cold desert
Icy barren expanse
A cold desert is an arid region where low temperatures, rather than lack of rainfall, create desert conditions.
Moisture falls mainly as snow and remains frozen, unavailable to plants.
Antarctica and the Gobi are cold deserts.
The term distinguishes these landscapes from hot deserts like the Sahara, where heat and evaporation drive aridity.
- AntarcticaSouthernmost continental landmass
- subzero temperaturesBelow thirty-two Fahrenheit
- frozen groundSoil solidified by cold
- iceWater's solid form
- AltiplanoAndean elevated flatland
Tibetan Plateau · snow leopards · permafrost · extreme climate · frost heave · lichen · ice sheet · rain shadow · wind · Silk Road · caribou · mosses · barren landscape · Tibetan Buddhism · high altitude · alpine plants · sparse vegetation · arid climate
- Extreme Terrainabyss, arctic, Antarctic, Antarctica, Death Valley
- Antarctic climatepolar climate, ice sheets, sea ice, blizzards, ice cap
- Cold DesertsAntarctic, Gobi, Atacama, Tibetan Plateau, Arctic
- Gobidinosaur fossils, fossil beds, sandstorm, dust storm
- AntarcticaSouth Pole, Amundsen, Scott, penguins, ice sheet
- ArcticArctic Circle, Arctic Ocean, Arctic wildlife, Arctic exploration, Arctic research
cold deserthot desert
Dry region, high temperatures
Sahara Desert · Arabian Desert · equatorial region · Sonoran Desert · tropical climate
cold deserttropical rainforest
Humid equatorial biome with dense vegetation
equatorial rainforest · Amazon rainforest · jungle · wetland · wetlands
cold desertrainforest
Wet tropical woodland ecosystem
jungle · old-growth forest · lush vegetation · verdant landscape · fertile plains