The Gobi, Taklamakan, and Central Asian Deserts

The Gobi Desert, covering roughly 1.3 million square kilometers across southern Mongolia and northern China, is unusual among the world's great deserts in being a cold desert: its average elevation of about 1,500 meters and its far-northern, deeply continental position mean it receives winter snow and can see temperatures drop below -40 degrees Celsius, even though summer heat can exceed 40 degrees. Its aridity results from the double barrier of the Himalaya and Tibetan Plateau blocking the Indian monsoon's moisture and the sheer distance, well over 1,500 kilometers, separating it from any ocean.