Covering the one-third of Earth's surface area, deserts are more than just sandy, lifeless dunes of storybooks. Deserts are one of the most dramatically enticing natural landscapes on the planet. Their beauty is timeless, and they are totally diverse from each other. In deserts, life exists at the mercy of the elements. The hot dunes of Saharan Desert are totally different from the icy tundra of Antarctica Deserts. Despite their differences, these regions are termed as deserts because all of them receive less than 250 mm of rainfall a year.
Listed below are a few famous deserts across the world -
1. The Sahara Desert
The world's hottest desert is the Sahara Desert. This desert is the third-largest desert in the world after Antarctica and The Arctic. Almost as large as the United States, The Sahara Desert covers most of North Africa. The temperature in the Sahara can easily reach the 50-degree mark during high summer. On the other hand, the nights are totally freezing as the temperature drops drastically. The dunes in Sahara are enormous, and some of them reach up to 180 meters high!
2. The Namib Desert
Accounted as the world's oldest desert, the Namib Desert is stretched across Namibia, Angola, and South Africa. The desert expanses for around 2000 km along the Atlantic Coast. This 43 million years old desert flaunts epic cinematic landscapes and tall dunes, which makes it a great tourist destination. You will also be able to find 'The Skeleton Coast' that has several whale and seal bones that wash up to the shores. Get ready to explore a diverse set of wildlife, many of which exist nowhere else on the planet.
3. The Gobi Desert
Gobi Desert is stretched from northern and north-western parts of China to southern Mongolia. The Desert is created by the rain shadow cast by the Himalayas. It's the fifth-largest desert across the globe and the largest one in Asia. It may come to you as a surprise that The Gobi desert is actually cold. You may find frost and snow in the dunes, depending on the time of the year. In winters, the temperatures get as low as -40 degrees. On the other hand, the summers can be as hot as over 50 degrees. The whole area is famous for archaeologists as the source of important fossils – particularly dinosaur eggs.
4. The Atacama Desert
The driest desert in the world is the Atacama Desert. It is mostly comprised of salt lakes and sand. Imagining how dry the desert really is? The average rainfall in several regions of the desert is just 1 millimetre and some weather stations have never received rain!
These deserts are both deadly and beautiful, and you have to be really cautious while visiting them. Go through the dos and don'ts, and don't forget to insure your trip with a travel insurance policy. You can avail several benefits from a travel insurance policy. It offers emergency cash assistance, trip delay, lost passport, etc. You can also buy a travel insurance policy online.
