Ladakh is the cold desert in India. Thar desert in Rajasthan is the hot desert in India. Generally speaking, if a place has little or no water and vegetation, people usually call it a desert. This article will share some interesting insights about the cold desert in India.
Ladakh – Cold Desert in India
- Ladakh is the cold desert of India which lies in the Greater Himalayas.
- Ladakh is towards the east of Jammu & Kashmir.
- Ladakh shares borders with China.
- The cold desert in Ladakh is enclosed by the Zanskar mountains in the south and the Karakoram mountain range in the north.
- Several rivers flow through Ladakh. Indus is the most important river flowing through Ladakh.
- The rivers form gorges and deep valleys in Ladakh.
- Many glaciers are found in Ladakh. An example of an important glacier found in Ladakh is the Gangri glacier.
Cold Desert in India (Ladakh) – High Altitude, Temperature, Rainfall
- The altitude in Ladakh ranges from approximately 3,000 m to more than 8,000 m.
- At Karakoram, the altitude ranges around 8,000 m.
- At Kargil, the altitude ranges around 3,000 m.
- Due to the extremely high altitude, the climate in Ladakh is extremely dry and cold.
- The night temperatures in Ladakh are well below –30°C.
- In winters, the temperatures remain below –40°C for most of the time.
- There is very little rainfall in the cold desert of India as it lies in the rain shadow area of the Himalayas. Every year the rainfall is as low as 10 cm.
- In these areas, the heat of the sun is very intense as the air is very thin at these altitudes.
- The cold desert experiences burning hot sunlight and freezing winds.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q1
What is the example of cold desert?
Antarctica, Ladakh, Gobi desert are examples of cold desert. Gobi desert is located in China and Mongolia. Generally speaking, if a place has little or no water and vegetation, people usually call it a desert.
Q2
Why Ladakh is called the cold desert?
Ladakh receives very little rainfall. It receives as low as 10 cm of rainfall in a year. The place is very cold. It has very sparse vegetation. The population is very less.
Q3
Which is the coldest desert?
Antarctica is the coldest desert in the world. Antarctica is also the largest desert in the world. The Antarctica desert is colder than the Arctic desert. Composed of mostly ice flats, Antarctica has reached temperatures as low as -89°C.
Q4
Is Thar a cold desert?
No, Thar desert is a hot desert. Thar desert is located in Rajasthan. The Thar desert is the world’s 9th largest subtropical desert. Thar desert is the world’s 17th largest desert. The desert stretches to an area of 200,000 sq km (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. 60% of the desert lies in the Indian state of Rajasthan, and it spreads into other states of Gujarat, Punjab, Haryana, and the Pakistani province of Sindh.
Q5
Is Spiti valley a cold desert?
Yes, Spiti valley is a cold desert located high in the Himalayas in the north-eastern part of the Northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh.
