Cold Desert free essay sample

Because Antarctica is a polar region, there is little precipitation, it has no lakes or rivers and is in fact the driest continent. We will write a custom essay sample on Cold Desert or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The interior of Antarctica is considered the worlds driest desert because the extreme cold freezes water vapour out of the air. Annual snowfall on the polar plateau is equivalent to less than 5 cm of rain. A desert is defined as an area of low and irregular rainfall, no permanent surface water and no substantial vegetation. Yes, because there is very little rainfall or moisture in the air, because most of the water stays frozen. Almost the whole continent is Desert, the largest contiguous desert on earth, and one of the dryest. Terain ranges from ice plains to dry valleys of rock and shale. From high mountains to the coast this unbroken desert covers almost the entirety of the worlds 5th largest continent. The interior of the continent of Antarctica is the worlds largest desertBecause Antarctica is a polar region, there is no precipitation, it has no lakes or rivers and is in fact the driest continent. Antarctica is the worlds largest desertDesert not always mean a hot place. A desert is a place where rainfall (or the equivalent in snow) is less than 10 inches (250 mm) per year. rainfall is not these much in antarctica. Thats why antarctica is a desert This is a question I got from Children in Room 133 at Talahi Community School: â€Å"We are studying deserts this week. We heard that Antarctica might be considered a desert! Can you tell us about this? † Antarctica is indeed a desert, in fact it is the largest desert (about 14. 2 million square kilometers in size) on planet Earth. Specifically it is a cold desert. This may surprise many people, because people usually think of deserts as being hot, like the Sahara Desert (just over 9 million square kilometers), but that does not have to be the case. Deserts are defined as regions that have less than 254 mm (10 inches) of precipitation per year. Precipitation means water that can fall as rain, sleet, hail or snow. Another definition of a desert is ‘an area where there is a greater rate of evaporation than precipitation (rain, hail or snow)’. Because the average temperature in Antarctica is typically below zero degrees Celsius (32 degrees Fahrenheit), combined with the fact that cold air cannot hold as much moisture as warm air, it is usually too cold for precipitation to occur. The Antarctic Desert is a region in the eastern portion of Antarctica, on the Indian Ocean side of the continent. It chiefly occupies the Victoria, Wright, and Taylor valleys near the McMurdo Sound. It is almost entirely located in the Eastern Hemisphere, except for a very small portion.