Today In This article we will Get to know about the top 10 largest desert areas in the world. The largest desert in the world is the Antarctica Desert having a 14,200,000 sq. km area located in Antarctica and As we know, the Earth’s ratio of land to water is 1:2 in which 71% of the Earth’s surface is covered by water and 29% is covered by land And this land area deserts having 33% of the Earth’s land area and 9.5% of the total surface area of earth.
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What is a desert?
Deserts are mainly defined as dry regions without water, receiving less than 12 inches of rain annually, and also they are formed when regional climate changes result in drought conditions for a long time.
Types of deserts in the world:
There are 4 types of deserts in the world
- Semi-arid deserts
- Cold deserts
- Coastal deserts
- Hot & dry deserts
10 Largest Deserts in the World By Area
The largest desert in the world is the Antarctica Desert which covers an area of about 14,200,000 (sq. km).
| S. No. | Name | Type | Location | Area (in sq.km) | Area (in sq.mi) |
| 1. | Antarctica Desert | Polar ice and Tundra | Antarctica | 14,200,000 | 5,482,651 |
| 2. | Arctic Desert | Polar ice and Tundra | Eastern Europe Advertisements
Northern America Northern Asia Northern Europe |
13,900,000 | 5,366,820 |
| 3. | Sahara Desert | Subtropical | Eastern Africa
Middle Africa Advertisements
Northern Africa Western Africa |
9,200,000 | 3,552,140 |
| 4. | Great Australian | Subtropical | Australia | 2,700,000 | 1,042,476 |
| 5. | Arabian Desert | Subtropical | Western Asia | 2,330,000 | 899,618 |
| 6. | Gobi Desert | Cold winter | Eastern Asia | 1,295,000 | 500,002 |
| 7. | Kalahari Desert | Subtropical | Southern Africa | 900,000 | 347,492 |
| 8. | Patagonian Desert | Cold winter | South America | 673,000 | 259,847 |
| 9. | Syrian Desert | Subtropical | Western Asia | 500,000 | 193,051 |
| 10. | Great Basin | Cold winter | North America | 492,098 | 190,000 |
1. Antarctic Desert
Area (km²): 14,000,000
Location: Antarctica
With a population of Less than 5000 Antarctica has The largest Desert in the world having 14,000,000 area in sq. km. This continent Is located at the south poth. Other than The tag of the largest desert this place is associated with many other tags on it like the coldest place on the earth, the driest place on the earth, and also the windiest Continent in the world. This Continent has the highest average elevation among all the other continents in the world. This place has only 20 mm of rain annually.
2. Arctic Desert
Area (km²): 13,985,000
Location: Arctic Ocean islands north of Norway and Russia
This is the second largest Desert on the earth situated in the north polar region of earth. These deserts have an area of 3000 km of the Arctic Ocean. It shows very similar environmental and climate features to Antarctica although it has 50cm of rain per year.
3. Sahara Desert
Area (km²): 9,200,000
Location: North Africa
This desert Is called the “Greatest Desert” or the largest hot Desert on the planet Earth. It is situated in the northern part of the African Continent. It covers the area of Eastern Africa, Middle Africa, Northern and Western Africa.
4. Australian Desert
Area (km²): 2,700,000
Location: Australia
The Great Victoria Desert has an area of 2,700,000 sq. km and is The fourth largest desert in the world. This desert covers around 18% of the landmass of Australia. Also, Australia is considered the driest Continent In the world.
5. The Arabian Desert
Area (km²): 2,330,000
Location: Middle East
This is the 5th largest desert on The planet Earth and is located in western Eurasia in the Arabian peninsula. In the center of this desert, Saudi Arabia is situated.
6. Gobi Desert
Area (km²): 1,295,000
Location: Eastern Asia
Having an area of 1,295,000 it is one of the largest deserts In the world It is located in east Asia also it Covers a very large part of Northern and Southern Mongolia.Although It is the 3rd largest Cold desert In the world. The Gobi desert has very rare animals like snow leopards and Bactrian Camels.
7. Kalahari Desert
Area (km²): 900,000
Location: Southern Africa
Having an area of 900,000 sq.km This Desert is the seventh largest desert in the world. It is located in Southern Africa and it covers most of the area of Botswana as well as parts of Namibia, and South Africa.
8. Patagonian Desert
Area (km²): 620,000
Location: Argentina
This desert is the 8th largest desert in the world and the Largest desert in South America. This desert is home to many wildlife animals like foxes, lamas, and many more.
9. Syrian Desert
Area (km²): 520,000
Location: Middle East
It is a subtropical desert which is the 9th largest desert in the world and the southern part of this Desert merges with the Arabian Desert. This desert has a rocky and bare surface.
10. Great Basin
Area (km²): 492,000
Location: United States of America
The Great Basin Desert is located in central-west Nevada USA, between the Sierra Nevada and the Wasatch Mountains while having an area of 492,000 sq. km of land it is the 10th-largest desert on the planet. This desert is also famous for the Great Basin National Park which is located in the central part of this desert.
Conclusion
Deserts cover up about 33% of the earth’s land area and Polar deserts cover around 14.2 million sq. km of the earth’s area also Sahara desert covers around 3.3 square miles. Deserts have coverage around one-third of the world’s total land area But have low biodiversity. There are some Varieties of Animals and plants which are only found and Grow in deserts.