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Describe the great Indian desert


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The Great Indian Desert named as Thar desert is a large arid region in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent. It is the world’s 17th largest desert, and the world’s 9th largest subtropical desert. The Thar desert is one of the most densely populated desert areas in the world with the main occupations of its inhabitants being agriculture and animal husbandry.

Distribution of area

  • The desert stretches its area of 200,000 km2 (77,000 sq mi) and forms a natural boundary between India and Pakistan.
  • About 85% of the Thar Desert is located within India, rest 15% lies in Pakistan
  • In India, the area covers about 170,000 km2 (66,000 sq mi), and the rest 30,000 km2 (12,000 sq mi) of the desert is within Pakistan
  • 60% of the desert lies in the Indian state of Rajasthan, and it spreads into other the states of Gujarat, Punjab, and Haryana, and the Pakistani province of Sindh

People and occupation

  • The population density of the desert 83 people per km2
  • About 40% per cent of the total population lies in the desert
  • Agriculture and tourism are the major occupation in the desert
  • Cows, buffalo, sheep, goats, camels, and oxen consists of major cattle population
  • Thar region of Rajasthan is the biggest wool-producing area in India

Golden City: Located in Desert

Jaisalmer is the driest place in India also referred to as golden city. Rajasthan is a beautiful state with numerous cultural and moral ethics. Jaisalmer is located in the heart of the Thar desert. The temperatures reaches its extreme in both summer and winter. The maximum temperature in summer is 49ºC and minimum is 25ºC. In winter the maximum temperature is 23º C and minimum temperature is 5ºC. The average rainfall is 210 mm. The highest temperature recorded is 50ºC. Hence it is referred to as the driest place in India.


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