Deserts and Steppes

211 Pages·2010·4.75 MB·English

by  Britannica Educational Publishing

DESERTS AND STEPPES
THE LIVING EARTH
DESERTS AND STEPPES
EDITED BY JOHN P. RAFFERTY, ASSOCIATE EDITOR,
EARTH AND LIFE SCIENCES
Published in 2011 by Britannica Educational Publishing
(a trademark of Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.)
in association with Rosen Educational Services, LLC
29 East 21st Street, New York, NY 10010.
Copyright © 2011 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Britannica, Encyclopædia
Britannica, and the Thistle logo are registered trademarks of Encyclopædia
Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved.
Rosen Educational Services materials copyright © 2011 Rosen Educational
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All rights reserved.
Distributed exclusively by Rosen Educational Services.
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First Edition
Britannica Educational Publishing
Michael I. Levy: Executive Editor
J.E. Luebering: Senior Manager
Marilyn L. Barton: Senior Coordinator, Production Control
Steven Bosco: Director, Editorial Technologies
Lisa S. Braucher: Senior Producer and Data Editor
Yvette Charboneau: Senior Copy Editor
Kathy Nakamura: Manager, Media Acquisition
John P. Rafferty: Associate Editor, Earth and Life Sciences
Rosen Educational Services
Alexandra Hanson-Harding: Editor
Nelson Sá: Art Director
Cindy Reiman: Photography Manager
Matthew Cauli: Designer, Cover Design
Introduction by Catherine Vanderhoof
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Deserts and steppes / edited by John P. Rafferty—1st ed.
p. cm. -- (Living earth)
“In association with Britannica Educational Publishing, Rosen Educational
Services.”
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-61530391-5 (eBook)
1. Deserts. 2. Desert ecology. 3. Steppes. 4. Steppe ecology. I. Rafferty,
John P.
GB611.D475 2011
551.41'5—dc22
2010022143
On the cover: Sidewinder snakes, like the one pictured here, live in deserts
of the U.S. Southwest and northern Mexico. They prey on lizards and small
mammals. Paul Chesley/Stone/Getty Images
Page x: A cowboy repairs a fence in the avid U.S. Southwest. Hansel
Mieth/Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
On pages v, 1, 35, 159, 189, 217, 218, 220, 224: Sand is rippled by the
wind at the Imperial Dunes, part of the Colorado Desert, near Winterhaven,
California. David McNew/Getty Images
CONTENTS
Introduction
Chapter 1: The Desert
Desert Environments
Origin of Desert Environments
Environmental Conditions
Desert Flora and Fauna
Bajada
Population and Community Development and Structure
Oasis
The Biological Productivity of Deserts
Playas
Physical Characteristics of Playas
Arroyo
Geomorphic Evolution
Calcrete
Desertification
The Global Reach of Desertification
Causes and Consequences of Desertification
Four Areas Affected by Desertification
Rangeland
Solutions to Desertification
Chapter 2: Major and Other Notable Deserts of the World
Major Deserts
Arabian Desert
Death Valley
Gobi
Kalahari
The Namib
The Sahara
Takla Makan Desert
Other Notable Deserts
Atacama Desert
Betpaqdala
The Black Rock Desert
Gibson Desert
The Great Basin
The Outback
Great Sandy Desert
Great Victoria Desert
Junggar Basin
Karakum Desert
Karoo
Kav r Desert
ī
Kyzylkum Desert
Libyan Desert
Lop Nur
L t Desert
ū
Moçâmedes Desert
Mojave Desert
An-Naf d
ū
Negev
Nubian Desert
Nullarbor Plain