Deserts are areas of land that are very dry because they get very little rain. About one third of the land on Earth is desert.
Most deserts are hot. They may be covered in sand, like the Sahara Desert, or have lots of rocks, like the Mojave Desert. Some deserts have cactuses, and others have Joshua trees.
The Atacama Desert in South America is thought to be the driest place on Earth. It gets so little rain that some parts have not had any rain for 400 years!
The Gobi Desert in Asia is one of the coldest deserts on Earth. It can get down to -40 degrees Celsius in winter!
Some animals and plants can live in deserts because they have special adaptations that help them survive without much water. For example, many cactuses store water in their stems so they can live for a long time without rain.
Some people live in deserts too. They build houses out of materials that keep cool inside, like adobe bricks or stone. People also wear light clothing and use fans to stay cool. In some places people grow crops using irrigation systems that bring water from rivers far away