Page 80 - DK Children's Encyclopedia

Deserts SEE ALSO

▸ ▸ Africa p.12
▸ ▸ Antarctica p.24
The world’s driest areas are deserts. They have less than ▸ ▸ Habitats p.126
10 in (25 cm) of rain a year. Deserts can be sandy, rocky, or ▸ ▸ Mountains p.172
even icy. Most deserts have hot days and cold nights. Some ▸ ▸ Plants p.194

animals survive here by getting water from plants or by ▸ ▸ Reptiles p.210
only moving around after sunset. ▸ ▸ Weather p.271

Desert living
Animals and plants living in deserts Golden eagles have Egyptian vultures use
must be able to survive with little good eyesight to the hot air that rises
water. In hot deserts, animals are look for food from from the desert to
soar high in the sky.
a long way up.
active at night. During the day, they
retreat under the sand to stay out
of the hot sun. Sand dunes are hills of
sand that are created
by strong winds. They
move in the wind.

Acacia trees have
long roots to reach
deep underground
to find water.
Cheetahs get water Camels store fat
from the blood of in their hump.
their prey. They can go for
days without
Most of the desert water or food.
is made of rocks and
gravel, not sand.

Horned vipers Deathstalker
hide under the scorpions have
sand. deadly poison
in their tails.

Agama lizards warm
up in the sun, then
hide under rocks to Peyote cactuses
keep cool. Sahara frogs store water in
stay near any their thick stems.
pools of water.

Scarab beetles
Jerboas get all eat animal waste.
the water they
need from the
seeds they eat. Sahara Desert
The Sahara Desert is in the north of
Africa. It is the world’s largest hot
desert. The Sahara is spread across
many different areas, including
Sahara ants have long mountain ranges and sand dunes.
legs to keep their
bodies off the hot sand.

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