately after being born and can walk after just a few hours. It will stay with its mother until it is about 4 years old. © Iman’s Homeschool Deserts Interactive Notebook The Bactrian Camel How can you Where are recognise a Bactrian Bactrian camels camel? found? Describe the diet Why is the of a Bactrian Bactrian camel camel. endangered? Why do camels What do camels have long store in their eyelashes? humps? How long is the How long does gestation of the the calf stay Bactrian? with its mother? © Iman’s Homeschool Deserts Interactive Notebook The Sahara Desert The Sahara is the largest, hottest desert in the world. It is over 9,000,000 sq km and covers most of North Africa. To the north of the Sahara are the Atlas Mountains and the Mediterranean Sea. To the west is the Atlantic Ocean and to the east is the Red Sea. The Sahara ha s two main climates: the dry, subtropical climate and the dry tropical climate. The Sahara receives less than 25mm of rainfall per year, making it one of the driest places on Earth . Over a quarter of the Sahara is covered by sand sheets and dunes. There are many oases in the Sahara. An oasis is a small area of desert where there is much water. The water flows under the desert, reaching the surface in springs, allowing plants to grow there. Although the Sahara is the hottest place on Earth, there are som e animals that have adapted to the dry, harsh conditions including insects, reptiles and mammals. The most common Sahara desert animals are dromedary camels, the addax antelope, fennec fox, goats, dorcas gazelles, the desert hedgehog, spotted hyena, scor pion s, monitor lizard and sand vipers. It is thought that people have lived in the Sahara desert for thousands of years. Today, the population is around 4 million. Most of the people that live in the Sahara are nomads who move from one place to another to find better living conditions and graze their herding animals . The most widely spoken language in the Sahara is Arabic. © Iman’s Homeschool Deserts Interactive Notebook The Sahara Desert Where is the Which sea lies Sahara desert north of the located? Sahara? Describe the How much rainfall climates of the does the Sahara Sahara desert. receive each year? Name 3 animals What is an that inhabit the oasis? Sahara? Which ocean lies How has the west of the Sahara camel adapted to desert? life in the Sahara? How much of the What is the most Sahara is covered in common language sand dunes? spoken in the Sahara? © Iman’s Homeschool Deserts Interactive Notebook The Dromedary Camel The Dromedary camel is also known as the Arabian camel because it is native to the Middle East and North Africa. It inhabits the arid and semi-arid regions of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. There are also feral populations in the Australian desert. The Dromedary was first domesticated in Somalia and Arabia around 4000 years ago. It is used for riding, carry and transporting goods over long distances and it is also a source of food. used to ﷺ It is well known in Islamic tradition that the Prophet Muhammad eat camel meat and he recommended both its milk and urine as a medicine. Dromedaries have tough, leathery lips and are able to eat the thorny plants of the desert.