Geography Atlas
Desert Hub

Drylands, salt basins, and arid plateaus.

The desert hub is for low-moisture landscapes where aridity, basin form, elevation, and coastal or continental exposure shape the terrain record.

Photograph of saguaro cacti and sunlit mountain ridges in the Sonoran Desert.
Sonoran Desert · Arizona Image: Joe Parks · CC BY 2.0
Lead Records

Dryland anchors

Desert records should explain aridity, surface material, basin form, elevation, drainage scarcity, and the atmospheric or topographic controls that maintain dry conditions.

Image credit
Polar Ice-Sheet Desert

Antarctic Desert

A polar dryland record linking ice-sheet plateaus, mountain divides, subglacial basins, outlet glaciers, ice shelves, and extreme cold.

Image credit
Peninsula Arid Region

Arabian Desert

A peninsula desert record linking sand seas, plateaus, wadis, sabkha flats, coastal margins, and subtropical arid climate controls.

Image credit
Circumpolar Polar Dryland

Arctic Desert

A High Arctic dryland record linking polar islands, permafrost terrain, ice caps, seasonal meltwater, sparse precipitation, and ocean-facing margins.

Image credit
Desert Record

Atacama Desert

A dryland record linking plateau surfaces, salt basins, elevation, and coastal atmospheric control.

Image credit
Alxa Mega-Dune and Lake Desert

Badain Jaran Desert

An Inner Asian sand-desert record linking compound mega-dunes, interdune lakes, basin groundwater, dry plains, and hyper-arid continental climate.

Image credit
Kazakhstan Plateau Desert

Betpak-Dala Desert

A Kazakhstan plateau record linking western clay plains, takyrs, saline hollows, eastern rocky uplands, closed drainage, and cold-winter continental aridity.

Image credit
Great Basin Playa Desert

Black Rock Desert

A northwestern Nevada record linking an exceptionally level clay-and-silt playa, fault-block ranges, Lake Lahontan deposits, seasonal flooding, and terminal drainage.

Image credit
Northern Kenya Saline Playa Desert

Chalbi Desert

A northern Kenya desert record linking a salt-clay playa, volcanic basin margins, alluvial fans, seasonal inflow, former lakes, and rain-shadow aridity.

Image credit
Bolson and Plateau Dryland

Chihuahuan Desert

A North American high-desert record linking Mexican Plateau basins, bolsons, playas, limestone ranges, dry washes, and Rio Grande connections.

Image credit
Canyon-Cut Plateau Dryland

Colorado Plateau Desert

A Four Corners high-desert record linking layered tablelands, mesas, cliffs, canyon incision, Colorado River drainage, and elevation-driven climate contrasts.

Image credit
Afar Rift Salt and Volcanic Desert

Danakil Desert

A northeastern African desert record linking faulted rift basins, below-sea-level salt plains, lava fields, saline lakes, alluvial fans, and hyperarid climate.

Image credit
Great Salt Desert Basin

Dasht-e Kavir

An Iranian Plateau salt-desert record linking kavirs, playas, evaporite crusts, alluvial fans, dune belts, and endorheic drainage.

Image credit
Iranian Plateau Wind-Eroded Basin

Dasht-e Lut

A southeastern Iranian desert record linking kalut yardangs, active sand seas, stony plateaus, alluvial fans, salt landforms, and hyperarid basin climate.

Image credit
Australian Laterite Upland Desert

Gibson Desert

A central Western Australian desert record linking laterite uplands, stony plains, breakaways, sand ridges, seasonal salt lakes, paleodrainage, and continental aridity.

Image credit
Inner Asian Dryland Record

Gobi Desert

A cold continental desert record linking gravel plains, enclosed basins, dry drainage, mountain rain shadows, and steppe margins.

Image credit
Interior Basin Cold Desert

Great Basin Desert

A western U.S. cold-desert record linking Basin and Range relief, enclosed drainage, playas, salt flats, winter cold, and rain-shadow aridity.

Image credit
Bonneville Basin Salt Desert

Great Salt Lake Desert

A northwestern Utah salt-basin record linking Lake Bonneville sediment, playas, evaporite crusts, fault-block ranges, seasonal brine, and cold-desert climate.

Image credit
Australian Sandplain and Dune Desert

Great Sandy Desert

A northwestern Australian desert record linking red sandplains, longitudinal dunes, Canning Basin geology, salt lakes, ephemeral drainage, and monsoonal climate controls.

Image credit
Australian Sand Ridge Dryland

Great Victoria Desert

An Australian desert record linking sand ridges, stony plains, salt lakes, claypans, paleodrainage, and arid climate controls.

Image credit
Southern African Sand Basin

Kalahari Desert

A southern African dryland record linking sand sheets, low basin relief, pans, fossil valleys, summer rainfall gradients, and internal drainage.

Image credit
Central Asian Sand Desert

Karakum Desert

A Turkmen lowland record linking sand plains, dune ridges, takyrs, Amu Darya sediment, paleochannels, and continental aridity.

Image credit
Turan Lowland Sand Desert

Kyzylkum Desert

A Central Asian dryland record linking red sands, residual uplands, river-borne sediment, internal drainage, and continental aridity.

Image credit
Eastern Saharan Sand-and-Basin Desert

Libyan Desert

An eastern Saharan record linking the Great Sand Sea, sedimentary plateaus, enclosed depressions, oasis groundwater, and the Gilf Kebir–Uweinat uplands.

Image credit
Southwestern Arid Landscape

Mojave Desert

A Southwestern desert record linking Basin and Range relief, dry washes, playas, rain-shadow aridity, and upland margins.

Image credit
Argentine Basin and Plateau Dryland

Monte Desert

An Argentine dryland record linking intermontane bolsons, alluvial fans, salt depressions, sandy plains, stepped plateaus, and Andean river connections.

Image credit
Coastal Dune System

Namib Desert

A coastal desert record linking dune fields, gravel plains, fog, ephemeral rivers, Atlantic influence, and escarpment margins.

Image credit
Levant Rift-Margin Dryland

Negev Desert

A southern Israel dryland record linking limestone plateaus, makhtesh erosion cirques, loess plains, wadis, flash floods, and the Arava rift margin.

Image credit
Nile–Red Sea Rocky Desert

Nubian Desert

A northeastern African dryland record linking sandstone plateaus, stony plains, wadis, the Nile corridor, and Red Sea highland margins.

Image credit
Southeastern Ethiopian Plateau Dryland

Ogaden Desert

A Somali Plateau desert record linking sedimentary tablelands, river canyons, eastern red-sand plains, seasonal channels, and bimodal arid climate.

Image credit
Yellow River Loop Plateau Dryland

Ordos Desert

A north-central Chinese dryland record linking the Kubuqi and Mu Us sandy tracts, sandstone high plains, mixed drainage, lakes, and monsoon-margin climate.

Image credit
Cold Steppe Dryland Record

Patagonian Desert

A southern South American dryland record linking Andean rain shadow, steppe plateaus, gravel plains, dry valleys, and Atlantic margins.

Image credit
High Plateau Salt-Basin Desert

Qaidam Desert

A northern Tibetan Plateau dryland record linking an elevated intramontane basin, playas, salt lakes, dunes, yardangs, alluvial fans, and endorheic drainage.

Image credit
Helmand Basin Sand Desert

Registan Desert

A southern Afghan sand-desert record linking old red dune ridges, active barchans, interdune clay flats, sparse drainage, and an elevated Helmand Basin setting.

Image credit
Arabian Basin Sand Sea

Rub' al Khali

A southern Arabian sand-sea record linking immense dune systems, a sediment-filled basin, interdune playas, inherited drainage, and hyperarid climate controls.

Image credit
Northern Caspian Sand Desert

Ryn Desert

A Volga–Ural interfluve record linking low dune massifs, Caspian Depression relief, inherited river and lake sediment, saline hollows, and continental aridity.

Image credit
Desert Record

Sahara Desert

A North African arid-region record linking sand seas, rocky plateaus, dry basins, mountain massifs, and desert margins.

Image credit
Peruvian Coastal Desert

Sechura Desert

A northwestern Peruvian coastal-desert record linking sandy plains, dunes, shallow basins, episodic drainage, Pacific upwelling, and El Nino flooding.

Image credit
Australian Longitudinal Dune Desert

Simpson Desert

A central Australian desert record linking parallel dunes, interdune corridors, claypans, ephemeral drainage, and Lake Eyre Basin controls.

Image credit
Basin and Borderland Dryland

Sonoran Desert

A North American desert record linking basin-and-range relief, alluvial fans, dry washes, Gulf margins, and seasonal rainfall.

Image credit
Australian Dune and Creek Desert

Strzelecki Desert

An interior Australian desert record linking longitudinal dunes, stony plains, Strzelecki Creek, Lake Blanche, internal drainage, and highly variable arid climate.

Image credit
Levant–Mesopotamia Stony Plateau

Syrian Desert

A western Asian dryland record linking the Hamad plateau, basalt fields, gravel plains, wadis, salt flats, the Euphrates margin, and winter-rain steppe transitions.

Image credit
Iberian Intramontane Badlands

Tabernas Desert

A southeastern Spanish dryland record linking a former marine basin, marl-and-sandstone badlands, gullies, ramblas, episodic runoff, and mountain-sheltered aridity.

Image credit
Tarim Basin Dryland

Taklamakan Desert

A Tarim Basin dryland record linking dune fields, mountain-front fans, endorheic drainage, saline flats, and continental aridity.

Image credit
Australian Sandplain and Range Desert

Tanami Desert

A north-central Australian desert record linking red sandplains, low ranges, stony rises, pans, ephemeral drainage, and monsoon-influenced aridity.

Image credit
Monsoon-Margin Dryland

Thar Desert

A northwestern Indian subcontinent dryland record linking dunes, alluvial plains, Aravalli margins, ephemeral drainage, and monsoon-edge aridity.

Image credit
Eastern Niger Sand Plain

Ténéré Desert

An eastern Niger desert record linking the Fachi–Bilma erg, Aïr mountain front, Kaouar escarpment, oasis groundwater, fossil drainage, and hyperarid climate.

Thumbnail image credits 46 sources

Images are stored locally or hosted by the credited provider. Creator, source, and usage details for each centre-cropped thumbnail are listed below.

  1. Antarctic Desert — MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC, Public domain. Centre-cropped for display.
  2. Arabian Desert — Aidas U., CC BY 3.0. Centre-cropped for display.
  3. Arctic Desert — Николай Гернет, CC BY-SA 4.0. Centre-cropped for display.
  4. Atacama Desert — NASA, Public domain. Centre-cropped for display.
  5. Badain Jaran Desert — NASA Earth Observatory image by Jesse Allen, using USGS Landsat data, Public domain. Centre-cropped for display.
  6. Betpak-Dala Desert — Nikolay Yushnikov, Public domain. Centre-cropped for display.
  7. Black Rock Desert — Bureau of Land Management Nevada, CC BY 2.0. Centre-cropped for display.
  8. Chalbi Desert — Filiberto Strazzari, CC BY 2.0. Centre-cropped for display.
  9. Chihuahuan Desert — National Park Service Digital Image Archives, Public domain. Centre-cropped for display.
  10. Colorado Plateau Desert — World Wide Gifts, CC BY-SA 2.0. Centre-cropped for display.
  11. Danakil Desert — Skilla1st, CC BY-SA 4.0. Centre-cropped for display.
  12. Dasht-e Kavir — Klára Nováková, CC BY-SA 4.0. Centre-cropped for display.
  13. Dasht-e Lut — Ninaras, CC BY 4.0. Centre-cropped for display.
  14. Gibson Desert — Gazjo, Public domain. Centre-cropped for display.
  15. Gobi Desert — Wikimedia Commons contributor, CC BY-SA 3.0. Centre-cropped for display.
  16. Great Basin Desert — NASA, Public domain. Centre-cropped for display.
  17. Great Salt Lake Desert — G. Thomas, Public domain. Centre-cropped for display.
  18. Great Sandy Desert — NASA, Public domain. Centre-cropped for display.
  19. Great Victoria Desert — Marian Deschain, CC BY-SA 3.0. Centre-cropped for display.
  20. Kalahari Desert — Emilfarb at English Wikipedia, Public domain. Centre-cropped for display.
  21. Karakum Desert — David Stanley, CC BY 2.0. Centre-cropped for display.
  22. Kyzylkum Desert — トムル, CC0. Centre-cropped for display.
  23. Libyan Desert — Saharate, CC BY-SA 4.0. Centre-cropped for display.
  24. Mojave Desert — Daniel Mayer (mav), CC BY-SA 3.0. Centre-cropped for display.
  25. Monte Desert — NASA Johnson Space Center, Public domain. Centre-cropped for display.
  26. Namib Desert — Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC, Public domain. Centre-cropped for display.
  27. Negev Desert — Hagai Agmon-Snir حچاي اچمون-سنير חגי אגמון-שניר, CC BY-SA 4.0. Centre-cropped for display.
  28. Nubian Desert — Photograph: NASA, Public domain. Centre-cropped for display.
  29. Ogaden Desert — MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC, Public domain. Centre-cropped for display.
  30. Ordos Desert — Zhangzhang111, CC BY-SA 4.0. Centre-cropped for display.
  31. Patagonian Desert — Mariano, CC BY-SA 3.0. Centre-cropped for display.
  32. Qaidam Desert — United States Geological Survey, Public domain. Centre-cropped for display.
  33. Registan Desert — MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC, Public domain. Centre-cropped for display.
  34. Rub' al Khali — NASA Earth Observatory, Public domain. Centre-cropped for display.
  35. Ryn Desert — NASA, Public domain. Centre-cropped for display.
  36. Sahara Desert — Project Apollo Archive, Public domain. Centre-cropped for display.
  37. Sechura Desert — Alfredobi, Public domain. Centre-cropped for display.
  38. Simpson Desert — Christopher Watson (http://www.comebirdwatching.blogspot.com/), CC BY-SA 3.0. Centre-cropped for display.
  39. Sonoran Desert — Joe Parks from Berkeley, CA, CC BY 2.0. Centre-cropped for display.
  40. Strzelecki Desert — NASA and U.S. National Archives, Public domain. Centre-cropped for display.
  41. Syrian Desert — Emilfarb at English Wikipedia, Public domain. Centre-cropped for display.
  42. Tabernas Desert — Dgalan, CC BY-SA 4.0. Centre-cropped for display.
  43. Taklamakan Desert — Pravit, CC BY-SA 4.0. Centre-cropped for display.
  44. Tanami Desert — Hesperian, CC BY-SA 3.0. Centre-cropped for display.
  45. Thar Desert — sushmita balasubramani, CC BY 2.0. Centre-cropped for display.
  46. Ténéré Desert — NASA, Public domain. Centre-cropped for display.