| A | B |
|---|
| Antartica | 5.4 million sq. miles. Covered with solid water. Although it is surprising that this place is considered a desert, it is considered one due to its lack of rain. |
| Sahara Desert | 3.5 million sq. miles. World's Second largest desert, and the largest hot desert. Dominated by rocky regions, sand seas, salt flats, and dry river valleys. |
| Atacama Desert | 70,000 sq. miles. Famous for its rain shodow of the Andes which makes it the driest desert in the world. Fought over for its nitrate resources. |
| Kalahari Desert | 360,000 sq. miles. Large region, although not all of it is arid enough to be qualified as a desert. It is known for its red sand, large game reserves, and mineral deposits. |
| Mojave Desert | 25,000 sq. miles. It lies between the Great Basin and the Sonoran Desert and it contains the lowest and driest point of North America, Death Valley. It is strongly associated with the Joshua Tree. |
| Gobi Desert | 500,000 sq. miles. Asia's second largest desert (after the Arabian Desert), is bounded on the north by the Altai Mountains. It is known for its role in the Silk Road trading route and the Nemegt Basin. |
| Rub' al-Khali | 250,000 sq. miles. Its name means "Empty Quarter" in English and this desert can be considered the most inhospitable place on earth. It is known for the world's largest oil field the Ghawar. |
| Namib Desert | 30,000 sq. miles. Known for its bizarre Welwitschia and medicinal Hoodia plants. It is thought to be the oldest desert in the world. |
| Painted Desert | Known for its colorful, banded rock formations. |
| Negev Desert | Covers the southern half of Israel. |
| Taklamakan Desert | 105,000 sq. miles. It is extremely cold and sandy. It is known for splitting the Silk Road and branching into north and south. |
| Great Sandy Desert | 140,000 sq. miles. Part of the Western Desert, and the ninth largest in the world. |
