Thar Desert
The Thar Desert is located in the ancient Indus Plain on the border with Pakistan. According to scientists, the total area of the desert is about 445 thousand km2. It extends for 850 km. long, 485 wide. Approximately half of the desert territory belongs to India, the other half belongs to Pakistan.
Origin of the desert
Thar refers to sandy deserts. This is a flat area with a decrease to the Indus Valley, during the Paleozoic period there was a constant process of soil degradation and erosion, followed by desertification. Some scientists believe that the desert is very ancient, and its age reaches 1 million years. From the point of view of other researchers, desertification occurred as a result of the drying up of the Ghaggar River in the period of 2-5 thousand years BC. Another part of scientists thinks that the origin of the Thar Desert is connected with human impact. And it is quite possible that if intensive cattle grazing had not been carried out on this territory for 7 thousand years, it would have remained a steppe, savannah, and even would have been covered with deciduous forests. The most interesting of all landforms are the dunes. In some areas, they can reach a height of 10 to 80, and sometimes 158 meters.
Climatic features
The climate in the Thar Desert, although subtropical, is very dry, continental. It is very hot here, just like in the hottest areas of the Sahara or Mojave deserts. The average daily temperature in summer is +40°С, in winter +22-28°С. A record high temperature of +50°C was recorded in the Indian Ganganagar. There is very little precipitation - up to 90 mm, although in the Indian part there is more than in Pakistan - up to 200 mm during the summer monsoons, from July to September. In the driest areas, there may be no rain for several years. In May and June, dust storms are a frequent occurrence, especially in the western part of the Thar Desert.
Flora and fauna
The vegetation of the Thar Desert is extremely poor. Mostly represented by xerophilous grasses, low-growing trees and shrubs, characteristic of dry and very hot habitats. They are characterized by woodiness and rigidity of the stem, very low nutritional value, especially in late ripening. Deciduous capers, bitter juzgun, saxaul of various varieties, etc. grow here. There are Nile acacias, their height does not exceed 4 meters. The fauna of the Thar Desert is represented by small predators. These are mongoose, caracal fox, steppe and reed cat, etc.
Local crafts
Despite the very difficult living conditions, the Thar Desert is considered the most densely populated in the world. Local residents live in round mud huts covered with thatched roofs. A mandatory attribute of each settlement is a well. Despite the hot arid climate, grazing is well developed in the region. One of the most notable events here is the large livestock fairs. It also produces the largest amount of sheep's wool in India, used in the production of high-quality carpets.
