Another interesting region of the planet, the desert of the Arabian Peninsula, is actually a complex that consists of separate deserts, but fixed under a common name. Most of its land is located on the territory of Saudi Arabia, some areas were "captured" by such states located on the peninsula as Jordan, Oman, Qatar, Yemen and others. The second interesting fact is that desert territories in certain regions have their own local names.
Desert Fact Sheet of the Arabian Peninsula
The total area of desert territories with one name is huge - 2,300,000 square kilometers. The desert of the Arabian Peninsula occupies an immodest second place in terms of area, yielding the first line only to the legendary Sahara.
Another record with a negative value, this desert is characterized by very severe weather and climatic conditions. On the one hand, temperature indicators in the daytime are approaching + 55 ° С (the threshold of + 53 ° С has already been crossed). At the same time, at night, the same thermometer drops to -12 ° C.
Local winds play a role in establishing a certain climatic regime. In the cold season, the presence of a north wind called temal is noted here. It can be accompanied by rainfall in the form of thunderstorms and heavy showers. The end of spring and the beginning of summer are marked by the arrival of samum, a southerly wind carrying huge streams of hot air and sand.
Scarcity of flora and fauna
Such a temperature drop, which is recorded throughout the day, obviously, cannot but affect the flora of the desert territories of the Arabian Peninsula and its fauna. Representatives of the kingdom of nature can be counted on one hand. Among the large mammals that have managed to adapt to the harshest living conditions are the following: gazelles and their closest relatives - gazelles; oryx; sand cats; spiny tails.
Previously, in the desert of the Arabian Peninsula, you could find striped hyenas, jackals, and honey badgers. Currently, there are only a few of them, most of the animals have been exterminated by man actively interfering in the life of nature.
Natural resources of the desert
Scientists who have conducted research on the territory of the Arabian Peninsula desert authoritatively state that traces of natural reservoirs, lakes and rivers are visible in the terrain in some places. They actually existed in ancient times in the territories now occupied by the desert. It is good that, at least in the issue of the disappearance of water sources, a person cannot be blamed. Since there are traces of the presence of reservoirs, some scientists put forward a second version of the existence of forests on the site of the modern desert.
Geologists are also actively exploring the deep areas of the desert. At present, rich deposits of oil and its companion, natural gas, have already been discovered. Sulfur deposits and phosphate deposits are also present in the Arabian Peninsula desert, and their quantity is sufficient to start industrial development of the territories.
Single landscape zone
The desert of the Arabian Peninsula is called the main attraction of the area. At the same time, it is noted that these territories have similar landscapes with the deserts of North Africa, and are, as it were, a logical continuation of them. There is a division into two subzones, one of them belongs to the northern ones, which have a transitional subtropical nature, the second, in fact, the tropics.
The first subtropical subzone is characterized by the presence of the so-called wormwood-saltwort groups. In addition, ephemeroids have become widespread in the same territories, just do not confuse them with ephemerals. Ephemeroids are perennial plants, in which only the aerial part dies off during the dry period. Ephemera are annuals, their growing season is extremely short, which allows plants to grow and seeds ripen, which will germinate only a year later when favorable conditions occur.
Another nuance, the desert of the Arabian Peninsula is heterogeneous, it contains different types, including sand dunes and ridges. On the fixed sands, there are opportunities for the development of ephemerals and xerophytes. In those regions where the soil is rocky, you can see shrubs that have adapted to life in such conditions, including various types of astragalus and acacias. Representatives of the acacia family also love gravelly areas of deserts, by the way, this is the only type of tree that can be found in the desert, although botanists have counted about 70 species of trees in Saudi Arabia. Shrubs and semi-shrubs are more widespread.
