Arid Landscapes

Make up 30% of Earth’s land surface.

Because of:

  • Dry subsiding air

  • Location in the rain shadow of mountain ranges (rain in one side or the range, no rain on the other side)

  • Location in continental inferior

Desertification:

  • Huge issue. Land degradation in dry region

  • Sand dunes move and can expand deserts.

  • Semi-arid and arid areas

  • Expansion of desents

  • Caused due:

    • Deforestation

    • Climate change

    • Poor moist in areas

Dune Migration:

  • Transports particles

  • Efforts to mitigate dune migration is to protect crops and limit the particles

Shrinking Lakes

  • Sand accumulates, wind picks up and moves the sand to new areas.

  • Water evaporates instead of draining.

  • When water evaporates, it leaves salt and other minerals behind, creating saltier areas of water.

Desert Floods:

  • Short-lived after intense rainfall, LEADSt to flash floods.

  • Longer precipitation events can lead to debris accumulation

Alluvial Fans:

  • Flows down the canyon after a water event, and when it reaches flat land it will slow down and dort the sediment brought by it depending on the size.

  • Playa: Area of salt crust left behind by evaporation on a desert foor, usuallt un the middle of a desert or semiarid valley.

    • They are really flat

  • Bajada: several combinations of canyons that takes the water and alluvial fans that fall down to the same playa.

Badlands:

  • Terrain that represents Difficulty for crossing the terrain and unability of farming or living.

  • Geologic formation

  • Caused by deposition and erosion

Basin and Range:

  • Formed as a result of tectonic movement

  • Uplifting and tension that causes the folding look

Weathering in arid landscapes:

  • Phisical and chemical have a part but phisical has more prominent part into it

  • Desert Varnish

    • Combination of chemical and phisical processes

  • Alcoves and cliffs:

    • Christal growth

    • Freeze-thaw processes, plus crystal growth create these things

    • Water seeking down through sandstoneand emerces through the sides of the rock, breaking it from the bottom.

  • Mesa: flat landform with steep slopes

  • Butte: same as mesa but smaller size

  • Inselbergs:

    • Reminens of resistant rock

    • intrusige igneous granite

    • Doesn’t match the rest of the lanscape

    • It’s an island in land.