A large flat sandy area with very less rainfall & vegetation is a Desert. The greatest desert in India is Thar Desert or the Great Indian Desert. It is about 800km long & 700km wide. The land here is a bit rocky & sandy. It lies to the west of Northern Plains. To its south is a salt marsh known as Rann of Kachchh. To the east is Aravali range of hills. Aravali Range

During summers, the days are hot but nights are cool because sands heats up quickly in the sun & cools fast at nights. In winters the days become pleasant but the nights are very cool.

There is very little rainfall & sandy soil in desert so the vegetation is very less. You can only see some thorny shrubs & some scattered bushes. Only a few streams which fill up when there is rain. So there is shortage of water for people living there.

As the land is very dry and there is very less vegetation,so soil erosion mostly occurs through blowing wind. The hot winds carry lots of sand with them. Several dust storms are common. Desert is full of small sand hills called sand dunes. Because of sand storms these dunes keep shifting. Sand dunes

Due to shortage of water the population is not so high. There are very less cities in this region. EG- Jodhpur, Bikaner, Jaisalmer, Jaipur are some important cities. Some tourists visit these cities and have some have such kind of problems-

Most pin desert come up around places where water comes up to the surface in forms of springs. Date palm, Keekar, Babool, Cactus grow here. Such an area in desert with water is called an oasis.

The Indira Gandhi Canal takes water from Satluj river and gives it to Thar Desert. The desert has now become green. Indira Gandhi Canal The sandy soil and lack of water makes the crops difficult for growing. Where water is available Wheat and Millets is grown.