A desert is basically a wilderness or a wasteland. There is little moisture and poor soil such as sand gravel or rock. There are few plants to offer shade. Deserts can be described as harsh places. Many are burning hot by day and cold by night. Some deserts are cold in which snow sprinkles.
             Every continent has deserts. Much of the western United States is a desert. A desert region called the outback covers Central Australia. The southern tip of South America is largely desert. Northern Africa is covered by the Sahara, a desert as big as the mainland United States. The Arabian Peninsula, between the Persian Gulf and the red sea, is almost entirely dessert. A large part of central Asia, from China to the Caspian Sea, is mostly desert. Deserts cover 1/8 of our planet.
             Desert plants have adapted to heat and dryness of the desert. Plants that have adapted by altering their physical structure are called xerophytes. Xerophytes, such as cacti, usually it has special means of storing and conserving water. They often have few or no leaves.
             Phreatophytes are plants that have gotten used to arid environments by growing extremely long roots, allowing them to acquire moisture at or by the water table. Other desert plants, using behavioral adaptations, have developed a lifestyle in cooperation with the seasons of greatest moisture and the coolest temperatures. Theses types of plants are usually called perennials, plants that only live for several years, and annuals, plants that live for one season.
             Most desert animals have found a way to solve the heat and water problems the dessert environment creates for animals. Among the thousands of animals there are many remarkable structural adaptations made for avoiding excess heat. The lack of water creates a problem for all dessert organisms. Animals have an additional problem from plants they are more susceptible to extremes of the temperature. Animals receive heat by radiation from the s
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