The Sahara Desert

There are many deserts in the world. In fact, one fifth of the land in the world is desert. There is one desert that is the biggest in the world and it is the Sahara Desert. It is in Africa. Deserts are very dry and hot, but in the evenings they get cooler. Even though they're dry, they still have interesting plants and animals.

Deserts get some rain, but not a lot. Usually, they don't even get 10" each year. Moisture evaporates into the desert air very quickly, but you have to give it some time. The surface of the desert gets lots of the sun's heat, and because of this, moisture evaporates. There are some cold deserts in the world, such as the Great Basin Desert. Deserts don't have lakes, but some deserts have rivers.

Deserts have animals and plants that can survive without a lot of water. The plants in the desert don't grow very tall. However, the Joshua Tree can grow 30 feet, but they grow far apart from each other.

Cacti have roots that can spread out over the ground to collect water. Cacti have spongy stems that can store water because it does not rain often.

The Mesquite tree has long roots that can reach deep beneath the ground to collect water.

Some plants grow only after it rains. One of these plants is called the Pink Flowered Bitter Root, which lives under the ground most of the year.

During the day in the desert it is very hot, so some of the animals sleep in the day and are awake in the night. This is called being nocturnal.