CHAPTER NINE

Deserts

A desert is a dry place, with almost no rain. About 20 percent (%) of the land on Earth is desert. What are deserts made of? Some deserts are made of sand, and many deserts are made of stones or rocks. Deserts are usually hot, but not always. Antarctica is a cold desert. It doesn’t rain often there, but there’s lots of ice.

The Sahara Desert in Africa is the biggest hot desert on Earth. It’s bigger than Australia! The animals in the desert can live there because they don’t drink very often.

Camels can live for a week with no water.

In Bolivia in South America, there’s a desert made of salt. It’s called the Salar de Uyuni. About 40,000 years ago, it was a saltwater lake, but now the ground is hard and dry most of the time. Sometimes the ground looks like a big mirror.

Many people visit the Salar de Uyuni because it’s an incredible place. There’s even a hotel made of salt!