Life in the desert
Deserts are the driest places on Earth. Some are hot, some are cold, and many are not sandy at all! Meet a cactus that keeps a water bottle inside, and a rat that never needs a drink.
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A desert is a very dry place where it hardly ever rains.[1][3]
Some deserts are hot and some are cold! The biggest deserts of all are the icy lands at the top and bottom of the Earth. The biggest hot desert is the Sahara in Africa.[3][1]
Not all deserts are sandy. Many deserts are covered with rocks and stones, with a few plants here and there.[1][3]
In a hot desert the day can be very hot, but the night gets cold. The dry air lets the heat escape into the sky.[2][4]
A cactus keeps water inside its fat stem, like a water bottle, and uses it very slowly. Some desert plants have very long roots to reach water deep under the ground.[2][3]
Many desert animals hide from the heat. The fennec fox hunts at night. The kangaroo rat sleeps in a cool burrow under the ground all day, and it gets its water from the seeds it eats.[3][5]
Try it: Leaf or cactus: which stays wet longer?
You need
- Two paper towels of the same size
- A cup of water and a spoon
- Two plates
- A sunny windowsill or a warm spot
Safety
Use only water. Mop up spills so no one slips. Do not climb to reach a windowsill; an adult places the plates.
What to do
- Put each paper towel on a plate.
- Wet both towels with the same number of spoons of water.
- Leave one towel open and flat. This is a big, thin leaf.
- Roll the other towel up into a tight, fat tube. This is a cactus.
- Put both plates in the same sunny spot. Guess: which one will dry first?
- Feel both towels after 2 hours. Which one is still wet?
What happens, and why?
The flat towel has lots of its surface open to the air, so its water dries out fast, just like a big thin leaf. The rolled towel is thick and keeps its water inside, more like a cactus. Cacti store water in their fat stems and use it slowly, and many desert bushes have only a few leaves, so they lose less water.[2]
Play: Desert survivor?
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Other ages: Ages 10–11 · Ages 15–16