Which of these is the largest desert in the world?

Question

I have searched the internet and there is no unanimous answer on the second largest desert in the world! It is between the Gobi and the Taklamakan please help! I have looked everywhere and there all different some even go as far to say that the Sahara is technically the second largest I just have to answer this question for geography so I am looking for an answer please help if you can!

Answer 1

sahara is the largest desert in the world.There is no doubt in it

Answer 2

It's the Gobi Desert.

Takla Makan Desert ranks 8th.

Answer 3

The Sahara technically IS the second largest desert in thr world. Antartica is technically a desert, so it is the largest desert in the world.

If not, try the desert in Peru.

Answer 4

Gobi

Answer 5

I am wanting to say the Gobi, but I could possibly be wrong.

Answer 6

Principal Deserts of the World

Deserts are arid regions, generally receiving less than ten inches of precipitation a year, or regions where the potential evaporation rate is twice as great as the precipitation.

The world's deserts are divided into four categories. Subtropical deserts are the hottest, with parched terrain and rapid evaporation. Although cool coastal deserts are located within the same latitudes as subtropical deserts, the average temperature is much cooler because of frigid offshore ocean currents. Cold winter deserts are marked by stark temperature differences from season to season, ranging from 100° F (38° C) in the summer to 10° F (–12° C) in the winter. Polar regions are also considered to be deserts because nearly all moisture in these areas is locked up in the form of ice.
Desert Location Size Topography
SUBTROPICAL DESERTS
Sahara Morocco, Western Sahara, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Chad, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia 3.5 million sq. mi. 70% gravel plains, sand, and dunes. Contrary to popular belief, the desert is only 30% sand. The world's largest nonpolar desert gets its name from the Arabic word Sahra', meaning desert
Arabian Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Yemen 1 million sq. mi. Gravel plains, rocky highlands; one-fourth is the Rub al-Khali (“Empty Quarter”), the world's largest expanse of unbroken sand
Kalahari Botswana, South Africa, Namibia 220,000 sq. mi. Sand sheets, longitudinal dunes
Australian Desert
Gibson Australia (southern portion of the Western Desert) 120,000 sq. mi. Sandhills, gravel, grass. These three regions of desert are collectively referred to as the Great Western Desert—otherwise known as “the Outback.” Contains Ayers Rock, or Uluru, one of the world's largest monoliths
Great Sandy Australia (northern portion of the Western Desert) 150,000 sq. mi.
Great Victoria Australia (southernmost portion of the Western Desert) 250,000 sq. mi.
Simpson and
Sturt Stony Australia (eastern half of the continent) 56,000 sq. mi. Simpson's straight, parallel sand dunes are the longest in the world—up to 125 mi. Encompasses the Stewart Stony Desert, named for the Australian explorer
Mojave U.S.: Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, Utah, California 54,000 sq. mi. Mountain chains, dry alkaline lake beds, calcium carbonate dunes
Sonoran U.S.: Arizona, California; Mexico 120,000 sq. mi. Basins and plains bordered by mountain ridges; home to the Saguaro cactus
Chihuahuan Mexico; southwestern U.S. 175,000 sq. mi. Shrub desert; largest in North America
Thar India, Pakistan 175,000 sq. mi. Rocky sand and sand dunes
COOL COASTAL DESERTS
Namib Angola, Namibia, South Africa 13,000 sq. mi. Gravel plains
Atacama Chile 54,000 sq. mi. Salt basins, sand, lava; world's driest desert
COLD WINTER DESERTS
Great Basin U.S.: Nevada, Oregon, Utah 190,000 sq. mi. Mountain ridges, valleys, 1% sand dunes
Colorado Plateau
U.S.: Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming 130,000 sq. mi. Sedimentary rock, mesas, and plateaus—includes the Grand Canyon and is also called the “Painted Desert” because of the spectacular colors in its rocks and canyons
Patagonian Argentina 260,000 sq. mi. Gravel plains, plateaus, basalt sheets
Kara-Kum
Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan 135,000 sq. mi. 90% gray layered sand—name means “black sand”
Kyzyl-Kum
Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan 115,000 sq. mi. Sands, rock—name means “red sand”
Iranian Iran 100,000 sq. mi. Salt, gravel, rock
Taklamakan China 105,000 sq. mi. Sand, dunes, gravel
Gobi China, Mongolia 500,000 sq. mi. Stony, sandy soil, steppes (dry grasslands)
POLAR
Arctic U.S., Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia 5.4 million sq. mi. Snow, glaciers, tundra
Antarctic Antarctica 5.5 million sq. mi. Ice, snow, bedrock

Fact Monster/Information Please® Database, © 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
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