Level 65
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Landforms and Major Physical Regions

Deserts and Arid Landforms

An exploration of the world's great deserts, from the Sahara and Arabian sands to the Gobi, Atacama, and Australian Outback, the atmospheric and geologic processes that form them, and the landforms unique to arid environments.

60-Second Review

Express review

A condensed, point-by-point summary of the module, for reviewing right before a test or exam.

  1. The Sahara and North African Deserts. The Sahara spans 9.2 million km2, born of Hadley-cell high pressure and a vanished Green Sahara.
  2. The Arabian and Middle Eastern Deserts. Arabia's Rub' al Khali holds the world's largest sand sea atop some of its richest oil reserves.
  3. The Gobi, Taklamakan, and Central Asian Deserts. Rain-shadowed by the Himalaya and Tian Shan, the Gobi and Taklamakan are Asia's harshest deserts.
  4. The Atacama and American Deserts. Cooled by the Humboldt Current, the Atacama rivals America's deserts as Earth's driest terrain.
  5. The Australian Outback. Australia's ancient, flat Outback deserts cradle Uluru and the vast, rarely-flooded Lake Eyre.
  6. Dunes, Wadis, and Desert Landform Processes. Wind sculpts dunes and yardangs while flash floods carve and threaten desert wadi channels.
  7. Desertification and Land Degradation. Land degradation is real, but science shows the Sahara's edge shifts with rain, not marches south.
  8. Oases and Life in Arid Environments. Fossil groundwater and ancient qanats sustain oases and the date palms that make desert life possible.

This module continues after "Mountain Systems and Highland Regions of the World" in the syllabus. If you haven't reviewed it yet, it may help set the context.

Key points

Visual module map

1The Sahara and North African Deserts
2The Gobi, Taklamakan, and Central Asian Deserts
3The Australian Outback
4Dunes, Wadis, and Desert Landform Processes
5Oases and Life in Arid Environments

Alternative visual view: a simplified sequence of some of the module's key points, in their order within the syllabus.

Your module mastery

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Approximate breakdown by skill
Understanding of historiographical debate0%

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Final test

You need to review all key points to unlock the final test.

Optional mini-games

Extra practice, with no penalty, to reinforce the module's content.

Review Flashcards

Review each key point with cards that flip to reveal the summary.

Memory

Match each concept with its definition in as few attempts as possible.

Time Attack

Answer true or false statements before time runs out.

Chronological Order

Put the module's key points back in their original order.

Further reading

Bibliography and cited sources used to create this module.

  • Cooke, R., Warren, A., and Goudie, A. (1993). Desert Geomorphology. London: UCL Press.
  • Goudie, A. (2013). Arid and Semi-Arid Geomorphology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • Bagnold, R.A. (1941). The Physics of Blown Sand and Desert Dunes. London: Methuen.
  • deMenocal, P.B., et al. (2000). "Abrupt Onset and Termination of the African Humid Period." Quaternary Science Reviews, 19(1-5).
  • Hartley, A.J., and Chong, G. (2002). "Late Pliocene Age for the Atacama Desert: Implications for the Desertification of Western South America." Geology, 30(1).
  • Leach, M., and Mearns, R. (Eds.). (1996). The Lie of the Land: Challenging Received Wisdom on the African Environment. Oxford: James Currey / International African Institute.