1. By Max Miranda All facts and photos are from www.mbgnet.net

2. The two largest deserts on Earth are in the polar areas. Did you know that Antarctica is the biggest cold desert in the world? It never gets hot, ever. The Antarctic Polar Desert covers the continent of Antarctica and has a size of about 5.5 million square miles. The second-largest desert is the Arctic Polar Desert. It has a surface area of about 5.4 million square miles. The largest hot desert is the Sahara Desert at 3.5 million square miles United States total area: 3.8 million square miles (including water)

3. Deserts are located all over the world. The largest hot desert is the Sahara Desert, found in North Africa, it is 3,500,000 square miles. The second largest hot desert is the Gobi Desert, found in China, It is 500,000 square miles.

4. The fat sand rat overcomes the problem of the unpredictability of desert food supplies by laying down a thick layer of fat over it`s body when food is abundant. Uses fat to live off when food is scarce Diet is seeds and vegetation

5. Only species in its genus and one of the strangest of lizards. It forges for its food, mainly ants and termites, on the ground. It lays 3 to10 eggs, usually 8, in November or December. The newly hatched young are tiny, spiny replicas of their parents.

6. The pleated shape of the barrel cactus allows it to expand when it rains and store water in its spongy tissue. It shrinks in size during dry times as it uses the stored water.

7. Has succulent leaves that can store water inside them. These leaves are usually thick and tough to reduce water loss. The Desert spoon has leaves that are trimmed and polished for sales as curios.

8. Everyone knows that during the day many deserts are hot, very hot. Temperatures in excess of 100 degrees Fahrenheit are not uncommon. Yet at night,the same deserts can have temperatures fall into the 40s or 50s?Why?

9. The two largest desert are the coldest one. The desert gets 10 in. of rain a year. The Sahara desert is the largest hot desert. Plants and animals must adapt to the lack of water to survive