Question

How much of the earths surface do desserts cover and where do they occur? What are the four major types of dessert?​

Answer 1

The deserts are actually one of the most common and widespread landscapes on the planet Earth. The deserts, combined of all types, are covering around 33% of the landmass, thus one third of the whole landmass on the planet.

These multiple types of deserts, like the hot and dry desert type, cold desert, coastal desert, semiarid desert. All of them have their own unique characteristics that define them more specifically. The hot and dry deserts are the ones that are hot throughout all of the year, also being located deeper into the mainland. The cold deserts are found in the Northern Hemisphere, they have hot summers and very cold winters. The coastal deserts are located along the coasts, so despite being very dry, they do tend to have high humidity. The semiarid deserts are deserts that are not as dry as the other types, they receive more rainfall, though that happens just in few days of the year, so they are dry for the most of it again, with the biggest difference being that they have slightly more vegetation.

Answer 2

1. Deserts occupy approximately 9.5% of the Earth's total surface and one third of the land area (33%).

2. They occur in areas where very little moisture or precipitation (less than 254 milimeters/10 inches) is brought by the prevailing winds. In desert areas, the total amount of transpiration and evaporation exceeds that received from rainfall.

3. A - Polar deserts found in the Antarctic and Arctic

B - Subtropical/hot-and-dry deserts - the "typical" and most known type of desert. They are the hottest type with sandy or coarse and rocky soil.

C - Semiarid/Cold winter deserts - Somewhat cooler than B with long and dry summers as well as cold winters. Both rainfall and snowfall amount is low.

D - Coastal deserts - located on the west coasts of the continents, they are moderately warm to cool. Thus, they have cool winters and long warm summers. However, they receive more rain than type B.