presentation on the topic of deserts of Pakistan including details

2. What is Desert ?
• A desert is a barren area of landscape
where
• little precipitation occurs and, consequently,
• living conditions are hostile for plant and
• animal life. The lack of vegetation exposes
• the unprotected surface of the ground to the
• processes of denudation. About one-third of
• the land surface of the world is arid or
semi- arid
• This includes much of the polar regions
• where little precipitation occurs and whic
• sometimes called polar deserts or"cold
• deserts". Deserts can be classified by the
• amount of precipitation that falls, by the
• temperature that prevails, by the causes at
• desertification or by their geographical
• location.

3. How Desertification take place ?
• Desertification occurs due to a
decrease in vegetation. This can
happen naturally due to a drought or
can be caused by human activities. The
lack of plants can cause changes to the
land. Plants help shade the soil, so
when plants are removed, the soil will
be exposed to the sun and will dry out
more quickly

4. Total Deserts in Pakistan
• There are five deserts in Pakistan
• Cholistan Desert
• Indus valley Desert
• Kharan Desert
• Thal desert
• Thar Desert

5. Cholistan Desert
LOCATION :
• Cholistan Desert covers the areas of Bahawalpur, Bhawalnagar and Rahlmyar Khan.
• Cholistan Desert. The Cholistan Desert (Urdu: ‫چولستان‬ ‫;صحرائے‬ Saraki: ‫روہی‬ ‫,)چولستان‬ also locally
known as Rohi (‫,)روہی‬ sprawls 30 km (19 mi) from Bahawalpur, Punjab, Pakistan and covers an
area of 16,000 km2 (6,200 sq mi). It adjoins the Thar Desert, extending over to Sindh and into
India.
• HISTORY:
• Historically, the Cholistan desert was a cradle of Hakra River Civilization which flowed through the
area during 1200 BC regularly and became irregular about 600 BC. Cholistan received heavy
monsoon downpours along with the Indus valley civilization including Mohenjo Daro and Harappa
of world’s oldest civilization about 5000 years ago. Cholistan desert was created during
Pleistocene and recent periods by thick mantle deposition of sands. A gradual change in monsoon
winds along with other causes increases the aridity and ultimately converts the area into a desert.

6. Cholistan Desert
• Rainfall
• Monthly mean temperature and rainfall in cholistan desert during 2005 -2009 [Processed from the raw data provided by
Regional Office of Pakistan Council of Research in water Resources , Bahawalpur ,Pakistan]
• Rainfall: The average annual rainfall in the Cholistan desert is about 166 mm. Jul 7, 2003
• ANIMALS
• Spiny-Tailed Lizard
• And other 23 native species of lizards
• Spotted eagle
• Great Indian Bustard and have 141 species of migratory and residential birds
• PLANTS:
• The results of about 6,000 olive and 1,000 fig saplings planted
• around two years back on an experimental basis in two squares of land in the Cholistan desert
• Cholistan desert belongs to 154 plant species of 106 genera and 38 families
• *Creosote Bush *Ocotillo
• *Joshua Tree *Blue Palo Verde

7. IndusvalleyDesert
Location
• The Indus Valley Desert is located in the northern area of Pakistan. The desert spans an area of 19.500 square
• kilometres and is surrounded by north-western scrub forests. It lies between two major rivers in the region, the Chenab and the Indus.
• The Indus Valley desert covers an area of 19,501 square kilometres (7,529 sq mi) in north-western Punjab Province between the Chenab and
Indus rivers.
• Rainfall
• The Indus Valley Desert is drier and less hospitable than the north-western thorn scrub forests that surround it with temperatures ranging
from
• freezing in winter to extremely hot (more than 45℃ (113℉ D in summer with only 600- 800 mm (20-30 in) of rainfall per year.
• Animals
• Five large mammals: Indian wolf, striped hyena, caracal, Indian leopard and the urial (Ovis orientalis punjabensis) along with many
rodents and other mammals. Meanwhile, the 190 species of bird in the desert include the red-necked falcon
• And has 190 species of birds
• Plants
• The desert vegetation is quite varied due to the variety of temperatures with Khejri shrubs being the characteristic species
*Brittle Bush * Big sage brush *Ambrosia dumosa *Fourwing Saltbush

8. Kharan Desert
• The Kharan Desert is located in Northeast Baluchistan. The desert was used for nuclear testing by the Pakistan
• military, making it the most famous of the five deserts. It is in the centre of a large empty basin. It estimated area of more than
20,000 Square KM.
• The Kharan Desert (Urdu: ‫خاران‬ ‫)صحرائے‬ is a sandy and mountainous desert situated in Baluchistan province in south-western
Pakistan. This desert was the site of Pakistan's second nuclear test, Chagai-II, which was carried out on 30 May 1998. The land is not
fit for agriculture due to low irrigation.
• Rainfall
• The average rainfall in the desert is about 100 mm annually. The entire area of the desert has inland drains and dry lakes.
• Plants
• The land is not fit for agriculture due to low irrigation.
• Animals
• Great Indian Bustard. There are 23 species of bustard birds, and of these, the great Indian bustard is the most endangered. ...
• Blackbuck. The blackbuck is an antelope that inhabits parts of the
• Indian Gazelle. ...
• Indian Wild Ass. ...
• Foxes. ...
• Desert Cat. ...
• Eagles

9. Thal Desert
• The Thal Desert is located in Mianwali region of Pakistan between the Indus and Jhelum rivers. A large canal-building
• project is currently underway to irrigate the land. Irrigation will make most of the desert suitable for farming In the north of
the Thal Desert there are salt ranges, in the east the Jehlum and Chenab rivers and to the west the Indus river.
• Thal Desert. The Thal desert (Urdu, Punjabi: ‫تھل‬ َ‫)صحراے‬ is situated in Punjab, Pakistan. The vast expanse is located between
the Jhelum and Sindh rivers near the Pothohar Plateau, with a total length from north to south 190 miles, and a maximum
breadth of 70 miles (110 km) and minimum breadth 20 miles.
• Rainfall
• The average annual rainfall in the Cholistan desert is about 166 mm. Depending on the soil types there are many
locations in the desert where runoff in large quantities is available during the normal rainfall events .July 7, 2003
• Plants
• Soap tree
• Prosopis Velutina
• Dasylirin Wheelrei
• Haloxylon Ammodendron

10. Thar desert
• The Thar Desert covers some 77,000 square miles (200,000 square km) of territory. It is bordered by the irrigated Indus River
plain to the west, the Punjab Plain to the north and northeast, the Aravalli Range to the southeast, and the Rann of Kachchh to
the south. The subtropical desert climate there results from persistent high pressure and subsidence at that latitude. The
prevailing southwest monsoon winds that bring rain to much of the subcontinent in summer tend to bypass the Thar to the
east. The name Thar is derived from thul, the general term for the region’s sand ridges.
• Land
• The Thar’s desert sands overlie Archean (early Precambrian) gneiss (metamorphic rocks formed between 4 billion and 2.5
billion years ago), Proterozoic (later Precambrian) sedimentary rocks (formed about 2.5 billion to 541 million years ago), and
more-recent alluvium (material deposited by rivers). The surface consists of aeolian (wind-deposited) sand that has
accumulated over the past 1.8 million years.
• Plants
• The desert vegetation is mostly herbaceous or stunted scrub; drought-resistant trees occasionally dot the landscape, especially
in the east. On the hills, gum Arabic acacia and euphorbia may be found. The khajri (or khejri) tree (Prosopis cineraria) grows
throughout the plains.
• Rain
• The amount of annual rainfall in the desert is generally low, ranging from about 4 inches (100 mm) or less in the west to about
20 inches (500 mm) in the east. Precipitation amounts fluctuate widely from year to year. About 90 percent of the total annual
rainfall occurs during the season of the southwest monsoon, from July to September . During other seasons the prevailing
wind is the dry northeast monsoon. May and June are the hottest months of the year, with temperatures rising to 122 °F (50
°C). During January, the coldest month, the mean minimum temperature ranges between 41 and 50 °F (5 and 10 °C), and frost
is frequent. Dust storms and dust-raising winds, often blowing with velocities of 87 to 93 miles (140 to 150 km) per hour, are
common in May and June.
• Animals: desert scorpion red fox mongoose chinkara falcon