Desert means it requires huge quantities of water. Nowadays, practically, in every country, especially in India, every land is just like desert for want of water. So you see in Vrindavana so much land lying vacant, no agriculture. Why? There is want of water. There is no sufficient supply of water. So in this way, if there is scarcity of water, then gradually these places will be converted into desert.
Bhagavad-gita 9.1
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Vrindavana, April 17, 1975
source: Geology.com
The largest areas on Earth that fit this definition are the polar regions. Antarctica has a surface area of about 14 million square kilometers (5.5 million square miles), making it the largest desert in the world.
The largest non-polar desert is the Sahara Desert of northern Africa. The Sahara has a surface area of 9 million square kilometers (3.5 million square miles), and it stands as the largest non-polar desert in the world.
Major Deserts of the World |
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Name
|
Type of Desert
|
Surface Area
|
Location
|
|
Antarctic
|
Polar
|
5.5 million mi²
|
Antarctica
|
|
Arctic
|
Polar
|
5.4 million mi²
|
Alaska, Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Norway,
Sweden, Finland, Russia |
|
Sahara (map)
|
Subtropical
|
3.5 million mi²
|
Northern Africa
|
|
Arabian (map)
|
Subtropical
|
1 million mi²
|
Arabian Peninsula
|
|
Gobi
|
Cold Winter
|
500,000 mi²
|
China and Mongolia
|
|
Patagonian (map)
|
Cold Winter
|
260,000 mi²
|
Argentina
|
|
Great Victoria
|
Subtropical
|
250,000 mi²
|
Australia
|
|
Kalahari (map)
|
Subtropical
|
220,000 mi²
|
South Africa, Botswana, Namibia
|
|
Great Basin (map)
|
Cold Winter
|
190,000 mi²
|
United States
|
|
Thar (map)
|
Subtropical
|
175,000 mi²
|
India, Pakistan
|
|
Chihuahuan (map)
|
Subtropical
|
175,000 mi²
|
Mexico
|
|
Great Sandy (map)
|
Subtropical
|
150,000 mi²
|
Australia
|
|
Kara-Kum (map)
|
Cold Winter
|
135,000 mi²
|
Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan
|
|
Colorado Plateau
|
Cold Winter
|
130,000 mi²
|
United States
|
|
Gibson
|
Subtropical
|
120,000 mi²
|
Australia
|
|
Sonoran (map)
|
Subtropical
|
120,000 mi²
|
United States, Mexico
|
|
Kyzyl-Kum
|
Cold Winter
|
115,000 mi²
|
Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan
|
|
Taklamakan (map)
|
Cold Winter
|
105,000 mi²
|
China
|
|
Iranian
|
Cold Winter
|
100,000 mi²
|
Iran
|
|
Simpson (map)
|
Subtropical
|
56,000 mi²
|
Australia
|
|
Mojave (map)
|
Subtropical
|
54,000 mi²
|
United States
|
|
Atacama (map)
|
Cool Coastal
|
54,000 mi²
|
Chile
|
|
Namib (map)
|
Cool Coastal
|
13,000 mi²
|
Angola, Namibia, South Africa
|
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