The Gobi Desert

The Gobi Desert, covering nearly 1.3 million square kilometers (half a million square miles) of total land area, is the largest desert in Asia and the fifth largest in the world presiding both in China and Mongolia. The name simply translates into Waterless Place in Mongolian, while Chinese people occasionally refer to it as Han-hal which means the Dry Sea. The desert became a world sensation in the 1920s when a paleontological expedition held by the American Museum of Natural History discovered the first confirmed dinosaur eggs in the world.

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Geology

The Gobi Desert’s plains consist of chalk and other sedimentary rocks that are chiefly Cenozoic in age (up to about 66 million years old) though some of the low, isolated hills are older. The terrain contains small masses of shifting sands. In the central Gobi Desert the remains of dinosaurs from the Mesozoic Era (about 252 million to 66 million years ago) and fossils of Cenozoic mammals have been found. The desert also contains Paleolithic and Neolithic sites occupied by ancient peoples. Successful excavations undertaken during the 1990s at the Tsagaan Agui (White Cave) in southwest-central Mongolia have produced artifacts up to 35,000 years old.

Climate

The climate is acutely continental and dry: winter is severe, spring is dry and cold and summer is warm. The annual temperature range is considerable with average lows in January reaching -40°C (-40°F) and average highs in July climbing to 45°C (113°F); daily temperature ranges also can be quite large. The annual total precipitation varies from less than 50 millimeters (2 inches) in the west to more than 200 millimeters (8 inches) in the northeast. Monsoonlike conditions exist in the eastern regions which receive most of their precipitation in summer. Northerly and northwesterly winds prevail over the Gobi Desert in autumn, winter and spring.

People and Economy

The population density in Mongolian part of the Gobi Desert is small-fewer than one per square kilometer (three persons per square mile)-mostly Mongols. The main occupation of the inhabitants is nomadic cattle raising. The traditional living quarters of the Mongol nomads are felt gers (yurts).

In the Gobi Desert, particularly its semidesert sections, livestock raising is the main economic activity, sheep and goats constituting more than half of the total herds. Next in importance are the large-horned cattle. Horses make up only a small percentage of the total and together with the large-horned cattle are concentrated in the lusher semidesert of the southeast. A fair number of the livestock consists of two-humped Bactrian camels still used for transportation in some areas. Pasturage for cattle is available throughout the year because of underground water supplies. Livestock raising is mainly nomadic and herds move several times a year migrating as much as 190 kilometers (120 miles) between extreme points.

Useful mineral deposits are scant but salt, coal, petroleum, copper and other ores are mined. Agriculture is developed only along the river valleys.

Animal Life

The Gobi Desert’s fauna is varied with such large mammals as wild camels, kulan (Equus hemionus), dzheiran gazelles and dzeren (an antelope). Rodents include marmots and gophers, and there are reptiles.

Plant Life

Vegetation is sparse and rare. On the plateau and on the plains beneath the mountains, small bushlike vegetation occurs: Echinochloa (a type of succulent grass found in warm regions), yellowwood bean caper, winter fat (a shrub covered with densely matted hairs), nitre bush and bushlike halophytic vegetation. In the salt marshes, too, halophilous groups prevail: potash bush, Siberian nitre bush, tamarisk and annual halophytes; in the sands grow saxaul, the sandy wormwood and sparse perennial and annual herbs such as the annual Gobi kumarchik (Agriophylum gobicum) and the perennial timuriya (Timouria villosa). In semidesert tracts vegetation is richer, belonging to the herbaceous and wormwood groups: Gobi feather grass, Gobi kumarchik, timuriya, snakeweed (Cleistogenes species; another perennial) and cold wormwood. There are herb meadows with rhizome Mongolian onions and herb salt marshes with sparse beds of bushlike Caragana. In the Gobi Altai and other high mountains, desert-grass steppes completely cover the lower slopes, and, on the upper parts, mountain versions of the feather-grass steppes appear.

Destination Facts

It is not all sandy Most of the Gobi Desert’s ground surface is not sandy, but rather bare rock. The Gobi Desert is a rain shadow desert, formed by the Himalayan Mountains, which blocks the rain-causing monsoon winds from the Indian Ocean from reaching the area. Only 5% of the desert is covered by sand, while the rest is covered by sedimentary rocks or dry grasslands.
It is hot and cold In winter months, the Gobi Desert can get as cold as -40°C (40°F), while 45°C (113°F) is the hottest temperature in summer. During winter, it snows effective enough to sustain its livestock and wild animals. Sand dunes can often be seen covered with snow, making it the only desert in the world to offer such conflicting scenery.
Its land is fertile Opposing the typical desert image in our head, in the Gobi Desert, one can see mountains, grasslands, rivers, small lakes and most notably oasis which is critical to its wildlife and plants. Since the 1960s, some oasis has been used for cultivation, mainly fruits such as mini apple, peach and watermelon. In the Gobi Desert, the growing season lasts for 6-7 months from April till October, twice longer than the rest of Mongolia.
It consists of 33 mini deserts The Gobi Desert is not just one thing, but a combination of 33 separate deserts, each offering different landscapes and features. And the largest of them is called “The Galbiin Gobi”, an area of 70,000 square kilometers (27,000 square miles). It is well-known among the locals for its Mars-like red soil and reddish camels. It is also noted that there are sailing stones in the Galbiin Gobi, which move and leave tracks along a smooth valley floor without human or animal intervention.
It is not entirely empty In the matter of inhabitants, the Gobi Desert is not entirely unoccupied and has a sparse population with one person per square kilometer (0.4 square mile). The main livelihood of its residents is nomadic cattle raising. The herds, comprising camels, horses, sheep and goats are kept small and moved regularly. The two-humped Bactrian camels are still used for transportation. The nomads living in the Gobi Desert are considered as the most hospitable people in the country.
It used to be under the sea Experts suggest that the Gobi Desert has been a bottom of the sea in the prehistoric era. Fossilized coral heads, sea lilies, and countless shells have been found in the region.
It was once a land of dinosaurs The Gobi Desert is the largest dinosaur graveyard in the world. The world's first dinosaur egg nests were found by American researcher Roy Chapman Andrews around the Flaming Cliffs in 1923. In less than two years, his team excavated over 100 dinosaurs and brought them to the American Museum of Natural History, where they still remain. In 100 years of paleontological exploration, more than 80 genera of dinosaurs have been found in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia, one-fifth of 400 dinosaur genera known to science.
It has plentiful plant life for a desert Plants in the Gobi Desert stand strong against all odds, presenting a unique scene of survival. In the mountains and its valleys, small bush-like plants can be found. In semidesert parts, vegetation is richer with herb meadows of wild onions, salt marshes with sparse beds of Caragana bushes and feather-grass steppes. In the sands grow the saxaul tree, the sandy wormwood, and regular and annual herbs such as the annual Gobi kumarchik and the regular timuriya. The saxual tree is perhaps the signature plant of the Gobi Desert.