The great Indian desert
The great Indian desert is also known as the Thar desert. It is the arid region in the Indian Subcontinent and located partly in the north-western part of India that is Rajasthan and partly in the Sind province of eastern Pakistan. Around 15% of the Thar Desert is located in Pakistan, and around 55% of the Thar desert is in India.
The great Indian desert (Thar), is the world’s 9th-largest hot subtropical desert and the world’s 17th-largest desert. The Thar desert derives its name from the word “Thul” it’s is the term generally used for the region’s sand ridges.
Location and Area of Thar Desert
| Features |
Description |
|
Coordinates of Thar desert |
27°N 71°E |
|
Area of Thar desert |
238,254 km2 |
|
Thar desert Location in India |
It lies in Rajasthan and extends to Punjab, Gujarat, and Haryana. |
|
Thar desert Location in Pakistan |
Sind province and in Punjab province the Thar desert continues as the Cholistan Desert. |
|
Thar desert Bordered by |
The Punjab Plain to the north and northeast, Irrigated Indus River plain to the west, the Rann of Kachchh to the south, and the Aravalli Range to the southeast. |
Geographical features of Thar Desert
Land of Thar Desert
The Thar Desert in the northeast extends from the Aravalli Hills to Haryana, Punjab, and in the north region, to Gujarat Rann of Kutch along the coastal region. On the west north-west side, it stretches to the Indus River alluvial plains.
The Thar Desert presents the landfill of sand dunes, low barren hills (bhakars), and sandy plains.
Rainfall in the Thar Desert
Thar desert is the rain deficit region, the rainfall every year in the Thar desert is limited to 100 mm to 500 mm and most of the rain falls between the month of June to September that is the southwest monsoon. The rainfall is also every year fluctuating.
River in the Thar Desert
The only river in the great Indian desert (Thar Desert) is the Luni River, it originates from the Aravalli range in Pushkar valley near Ajmer and after covering the distance of 530 km it ends in Gujarat Rann of Kutch.
Lakes in the Thar Desert
All these lakes collect and receive water during the rainfall and are used by the local people throughout the year. The Saline lakes beds (Playas) which are locally known as “Dhand’s” are found throughout the regions.
There are many saltwater lakes in the Thar desert these lakes are:
|
S.NO |
Lake |
Place |
|
1. |
Pachpadra Lake |
Rajasthan |
|
2. |
Kuchaman Lake |
Rajasthan |
|
3. |
Sambhar Lake |
Rajasthan |
|
4. |
Didwana Lake |
Rajasthan |
|
5. |
Phalodi Lake |
Rajasthan |
|
6. |
Kharaghoda Lake |
Gujarat |
The soil in the Thar Desert
The soils mainly found in the Thar Desert are given below.
|
S.NO |
Type of Soil |
Found in |
|
1. |
Brownish Gray soils |
Plain Area |
|
2. |
Red desertic soils |
In most of Thar Desert |
|
3. |
Desert soils |
In the Entire Thar Desert |
|
4. |
Yellow soils |
foothills |
|
5. |
Red soil |
foothills |
|
6. |
Saline soils |
depressions |
|
7. |
Lithosols (shallow weathered soils) |
hills |
|
8. |
Regosols (soft loose soils) |
hills |
The soil generally in the Thar desert is of infertile nature and calcareous (calcium-bearing) and coarse texture.
Thar Desert Weather and Temperature
The hottest month in the Thar Desert is the month of May and June with the approximate temperature rises to 50OC (122OF), and the coldest month in the Thar Desert is January with a temperature range of 5 oC to 10oC.
In the month of May and June dust storms are very common with the speed of 140 to 150 km per hour.
Vegetation in the Thar Desert
The natural vegetation in the Thar Desert is thorn scrub forest which is scattered in patches throughout the Thar Desert. The size of these patches decreases from east to west with the decrease in rainfall. The tree name Khajri or Khejri grows throughout the entire Thar desert plain.
Fauna (Birds and Animals) in the Thar Desert
Among the migratory birds, sand grouse, ducks, and geese are common. The desert is also the home of the endangered great bustard.
The Thar Desert has a wide variety of lizards (that is 23 species of lizards) and 25 species of snakes that are endemic to the region. The thinly populated grasslands support quail, chikara (gazelles), blackbucks, Indian wild ass, and francolins (partridges).
The Thar desert is also the home of endangered Great Indian Bustard.
People of Thar desert
A total of 40% of the population of Rajasthan lives in this region which is widely scattered in this region has a population density of 83 people per sq. km. The main inhabitants of this Thar Desert in India are Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, and Jains.
The languages which are used in this region primarily are the Rajasthani language (Marwari) in the eastern and central Thar region, Lahnda in the northwest, Sindhi in the southwest region.
Rajputs are the prominent group inhabit in the centra region of Thar.
The economy of Thar Desert
The main source of economy of Thar desert is animal husbandry and ecotourism for camels, buffalo, oxen, sheep, and goats are the widely used animals in the Thar Desert. While, the Jaisalmer region is a world-famous tourist destination, which attracts tourists from all over the world.
Read Here: Important Dams of India