5 Largest Deserts In The World

Deserts are often imagined as enormous stretches of sand where almost nothing can survive. Yet that image does not describe every desert. Some deserts have very little or no sand at all, while others support a surprising variety of plants and animals.

With deserts covering roughly one-third of Earth's land surface and appearing in many different forms, it is interesting to consider which ones are the largest. Make your own guess before discovering the five largest deserts in the world, ranked according to their surface area.

Note: Some sources combine Australia's separate deserts and place them together as the fourth-largest desert in the world. This list does not include them as a single entry because they are technically several distinct deserts.

5. Gobi Desert

The Gobi Desert is the second-largest desert in Asia and ranks as the fifth-largest individual desert on Earth. Stretching across the border between Mongolia and China, it also has considerable historical importance because several major cities along the ancient Silk Road were located within or near the region.

The Gobi is considered a rain shadow desert. This type of desert develops when a nearby mountain range prevents moisture-bearing weather systems from reaching an area. In the case of the Gobi, the Tibetan Plateau to the southwest blocks precipitation that might otherwise reach the desert. The Atacama Desert in northern Chile is another well-known example of a rain shadow desert.

Despite its severe conditions, the Gobi is far from lifeless. A variety of animals live there, including the Bactrian or Mongolian Camel, Black-Tailed Gazelle, Gobi Ibex, Gobi Bear, and the elusive Snow Leopard. Vegetation is limited, but certain plants have developed effective ways to endure the desert's extreme environment. One of the most widespread is the Saxaul tree, which can store moisture in its bark and occurs across the different ecoregions of the Gobi.

4. Arabian Desert

The Arabian Desert is the largest desert in Asia and the fourth-largest desert in the world. It covers much of the Arabian Peninsula and extends across nine different countries, giving it the second-highest country count among the deserts featured here.

This desert has a subtropical climate, characterized by persistently high temperatures and limited rainfall. At its southern edge is the Rub' al Khali, also called the Empty Quarter, which is one of the largest continuous expanses of sand anywhere on Earth.

The harsh conditions of the Arabian Desert make it difficult for many mammals to survive, but several species are adapted to the environment. These include the Arabian Camel, Arabian Wolf, Sand Gazelle, Nubian Ibex, Striped Hyaena, Caracal, and Red Fox. Reptiles, including various lizards, snakes, and geckos, are particularly well suited to the desert's conditions.

3. Sahara Desert

The Sahara is probably the most recognizable desert on this list. It is the world's largest hot desert and ranks third among all deserts by overall surface area. The Sahara stretches across twelve countries and occupies much of northern Africa.

Like the Arabian Desert, the Sahara is classified as a subtropical desert and receives very little precipitation during a typical year. However, the region has not always been this dry. The Sahara goes through a long-term cycle in which it shifts between savanna grassland and desert conditions approximately every 20,000 years.

Scientists believe the Sahara was still significantly more fertile around 5,000 years ago, when the region received roughly ten times as much rainfall as it does today. This repeating transformation is associated with changes caused by a wobble in Earth's axis, which influences the position of the North African Monsoon. According to this cycle, the Sahara could become green again in approximately 15,000 years.

Camels are among the most familiar domesticated animals found across the Sahara because they can survive for extended periods with very little water. The desert also supports numerous wild species that are naturally adapted to its environment. These include the Saharan Cheetah, Fennec Fox, Dorcas Gazelle, Addax Antelope, Red-Necked Ostrich, and African Wild Dog.

2. Arctic Polar Desert

Deserts are not necessarily places filled with fine sand and extreme heat. The Arctic Polar Desert, which occupies the far northern regions of our planet, demonstrates just how different a desert environment can be.

Polar deserts are characterized by extremely cold conditions, very little precipitation, and extensive areas covered by ice. Because much of the landscape lies beneath large ice sheets, the region is a challenging habitat for vegetation and wildlife. Nevertheless, the Arctic Polar Desert supports a wide range of animals, including Arctic Foxes, Arctic Wolves, Polar Bears, Caribou, Snowy Owls, and Moose. Some species move between the Arctic Tundra, where more vegetation is available, and the desert, while others remain in the desert year-round.

During the late 19th century, several prominent explorers supported the mistaken idea that an Open Polar Sea existed in the region that is now recognized as the Arctic Polar Desert. The theory suggested that explorers might be able to pass through the northern barriers of ice and eventually reach a navigable ocean surrounding the North Pole.

Although this idea was ultimately disproved, numerous Arctic expeditions were lost while explorers searched for such a passage. A similar possibility may eventually become relevant because of Arctic Shrinkage. It is considered quite possible that an ice-free route connecting Europe and the Pacific Ocean through the Arctic could eventually develop.

1. Antarctic Polar Desert

Is Antarctica a desert? The Antarctic Polar Desert, which covers most of the Antarctic continent, is the largest desert on Earth. Its enormous size means that this single desert is larger than the Gobi Desert, Arabian Desert, and Sahara Desert combined.

The two polar deserts share many characteristics, but there is an important difference in their plant life. Until a small number of microorganisms were identified during the 1970s, the Antarctic Polar Desert was generally thought to contain no plant life at all. The southern desert also experiences extraordinarily powerful winds. Combined with its extremely dry conditions, these winds can contribute to the formation of hypersaline lakes.

Lake Vanda and Don Juan Pond are examples of these unusually salty bodies of water. Their salt concentrations are approximately ten times greater than that of seawater.

Like the Arctic, Antarctica has been the destination of numerous ambitious and dangerous expeditions. In 1911, the famous Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen and his team reached the South Pole before a British expedition led by Robert Scott, making Amundsen the first person to reach the South Pole.

Another famous expedition was Ernest Shackleton's journey from 1914 to 1917. A group of 28 men attempted to travel across Antarctica overland, but their ship became trapped in sea ice before they could reach land. The crew was forced to remain on drifting pack ice for many months.

Eventually, eight members of the expedition undertook an extraordinary 800-mile journey in a small open boat. They eventually reached an inhabited island, allowing them to organize a rescue for the other twenty members of the crew.