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Areas which receive as low as 250 millimeters of rainfall annually
are attributed as deserts.These areas receive little or no precipitation at all and have vegetation which ranges from being
sparse to none. Deserts are classified into various types, based on their geographical location. The types of deserts include trade
wind deserts, mid-latitude deserts, rain shadow deserts, coastal deserts, monsoon deserts, polar deserts, paleodeserts and
extraterrestrial deserts. Currently, it is accepted that one-fifth of the earth's surface is covered by these sandy barren lands.

So let's know some important facts about these major deserts in the following deserts of the world list.

1. Antarctica Desert

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With a whooping 13,829,430 square kilometers, Antarctica is the largest in the deserts of the world list. Situated in the Antarctic region of the southern hemisphere, this desert is also the fifth
largest of the seven continents of the world. An amazing fact about Antarctica is that it increases in its size during winter, due to the build up of sea ice around the coasts. More than 99% of the area is covered with ice and as on 21st July, 1983, the lowest temperature which was recorded in this continent was a chilling

2. Sahara Desert

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The world's largest among the hot deserts around the world and covering an area of 91,000,000 square kilometers, the Sahara
desert is known to be homed by 4 million people. In its northern parts, the desert has a sub tropical climate and in the south,a tropical one. The Sahara desert plants include grass, shrubs and trees.

3. Arabian Desert

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This desert covers an area of 2,300,000 and stretches from Yemen to the Persian Gulf and Oman to Jordan and Iraq.

4. Gobi Desert

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The word 'Gobi' itself means desert.Temperature ranges from -40 C in winter and 40 C in summer. Black-tailed gazelles,
marbled polecats, bactrian camels,Mongolian wild ass and sandplovers are the typical animals of this desert and sparse vegetation include bushes and a dozen kinds of grasses and herbs.

5. Kalahari Desert

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The Kalahari desert is largely covered by reddish sand and has an area of 900,000 square kilometers. Apart from different types of reptiles and birds, this desert is home to brown hyenas, lions,meerkats and several species of antelope. Dry grassland and scrubby acacias constitutes the vegetation.