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 The cold deserts main trait are the cold winters with snowfall and high overall rainfall in the winter and sometimes in the summer.  The average temperature of a cold desert in the winter is between -2 °C and 4 °C.  The average temperature in the summer is between 21 °C and 26 °C.  The average precipitation per year is 15 to 26 centimeters.

 The cold deserts are found mostly in high latitude or in high altitude.  They are located between the sub-tropic areas and the polar regions.  Every continent has a cold or hot and cold desert, except for Europe.  Some of the most famous cold deserts are Antarctica, the Gobi Desert, and the Patagonian Desert of South America.

 The plants in the cold deserts are scattered and vary in height, 15 cm to 122 cm.  Most of the deciduous plants have spiny leaves.  A few common cold deserts plants are the aloe Vera plant, the Saguaro cactus, the barrel cactus, and the Joshua tree. b.jpg

 Many plants need to conserve water and nutrients, so the plants stunt their growth for half of the year.  Many of the plants have short roots, so they absorb any available water.  A lot of cactuses have keep the water in the thick roots or in the pulpy interior.  Other plants have thin knife-like leaves that will prevent any excess water evaporation.

 Most of the animals in the desert are small to medium in size.  There are few water holes in the cold deserts, so the animals get the water from their food.  Many of the animals make burrows to hide from the hot sun.  Many of the animals have light colored skin or fur so they do not absorb the sun’s hot rays.

 Many of the animals include lizards such as Gila monsters and Egyptian spiny tailed lizard.  Some of the burrowing animals include the kit fox, kangaroo rat, prairie dog, and bat-eared fox.  

 Humans have not had a huge impact on the cold deserts. The only people who live or reside in the deserts are nomads or scientists. Both groups of people never stay long in the desert, due to the harsh conditions.  The only damage that humans can do is four wheeling across the desert. The toxic fumes are foreign to the plants and animals in the desert, so the life forms there may die.  The other problem that is growing is desertification. This is when fertile lands turn into deserts because of deforestation or overgrazing of farm animals.

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