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DESERT

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Originally appearing in Volume V08, Page 93 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.

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DESERT , a See also:

TERM

term somewhat loosely employed to describe those parts of the See also:

LAND

land See also:

SURFACE

surface of the See also:

earth which do not produce sufficient vegetation to support a human See also:

POPULATION (Lat. populus, people; populare, to populate)

population. Few areas of large extent in any See also:

PART

part of the See also:

WORLD

world are absolutely devoid of vegetation, and the transition from typical desert conditions is often very See also:

GRADUAL (Med. Lat. gradualis, of or belonging to steps or degrees; gradus, step)

gradual and See also:

ill-defined. (" Desert " comes from See also:

Lat. deserere, to abandon; distinguish " desert," merit, and " dessert," See also:

FRUIT (through the French from the Lat. fructus; frui, to enjoy)

fruit eaten after See also:

DINNER

dinner, from de and servier, to serve.) Deserts are conveniently divided into two classes according to the causes which give rise to the desert conditions. In " See also:

COLD (in O. Eng. cald and ceald, a word coming ultimately from a root cognate with the Lat. gelu, gelidus, and common in the Teutonic languages, which usually have two distinct forms for the substantive and the adjective, cf. Ger. Kolte, kalt, Dutch koude

cold deserts " the want of vegetation is wholly due to the prevailing See also:

low temperature, while in " hot deserts " the surface is ur productive because, on See also:

account of high temperature and deficient rainfall, evaporation is largely in excess of precipitation. Cold deserts accordingly occur in high latitudes (see See also:

TUNDRA (a Russian word, signifying a marshy plain)

TUNDRA and POLAR REGIONS). Hot desert conditions are primarily found along the tropical belts of high atmospheric pressure in which the conditions of warmth and dryness are most fully realized, and on their. See also:

EQUATORIAL

equatorial sides, but the zonal arrangement is considerably modified in some regions by the monsoonal See also:

INFLUENCE (Late Lat. influentia, from influere, to flow in)

influence of elevated land. Thus we have in the See also:

NORTHERN

northern hemisphere the See also:

SAHARA

Sahara desert, the deserts of See also:

ARABIA

Arabia, See also:

IRAN

Iran, Turan, Takla Makan and See also:

GOBI (for which alternative Chinese names are SHA-MO, " sand desert," and HAN-HAI, " dry sea ")

Gobi, and the desert regions of the See also:

GREAT

Great See also:

Basin in See also:

North See also:

AMERICA

America; and in the See also:

SOUTHERN

southern hemisphere the See also:

KALAHARI

Kalahari desert in See also:

Africa, the desert of See also:

AUSTRALIA

Australia, and the desert of See also:

Atacama in See also:

South America. Where the See also:

LINE

line of elevated land runs See also:

east and See also:

west, as in See also:

ASIA

Asia, the desert See also:

belt tends to be displaced into higher latitudes, and where the line runs north and south, as in Africa, America and Australia, the desert See also:

ZONE (Gr. 'WV77, a girdle, from 'wvvLvay to gird)

zone is cut through on the windward See also:

side of the See also:

ELEVATION

elevation and the arid conditions intensified on the See also:

lee side. Desert conditions also arise from See also:

LOCAL

local causes, as in the See also:

case of the See also:

INDIAN

Indian desert situated in a region inaccessible to either of the two See also:

main branches of the south-west See also:

monsoon. Although See also:

rivers rising in more favoured regions may See also:

TRAVERSE

traverse deserts on their way to the See also:

sea, as in the case of the See also:

Nile and the See also:

COLORADO

Colorado, the fundamental See also:

PHYSICAL

physical See also:

CONDITION (Lat. condicio, from condicere, to agree upon, arrange; not connected with conditio, from condere, conditum, to put together)

condition of an arid See also:

AREA

area is that it contributes nothing to the See also:

WATERS, TERRITORIAL

waters of the ocean. The See also:

RAIN (O.E. regn; the word is common to Teutonic languages, cf. Ger. Regen, Swed. and Dan. regn; it has been connected with Lat. rigare, to wet, Gr. 13pixeav)

rain-fall chiefly occurs in violent cloudbursts, and the soluble See also:

MATTER

matter in the See also:

SOIL

soil is carried down by intermittent streams to See also:

salt lakes around which deposits are formed as evaporation takes See also:

PLACE (through Fr. from Lat. platea, street; Gr. IrAar6s, wide)

place. The land forms of a desert are exceedingly characteristic.

Surface erosion is chiefly due to rapid changes of temperature through a wide range, and to the See also:

ACTION

action of See also:

wind transferring See also:

sand and dust, often in the See also:

FORM (Lat. forma)

form of " See also:

DUNES

dunes " resembling the waves of the sea. Dry valleys, narrow and of great See also:

DEPTH

depth, with precipitous sides, and ending in " cirques," are probably formed by the intense action of the occasional See also:

CLOUD (from the same root, if not the same word, as " clod," a word common in various forms to Teutonic languages for a mass or lump; it is first applied in the usual sense in the late 13th century; the Anglo-Saxon chid is only used in the sense of " a ma

cloud-bursts. When See also:

WATER

water can be obtained and distributed over an arid region by See also:

IRRIGATION (Lat. in, and rigare, to water or wet)

irrigation, the surface as a See also:

RULE

rule becomes extremely productive. Natural springs give rise to oases at intervals and make the See also:

CROSSING

crossing of large deserts possible. Where a See also:

RIVER

river crosses a desert at a level near that of the See also:

general surface, irrigation can be carried on with extremely profitable results, as has been done in the valley of the Nile and in parts of the Great Basin of North America; in cases, however, where the river has cut deeply and flows far below the general surface, irrigation is too expensive. Much has been done in parts of Australia by means of artesian See also:

wells. For a general account of deserts see See also:

PROFESSOR (the Latin noun formed from the verb profiteri, to declare publicly, to acknowledge, profess)

Professor Johannes See also:

WALTHER, BERNHARD (1430-15o4)

Walther, Das Gesetz der Wuslenbildung (See also:

Berlin, 1900), in which many references to other See also:

ORIGINAL

original authorities will be found. (H. N.

End of Article: DESERT

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