Tropic deserts and their formation

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If you look closely at a globe or an atlas, you will surely also notice that there are some deserts at the Tropic of Cancer. What facts are worth knowing about the tropic deserts and how does it come about?

The Sahara is a tropic desert.
The Sahara is a tropic desert.

What you need:

  • Atlas

Interesting facts about the tropic deserts

  • The most famous of the tropic deserts is by far the Sahara. This desert is in North Africa.
  • In the southern area of ​​the Arabian Peninsula there is also a tropic desert - the Rub al-Chali desert.
  • The Gobi desert is also one of the tropics.
  • But tropic deserts are not only found in the northern hemisphere. An example of a southern tropic desert is the great sandy desert in northern Australia.
  • All tropic deserts are - as the name suggests - approximately at the level of the tropics. These are 23.5 ° north or south latitude.
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  • One thing these deserts have in common is that in some cases no precipitation falls for years.
  • Due to the severe water shortage, there is little or no vegetation in these regions. Only a few, very adapted animal species survive in these places.

Formation of these deserts

  • The formation of the deserts is also identical:
  • At equatorial height, the air is strongly heated and rises. A low pressure area is created.
  • When ascending, the air cools down and the water in the air condenses. This ensures that it rains and that the air below is drier.
  • The colder and higher altitudes air is pushed to the north and south by the steadily rising air masses.
  • This dry air cools down further and sinks down at the tropics.
  • Since the air mass has already rained out near the equator, it no longer supplies rain or moisture.
  • In addition, the air at the tropics warms up close to the ground, so that the relative humidity drops even more. existing liquid and moisture on the ground is absorbed. Due to the falling air masses, there are high pressure areas at the tropics.
  • The formation of the tropic deserts is based precisely on this lack of rain and the constant dehumidification.
  • From these high pressure areas the air moves back to the low pressure area at the equator, so that the trade wind is closed.

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