11Karakum Desert
The Gates of Hell is a fiery crater that has been burning in the Karakum Desert of Turkmenistan since 1971.
12Nabta Playa
The world’s first astronomical site, Nabta Playa, was built in Africa. It is 2,000 years older than Stonehenge. Located in the Sahara desert, the 7,000-year-old stone circle was used to track the summer solstice and the arrival of the annual monsoon season.
13Singing Sands
An unusual phenomenon associated with desert sands is their ‘singing’ or booming. Various hypotheses have been given to explain the phenomenon, such as those based upon the piezoelectric property of crystalline quartz, but the mystery remains unsolved."
14Dasht-e Kavir Desert
Iran's Dasht-e Kavir desert is almost uninhabited and knows little exploitation. For irrigation, Iranians developed a sophisticated system of water-wells known as qanats. These are still in use, and modern globally used water-revenue systems are based on their techniques.
15Sahara Desert
100 million years ago, the Sahara Desert was inhabited by galloping crocodiles. These crocodile relatives were nicknamed BoarCroc, DuckCroc, RatCroc, DogCroc, and PancakeCroc.
16Carcross Desert
The Carcross Desert is the smallest desert in the world that is located in the Yukon is actually the lake bed from a dried-up glacial lake. Officials wanted to protect it but locals use the dunes for sandboarding and other recreational activities.
17Rub' al Khali
The Rub' al Khali ("Empty Quarter") of the Arabian Peninsula is the largest sand desert in the world. It has an average daily temperature of 47°C (117°F) and sand dunes as tall as 250 meters (820 feet). The Eiffel Tower, for comparison, is 300 meters.
Latest FactRepublic Video:
15 Most Controversial & Costly Blunders in History
18Sahara Desert Size
The Sahara desert is about the size of the United States of America (3.6 million sq. miles vs 3.8 million sq. miles).
19Lut Desert
The hottest place on Earth is the Lut desert of Iran, topping Death Valley, USA and and El Azizia, Libya. Over a 70-year study, the hottest recorded temperature here was 70.7°C (159.3°F).
20Libyan Glass Field
There is a section of desert in Libya which has scattered naturally occurring yellow glass. It is probably the result of a 29 million year old meteor strike. Glass found here was used by ancient Egyptians to create King Tutankhamun’s scarab adornment.
1 COMMENT
LEAVE A REPLY
RE: Fact #22 (Gobi Desert) – This is true of many deserts.