Gobi Desert facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Gobi Desert
Length	1,500 km (930 mi)
Width	800 km (500 mi)
Area	1,295,000 km2 (500,000 sq mi)
Geography
Countries	Mongolia and China
State	Ömnögovi, Sükhbaatar and Govi-Altai
Region	Mongolia, Inner Mongolia

The Gobi Desert is a huge, cold desert in Asia. It spreads across southern Mongolia and northern parts of China. This giant area of land is also covered in wide patches of dry grassland. It ranks as the sixth-largest desert in the world. Many people think that every desert is full of tall sand hills. However, most of the Gobi is made of bare rock and gravel.

The word "Gobi" comes from a Mongolian word meaning a waterless place or dryland. People use it to describe dry parts of the Mongolian Plateau. The Chinese word uses borrowed sounds to mean a rocky semi-desert. Only a small part of this landscape has giant hills of sand. It is a land full of amazing wildlife, ancient history, and hidden fossils.

Geography of the Giant Gobi Desert

The Gobi Desert stretches across an enormous area in the middle of Asia. It measures around 1,600 km (990 mi) from southwest to northeast. From north to south, it spans about 800 km (500 mi). The widest part sits in the west near Lake Bosten and Lop Nor. Its total size reaches about 1,295,000 km² (500,000 sq mi).

On the west, the desert starts near the high Pamirs mountains. It stretches eastward all the way to the Greater Khingan range near Manchuria. Along the north, it touches the foothills of the Altay ranges. It also nears the Sayan and the Yablonoi ranges. To the south, high mountains like the Kunlun frame the land. These include the Altyn-Tagh and the Qilian ranges. These southern peaks guard the northern edge of the giant Tibetan Plateau.

Further east, water systems like the Songhua river border parts of the desert plains. Many geographers and modern ecologists study these borders carefully. Some scientists treat the very dry basin of the Tarim in Xinjiang separately. They also view the Lop Nor basin near Kumul as a different place. Together, those western sands form the famous Taklamakan Desert.

Climate and Weather Extremes

Flaming Cliffs in Mongolia

Sacred ovoo in the Gobi Desert

The sand dunes of Khongoryn Els, Gurvansaikhan NP, Mongolia

Remnants of the Great Wall of China in the Gobi Desert

The Gobi is known around the world as a cold desert. Frost and even light snow can cover its dunes during winter. It sits very far north on the globe. It also rests on a high plateau far above sea level. This high elevation makes the local temperatures drop very low.

Rain is quite rare across the entire region. An average of only 194 mm (7.6 in) of rain falls each year. Cold moisture often arrives as snow blown from the icy Siberian plains. Howling winds cause winter temperatures to plunge down to −40 °C (−40 °F). Yet during bright summer days, temperatures can soar up to 45 °C (113 °F).

The local climate changes very quickly from daytime to night. Temperatures can swing by 35 °C (95 °F) within just 24 hours. A warm afternoon can turn into a freezing cold night.

Freezing winter weather hits southern Mongolia, dipping below −32.8 °C (−27.0 °F). In contrast, summer in places like Alxa can reach 37 °C (99 °F). The average winter minimum temperature is a chilly −21 °C (−6 °F). Summertime usually brings warm maximum averages near 27 °C (81 °F). Most sparse precipitation arrives during short summer storms.

Summer monsoon winds bring faint moisture to the southeastern edge. However, winter brings dry air from the powerful Siberian anticyclone system. Strong air pressure cells create harsh winter conditions. Powerful gusts can blow icy dust across the rocky plains. Freezing snowstorms sometimes strike in late winter and early spring.

Wildlife and Plant Life

Camels walking in the Gobi Desert.

Even with extreme weather, many tough animals live in the Gobi. Special creatures survive here that live nowhere else on Earth. The rare wild Bactrian camel roams freely across the open spaces. Swift black-tailed gazelles sprint across flat dirt basins. Strange hunters like the marbled polecat search among rocky burrows. Strong herds of the Mongolian wild ass run across the stony ground.

Up in the rocky peaks, secretive snow leopards hunt for food. Rare Gobi bears search along dry stream beds for berries and roots. Packs of wild wolves hunt across wide open hillsides. Small birds like sandplovers nest near shallow seasonal pools. Around 30 kinds of hardy lizards live in sunny gravel flats.

Tough plants must survive long dry spells without water. Low shrubs manage to grow deep roots beneath the dirt. Common bushes include gray sparrow's saltwort and gray sagebrush. Stiff clumps of needle grass grow alongside tough wild bridlegrass. Other plants like woody saxaul help hold loose sand in place.

Animals must find nutritious browse to survive every season. Many grazing herds search for wild onions like Allium polyrrhizum. Local nomads say this special onion flavors the milk of their camels. Fermented camel milk is called airag by Mongolian herders.

To protect these rare creatures, countries have created large parks. Important refuges include the famous Gobi Gurvansaikhan National Park. Mongolia also protects animals inside Great Gobi A Strictly Protected Area. Nearby lies the equally important Great Gobi B Strictly Protected Area. These wild parks give endangered animals space to live undisturbed.

Ancient Fossils and History

A Khulan (Mongolian wild ass) on a hill in the eastern Gobi of Mongolia at sunset

The Gobi Desert is famous for amazing scientific discoveries. In 1923, scientists found the very first fossilized dinosaur eggs. These ancient eggs showed that giant reptiles hatched from eggs.

Many fossil hunters travel to the rugged Nemegt Basin. This basin hides ancient skeletons buried deep within red sandstone. Researchers have found bones from early mammals that lived long ago. Prehistoric humans also left ancient stone implements scattered across valleys. Some of these primitive tools date back more than 100,000 years.

Early Human Life in the Desert

Long ago, the climate of the desert was much wetter. Scientists divide early human history here into three main stages. These stages show how ancient people used desert oases:

• Oasis I happened during the Mesolithic era cal BP. People gathered wild grains using small milling stones. They crafted tiny sharp micro blades and shaped simple pottery.
• Oasis II took place during the warmer Neolithic era. People found lush steppe grasses around great bodies of water like Ulaan Nuur. They made stone adzes and sharp hunting axes from glassy cryptocrystalline rocks.
• Oasis III happened during the ancient Bronze Age era. People made shiny metal tools and left melted copper slag. They shaped green chalcedony, carved bone beads, and used clay spindle whorls.

Ancient hunters made tiny stone blades and sharp knives. They carved stone grinding stones to process plants and seeds. Hunters also fastened stone arrowheads onto wooden shafts. Later, nomadic herders created unique cultures like the Karasuk culture. These people left carved deer stones and metal tools across grasslands.

Historic Trade and Travelers

Nomadic groups have traveled across the Gobi for many centuries. Famous regional groups include the Mongols, Uyghurs, and Kazakhs. These nomads understood where to find fresh grass and water.

Important trails crossed the dry sands to link ancient cities. One major path linked the town of Kalgan to Ulaanbaatar. Traders traveled from Jiuquan in Gansu toward the oasis of Hami. Other routes ran directly from Hami toward the historic center of Beijing. Traders also crossed from Hohhot or Lanzhou along busy routes.

Outside explorers eventually arrived to map the vast interior. A traveler named Jean-François Gerbillon explored the northern edges early on. Later journeys were taken by Eberhard Isbrand Ides and Lorenz Lange. In the 1800s, naturalists like Alexander G. von Bunge studied local plants. Scientists such as Hermann Fritsche collected weather records across the plateau.

Explorers Pavlinov and Z.L. Matusovski crossed tough interior terrain. The British traveler Ney Elias mapped unknown western routes. Russian explorer Nikolai Przhevalsky documented rare wild camels and horses. Travel records were added by Zosnovsky and Mikhail V. Pevtsov. Geographer Grigory Potanin explored desert mountains during repeated trips.

Hungarian scientists Béla Széchenyi and Lajos Lóczy studied desert rocks. The brothers Grigory Grum-Grshimailo studied high ridges and plateaus. Explorer Pyotr Kuzmich Kozlov uncovered buried ruins in the sands. Later, Vsevolod I. Roborovsky and Vladimir Obruchev gathered geologic data. German researchers Karl Josef Futterer and Dr. Holderer crossed rugged basins.

French traveler Charles-Etienne Bonin documented historic trails across China. Swedish explorer Sven Hedin mapped lost lakes and shifting dunes. Other important surveys were completed by K. Bogdanovich. Explorers Ladyghin and Katsnakov visited hard mountain passes. Later, Jacques Bouly de Lesdain traveled with his wife across sandy wastes.

In the 1920s, Roy Chapman Andrews led expeditions for the American Museum of Natural History. His team used motorcars to find magnificent dinosaur fossils. Decades later, paleontologist Zofia Kielan-Jaworowska led expeditions that discovered many new dinosaurs.

Major Ecoregions of the Gobi

Bactrian camels in the Bayankhongor Province of Mongolia

Alxa Left Banner, Inner Mongolia, China

Scientists divide the Gobi into five major natural regions. These regions differ by landforms, moisture levels, and elevation:

• The Eastern Gobi desert steppe covers 281,800 km² (108,800 sq mi) of land. It spans from the Inner Mongolian plateau into southern Mongolia. Flat plains mix with salt pans near the Yin Mountains. It borders the greener Mongolian-Manchurian grassland to the north.
• The Alashan Plateau semi-desert lies further to the west. It sits between the Gobi Altai range and the Helan Mountains. The towering Qilian Mountains border its southern boundary.
• The Gobi Lakes Valley desert steppe sits between dry mountain ridges. It rests between the Gobi Altai mountains and the high Khangai Mountains.
• The Dzungarian Basin semi-desert is located between the Altai and the Tian Shan ranges. It extends toward the Emin Valley steppe near Kazakhstan.
• The Tian Shan range divides dry northern plains from southern sands. It towers beside the dry Taklamakan Desert and the salty Desert of Lop.

Landscapes of the Eastern Steppe

The Eastern Gobi has diverse rocks and dry plains. Between Ulaanbaatar and salty lakes, the land is heavily weathered. Small basins sit between flat-topped hills that rise 150 to 180 m (490 to 590 ft). Depressions lie 900 to 1,000 m (3,000 to 3,300 ft) above the distant sea level.

Near the Yellow River, broad tablelands rise up to 1,200 m (3,900 ft). Deep deposits of windblown loess dust line dried river valleys. In drier zones, tablelands hold colorful rock layers called the Han-gai formation. Strong winds blow fine dust clouds toward distant cities.

Tough desert plants survive across these sandy flats. Sparse bushes include wormwood, thick saxaul, and thorny Caragana. Other hardy species include medicinal Ephedra and bushy Nitraria. Dense grass tufts like grass species Lasiagrostis splendens dot the open ground.

The Alashan Semi-Desert

The Alashan region is also called the Little Gobi. It spreads west of the Yellow River toward the Ejin River. The region also includes the sandy Ordos Desert.

Early travelers described this region as flat, ancient lakebeds. Endless yellow sands stretch so far that nomads call them the open sky. Between sand ridges lie patches of hard clay and salty basins.

Hardy shrubs manage to survive in the shifting sand. These include tough saxaul trees and desert Agriophyllum gobicum. Thorny plants like field convolvulus grow near wild acacia. Other shrubs include bitter Sophora flavescens and sprawling Astragalus. Starved herbs like Peganum poke through gravel flats.

Small animals run between these scattered shrubs. Desert birds include the Mongolian ground jay, the horned lark, and the crested lark. Small foxes, hedgehogs, and agile lizards hide beneath the rocks.

The Dzungarian Basin and Valleys

The Dzungarian region features deep valleys and icy mountain streams. Fast rivers flow down from snowy peaks of the T'ien Shan. These rivers spill into flat plains, forming reed marshes.

To the south lie dry ridges called the Chol-tagh and Kuruk-tagh. Between them sits a vast stony desert called the Ghashuun-Gobi. Deep land depressions drop below sea level near Lukchun. Nearby towns include the desert oasis of Hami.

Other parts include the dry Kum-tagh desert near the Bulunzir-gol river. Moving westward, the great Tarim River cuts through rocky valleys. High ridges like Tuge-tau overlook barren gravel plains. Nearby mountain heights include the rugged Choltagh and the Kharateken-ula.

Few plants survive on these dry mountain slopes. Tiny patches of green hold tough saltbushes like anabasis. Wandering poplars called Populus grow near isolated water holes. Sprawling reeds and thick bushes of tamarisk survive around small springs.

Caring for the Land and Desertification

The Gobi Desert faces an environmental challenge called desertification. Sandy desert conditions are spreading into surrounding grasslands. The southern border near China loses about 3,600 km² (1,400 sq mi) of good land each year. Strong dust storms can harm farms, towns, and cities.

Changing weather patterns and rising temperatures affect how fast plants grow. Water evaporates quickly through natural evapotranspiration. Human activities also cause grasslands to turn into dry dirt. Chopping down sparse trees causes deforestation on fragile hillsides.

Too much grazing by farm livestock damages root systems. In parts of Mongolia, herds of goats are raised for valuable cashmere wool. Goats eat plants right down to the soil roots. Without plant roots, dry topsoil blows away in heavy winds.

To fight desert growth, people are planting millions of trees. China created the Three-North Shelter Forest Program across northern provinces. People often call this massive project the Green Great Wall. Workers plant hardy aspen trees to block blowing sand. Carefully managing farm herds also helps natural desert grasses recover.

See also

In Spanish: Desierto de Gobi para niños

• Asian Dust
• Geography of Mongolia
• Geography of China
• Green Wall of China
• List of deserts by area
• Mongolian death worm (olgoi khorkhoi), said to inhabit the Gobi in Mongolia