THAR DESERT-Krishna veda
INTRODUCTION
The Thar Desert, also known as the Great Indian Desert, is a large, arid region in the northwestern part of the Indin subcontinental that forms a natural boundary between India and Pakistan. It is the world's 17th largest desert, and the world's 9th largest subtropical desert.About 85% of the Thar Desert is in India, and the remaining part in Pakistan. In India, it covers about 320,000 km2 (120,000 sq mi), of which 60% is in Rajasthan and extends into Gujarat, Punjab, an
d Haryana. This desert comprises a very dry part, the Marusthali region in the west, and a semidesert region in the east with less sand dunes and slightly more precipitation.
LOCATION
CLIMATE
The climate is extreme: annual temperatures can range from near-freezing in the winter to more than 50oC during the summer. All rainfall is associated with the short July-September southwest monsoon that brings a mere 100-500 millimeters of precipitation. About 10 percent of this ecoregion is composed of sand dunes, and the other 90 percent of craggy rock forms, compacted salt-lake bottoms, and interdunal and fixed dune areas.