Where are the worlds largest deserts?
A desert is an area that receives little precipitation (moisture that falls from the clouds) and has scarce plant cover. Many deserts exist in two bands that run roughly at latitudes of 30 degrees north and south of the equator. The reason for this pattern is that air from the equatorial region descends in this area. In the process, moisture within the air evaporates and produces clear skies. The equator, in contrast, is a rainy zone. This is because surface winds, called trade winds, blowing from the north and the south converge at the equator and rise. As the air rises, moisture condenses and forms rain-bearing clouds. It is because of this process that tropical rain forests exist around the equator. The world’s largest desert, the Sahara Desert, is three times the size of the Mediterranean Sea. In the United States, the largest desert is the Mojave Desert in southern…
