Desert, any large, extremely dry area of land with sparse vegetation. It is one of Earth’s major types of ecosystems, supporting a community of plants and animals specially adapted to the harsh environment.

The desert biome is one of Earth’s most extreme yet resilient ecosystems. Characterized by intense heat, low rainfall, and dramatic day–night temperature swings, deserts span across continents and come in hot, cold, coastal, and semi-arid varieties.

The main types of deserts include hot and dry deserts, semi-arid deserts, coastal deserts, and cold deserts. The Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument in Arizona is full of life despite its arid, desolate appearing landscape.

On this page you’ll find facts on the desert biome, including: desert characteristics, the different types of desert, and the typical animal and plant species found in deserts.

In fact, the most important characteristic of a desert is that it receives very little rainfall. Most deserts receive less than 300 mm a year compared to rainforests, which receive over 2,000 mm.

So this article stays with those widely recognized names and explains what sets each one apart in landform, climate, ecology, and human geography. A true desert climate is marked by very low precipitation, high evaporation, sparse plant cover, and wide temperature swings.

The meaning of DESERT is arid land with usually sparse vegetation; especially : such land having a very warm climate and receiving less than 25 centimeters (10 inches) of sporadic rainfall annually.