arid land
Dry, barren region
Arid land is terrain receiving very little rainfall—deserts, scrublands, and other dry regions where water scarcity limits plant growth and human settlement.
The term appears in geography, environmental science, and policy discussions about water management: Much of the American Southwest is classified as arid land.
- badlandsArid, heavily eroded terrain
- parched earthSeverely dried-out ground
- desertificationLand becoming barren, infertile
- droughtProlonged water scarcity
- cactusSpiny desert plant
desert · rain shadow · water table · irrigation · wadi · xerophyte · mesa · adobe · aquifer · nomad · playa · caliche · steppe · water harvesting · sparse vegetation · salt flat · flash flood · dust storm
- Extreme Terrainabyss, arctic, Antarctic, Antarctica, Death Valley
- land typespark, croplands, reserve, rangelands, forest
- barren landswasteland, wastelands, badlands, drylands, scrubland
- Overland Travelexpedition, trek, trail, road trip, journey
- irrigationdrip irrigation, sprinkler, flood irrigation, drip, irrigation system
moisture/water availability
arid landwetland
Waterlogged land ecosystem
swamp · marsh · bog · rainforest · jungle
biological productivity
arid landfertile land
Soil suited for cultivation
verdant landscape · garden · farmland · breadbasket · grassland