From White to Multi-Colored: World's Most Fascinating Deserts
Deserts occupy about one fifth of the land surface on Earth. People mostly think of deserts as highly hot places, however, some of them are quite cold. Interestingly, the Antarctic Polar Desert, the biggest in the world, is larger than the combined size of the Gobi Desert, the Arabian Desert, and the Sahara Desert.
SputnikThere is something mysterious about these desert sceneries that defy imagination and fascinate by their pristine and desolate beauty. These Mars-like landscapes tend to inspire artists, writers, musicians and filmmakers to capture this natural splendor and make people recognize its value.
Apart from traditionally perceived as desert places comprised of fine grains of sand and hot temperatures, there are those with almost no sand, with rock and clay formations, or salt marshes.
For example, the White Desert in Egypt is a site of large white chalk rock formations, created through erosion by wind and sand. This national park also includes cliffs, sand dunes, as well as oases.
Another example is the Painted Desert, which is located in the United States, Arizona. Running from the east end of Grand Canyon National Park and southeast into Petrified Forest National Park, the desert is composed of stratified layers of siltstone, mudstone, and shale. It is known for its varied colors, ranging from red to shades of lavender.
Take a look at Sputnik's gallery of the world's most spectacular yet desolate places that capture imagination by their unbelievable diversity!
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Members of the expedition of the Polish traveler Jacek Palkiewicz to the Sahara Desert.
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Deadvlei in the Namib Desert in Namibia.
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The Thar Desert, Rajasthan, India. The Thar desert forms a natural boundary between India and Pakistan.
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Purple mountain hill, the Painted Desert, Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona.
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Rock formation at the White Desert, Egypt.
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A camel is seen in the Judaean desert near the West Bank village of Nabi Musa, between Jerusalem and Jericho on January 5, 2019.
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The Pinnacles Desert, Western Australia.
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A couple of astronauts from a team from Europe and Israel walk in spacesuits during a training mission for planet Mars at a site that simulates an off-site station at the Ramon Crater in Mitzpe Ramon in Israel's southern Negev desert on October 10, 2021.
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The Arbol de Piedra (Stone Tree) is a volcanic rock formation in the Desierto Siloli in Bolivia. The rock is unique because it resembles a tree.
The Desierto Siloli is considered to be part of the Atacama Desert in neighboring Chile.
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General view of the Gobi Desert, located in northern China and southern Mongolia.
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