Gobi Desert

The Gobi Desert is a massive, cold desert and grassland region.

It spans across southern Mongolia and North China. This desert is the sixth-largest desert on Earth. The name comes from the Mongolian word "Gov", which means dryland. In Chinese, the term "gēbì" refers to rocky, semi-deserts. Much of the Gobi is not made of sand. Instead, it often looks like vast stretches of bare, exposed rock.

Some areas do contain large sand dunes, such as the Khongoryn Els.

The geography of the Gobi is incredibly vast and varied. It stretches from the Pamir mountains in the west to the Greater Khingan Mountains in the east. To the north, it is bounded by the Altay, Sayan, and Yablonoi ranges. To the south, the Kunlun, Altyn-Tagh, and Qilian ranges form its borders. These southern ranges mark the edge of the Tibetan Plateau. The desert is widest in the west, between Lake Bosten and Lop Nor. Some geographers separate the western basins from the main Gobi. They call the Tarim Basin and Lop Nor the Taklamakan Desert.

The climate of the Gobi is defined by extreme temperature shifts. It is a cold desert because it sits on a high plateau. This elevation helps keep the average temperatures low. An average of only about 194 mm of rain falls each year. Most of this precipitation occurs during the summer months. In winter, the Siberian anticyclone brings very dry, cold air. Winds from the Siberian Steppes can blow snow into the region. Temperatures can change by as much as 35°C in just 24 hours. In southern Mongolia, temperatures have dropped to -40°C. In Alxa, Inner Mongolia, summer highs can reach 45°C.

The Gobi is divided into five distinct dry ecoregions. These are classified by their unique climate and topography. The Eastern Gobi desert steppe covers 1.5 million square kilometers. It includes the Yin Mountains and many salt pans. The Alashan Plateau semi-desert lies to the west of this steppe. The Gobi Lakes Valley desert steppe sits between the Gobi Altai and Khangai mountains. The Dzungarian Basin semi-desert includes parts of Xinjiang and Mongolia. Finally, the Tian Shan range separates the Dzungarian Basin from the Taklamakan Desert.

History and science have deep roots in this desert landscape. The Gobi is a famous site for important fossil discoveries. In 1923, researchers found the first dinosaur eggs here.

These were discovered in the area known as the Flaming Cliffs. Paleontologists also study the Nemegt Basin in northwestern Mongolia. They have found early mammals and prehistoric stone tools there. Some of these stone implements are 100,000 years old. These finds help scientists understand the history of life on Earth.

Many unique species have adapted to live in this harsh environment.

Wild Bactrian camels and Mongolian wild asses roam the land.

You might also see black-tailed gazelles or marbled polecats. Rare animals like snow leopards and Gobi bears live here too. Lizards are very successful in this climate. About 30 different species live along the southern Mongolian border. Most plants are drought-resistant shrubs. These include gray sagebrush and various types of saltwort.

Even the grasses, like needle grass, must survive extreme dryness.

Human activity is currently changing the desert through desertification. This is the process where desert land expands into grasslands. In China, about 2,600 square kilometers of grassland is overtaken every year. This expansion is caused by deforestation, overgrazing, and water depletion. Dust storms have also increased between 1996 and 2016. These storms can damage the agricultural economy.

To fight this, China started the Three-North Shelter Forest Program in 1978. This project aims to plant trees across 36.5 million hectares. The goal is to reverse the desert's growth by 2050.