Desert Regions survival

Most desert lands were once fertile and some of the creatures that lived there then adapted to the new conditions.

Desert Survival

The survivor must learn to make the most of any available shade, to create protection from the sun, reduce moisture loss and restrict activity to the ends of the day and the night. Learn from the peoples who live or travel through the deserts.

In some deserts, especially the Sahara, the deserts of the Middle East, of Peru and northern Chile and parts of the Gobi desert in Mongolia, there are great temperature differences between night and day. At night condensation of any moisture in the air can make some water available- and in the namib desert of southern Africa fog coming in from the sea often provides moisture for life. Elsewhere, in such deserts as those of Western Australia, northern Mexico and the mohave of the south western USA, where the temperature changes are comparatively slight, there is very little condensation and consequently both plants and game are very rare.

Sometimes, as in the Kalahari, there will be sparse grass and thorny bushes and, even in the most barren conditions, some kind of life seems to survive, though often invisible if you don't know where to look.

Dust and sand storms may occur at certain times of the year, reducing visibility to zero and demanding maximum protection to prevent sand entering every orifice. Dust devils- desert whirlwinds like tornadoes- are quite common. When rain does come- and in some territories years may pass with none at all- it may be in torrential down pours which create flash floods, before being quickly absorbed into the parched ground. This provides for a brief blossoming of vegetation and the emergence of species such as the Spadefoot Toad of Arizona for rapid reproduction.