Sands of Secrets: 20 Fascinating Facts About Deserts

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.

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.

The Sahara desert is about the size of the United States of America (3.6 million sq. miles vs 3.8 million sq. miles).

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).

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.

It's just “The Sahara,” not “The Sahara Desert.” “Sahara” means “desert,” so to say “The Sahara Desert” is redundant.

The Gobi Desert exists because the Himalayas prevent rain clouds from reaching the region.

The Thar Desert in the Indian state of Rajasthan is the most densely populated desert on Earth, with 83 people per square kilometer.

There is a mini "desert", called the Athabasca Sand Dunes, near the northern border of Saskatchewan. It is the most northerly active sand dunes on the Earth.

Deserts are defined by the amount of precipitation the region receives yearly, so some parts of the Arctic and the Antarctic are classified as deserts.