List of deserts by area
This is a list of the largest deserts in the world by area. It includes all deserts above 50,000 km2 (19,300 sq mi).
Some of Earth's biggest non-polar deserts
| Rank | Name | Type | Image | Area (km2) | Area (sq mi) | Location[note 1] | Nation(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Antarctic Desert | Polar ice and tundra |  | 14,200,000[1] | 5,482,651 | Antarctica | N/A |
| 2 | Arctic Desert | Polar ice and tundra |  | 13,900,000[1] | 5,366,820 | Eastern Europe Northern America Northern Asia Northern Europe | United States (Alaska), Canada (Yukon, Nunavut and Northwest Territories), Finland, Greenland, Iceland, Norway (Svalbard and Jan Mayen), Russia (Siberia), and Sweden |
| 3 | Saharan Desert | Subtropical |  | 9,200,000[1] | 3,552,140 | Eastern Africa Middle Africa Northern Africa Western Africa | Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Eritrea, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, the Niger, the Sudan, Tunisia, and Western Sahara |
| 4 | Arabian Desert | Subtropical |  | 2,330,000[2] | 899,618 | Middle East | Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Israel, Palestine and Yemen |
| 5 | Great Australian Desert | Subtropical |  | 1,371,000[3] | 529,346 | Australasia | Australia |
| 6 | Gobi Desert | Cold winter |  | 1,295,000[1] | 500,002 | Eastern Asia | China and Mongolia |
| 7 | Kalahari Desert | Subtropical |  | 900,000[4] | 347,492 | Southern Africa | Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa |
| 8 | Patagonian Desert | Cold winter |  | 673,000[1] | 259,847 | South America | Argentina and Chile |
| 9 | Syrian Desert | Subtropical |  | 500,000[5] | 193,051 | Western Asia | Iraq, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Syria |
| 10 | Great Basin Desert | Cold winter |  | 492,098[5] | 190,000 | Northern America | United States (Nevada, Utah, California and Idaho) |
| 11 | Chihuahuan Desert | Subtropical |  | 453,248[5] | 175,000 | Central America Northern America | Mexico and the United States |
| 12 | Karakum Desert | Cold winter |  | 350,000[5] | 135,136 | Central Asia | Turkmenistan |
| – | Great Victoria Desert[note 2] | Subtropical |  | 348,750[1] | 134,653 | Australasia | Australia |
| 13 | Taklamakan Desert | Cold winter |  | 337,000 | 130,191 | Eastern Asia | China |
| 14 | Colorado Plateau | Cold winter |  | 336,700[5] | 130,116 | Northern America | United States |
| 15 | Sonoran Desert | Subtropical |  | 310,000[5] | 119,692 | Central America Northern America | Mexico and the United States |
| 16 | Kyzylkum Desert | Cold winter |  | 300,000[5] | 115,831 | Central Asia | Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan |
| 17 | Ogaden Desert | Subtropical |  | 256,000 | 98,842 | Eastern Africa | Ethiopia, Somalia, and Somaliland |
| 18 | Thar Desert | Subtropical |  | 238,254[6] | 77,220 | Southern Asia | India and Pakistan |
| 19 | Puntland Desert | Subtropical |  | 200,000 | 77,220 | Eastern Africa | Somalia |
| 20 | Ustyurt Plateau | Temperate |  | 200,000 | 77,220 | Central Asia | Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan |
| 21 | Guban Desert | Subtropical | | 175,000 | 67,568 | Eastern Africa | Somalia/Somaliland |
| 22 | Namib Desert | Cool coastal |  | 160,000 | 61,776 | Middle Africa Southern Africa | Angola, Namibia, and South Africa |
| 23 | Margo Desert | Subtropical | 
| 150,000 | 57,915 | Southern Asia | Afghanistan |
| 24 | Registan Desert | Subtropical | 
| 146,000 | 56,371 | Southern Asia | Afghanistan |
| 25 | Atacama Desert | Mild coastal |  | 140,000[5] | 54,054 | South America | Chile and Peru |
| 26 | Danakil Desert | Subtropical |  | 137,000 | 52,896 | Eastern Africa | Djibouti, Eritrea, and Ethiopia |
| 27 | Mojave Desert | Subtropical | | 124,000[7][8] | 47,877 | Northern America | United States |
| 28 | Chalbi Desert | Subtropical |  | 100,000 | 38,610 | Eastern Africa | Kenya |
| 29 | Columbia Basin | Cold winter |  | 83,139[5] | 32,100 | Northern America | Canada and the United States |
| 30 | Kavir Desert | Subtropical | | 77,000[9] | 29,730 | Southern Asia | Iran |
| 31 | Ferlo Desert | Subtropical |  | 70,000 | 27,027 | Western Africa | Senegal |
| 32 | Ladakh Desert[10] | Cold winter |  | 59,146 | 22,836 | Southern Asia | India |
| 33 | Lut Desert | Subtropical |  | 52,000[9] | 20,077 | Southern Asia | Iran |
Notes
- ↑ As per the United Nations geoscheme.
- ↑ A part of the Great Australian Desert.
See also
- Desert
- Desertification
- List of deserts by continent
- Polar desert
- Tundra
- United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Top ten largest (non-polar) deserts". Archived from the original on 2021-01-26. Retrieved 2021-05-14.
- ↑ "Arabian Desert". Archived from the original on 2007-12-31. Retrieved 2007-12-28.
- ↑ Areas of Australian and territory deserts by Geoscience Australia
- ↑ Bass, Karen (2009-02-01). "Nature's Great Events:The Okavango Delta, Kalahari Desert" (PDF). press.uchicago.edu. University of Chicago Press. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2012-07-10. Retrieved 2012-04-26.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Largest Desert in the World". Archived from the original on 2007-08-17. Retrieved 2021-05-14.
- ↑ "Thar Desert | Map, Climate, Vegetation, & Facts". Encyclopedia Britannica. 24 May 2023. Archived from the original on 20 June 2008. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
- ↑ "Mapping Perennial Vegetation Cover in the Mojave Desert" (PDF). pubs.usgs.gov. USGS Western Geographic Science Center. 2011-06-01. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2013-05-09. Retrieved 2012-04-08.
- ↑ "Recoverability and Vulnerability of Desert Ecosystems". mojave.usgs.gov. USGS. 2006-03-03. Archived from the original on 2012-05-01. Retrieved 2012-04-14.
- 1 2 Wright, John W., ed. (2006). The New York Times Almanac (2007 ed.). New York, New York: Penguin Books. p. 456. ISBN 0-14-303820-6.
- ↑ "The Cold Desert – Ladakh". 6 March 2018. Archived from the original on 2021-10-17. Retrieved 2021-10-17.
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