1. Deserts Cathy O’Brien Period 2 Ms. O’Brien

2. What is a Desert? Deserts occur where rainfall is less than 25 cm/year, that is only 10 inches! Deserts can be hot or cold.

3. Where are Deserts? Deserts cover about one fifth of Earth's surface. Deserts make up a part of every continent except Europe.

4. Different Types of Deserts Hot and Dry Semiarid Coastal Cold

5. Types of Vegetation in a Desert Plants are mainly ground-hugging shrubs and short woody trees. Yuccas, cactus, sage bush, agave

6. Special Adaptations of Vegetation Leaves are replete Plants grow far apart Plant roots are near the surface of Earth Spiny nature of plants provides protection Plant’s spiny nature allows for less transpiration Leaves are silvery or glossy to reflect light Thick and fleshy leaves and stems

7. Types of Animals in a Desert Small nocturnal (active at night) carnivores. Dominant animals are burrowers and kangaroo rats. There are also insects, arachnids, reptiles and birds. ©007www.inchinap inch.com/hab_pgs/ terres/desert/ans.ht

8. Animal Adaptations to the Desert Nocturnal Burrowers Life Cycles Dormant Eggs

9. Human Impact on Deserts Recreational Playgrounds Land Development Grazing Military Grazing

10. Fun Facts Deserts are a land of temperature extremes. Tarantula Hawks, which is an impressive enormous insect that lives in the desert, hunt tarantula spiders. Camels, a common desert animal, can drink 30 gallons of water in 10 minutes. Deserts are taking over the Earth through a process called desertification. ©2007www.californiagardens.c om Tarantula_Hawk.jpgwww.californiagardens.c om ©2007www.inchinapinch.co m/hab_pgs/terres/desert/ani mals.htm

11. Work Cited http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/world_biomes.htm http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/exhibits/biomes/index.php http://library.thinkquest.org/11922/habitats/habitats.htm http://ths.sps.lane.edu/biomes/index1.html http://oncampus.richmond.edu/academics/education/projects/webunits/biom es/dclimate.htmlhttp://oncampus.richmond.edu/academics/education/projects/webunits/biom es/dclimate.html http://www.inchinapinch.com/hab_pgs/terres/desert/animals.htm http://library.thinkquest.org/11353/facts.htm