Gobi Desert
American International School, Scarlett Tsou, Non-Fiction: Group 2
H
ave you ever wondered how the Gobi Desert came to be? Or if there is life in this
desert? Any question you want answered will be in here. Get ready, a whole world
awaits you, and that world is the Gobi Desert.
The Gobi Desert is a huge desert that stretches across huge portions of Mongolia
and China. The term “Gobi” probably came from Mongolia which means waterless place, such as a
desert. Most deserts are sandy, but the Gobi Desert is bare rock. You could drive over this ground
in any direction: north toward the Altai and Hangayn mountains, east toward the Da Hinggan
Range, or south toward the Bei Mountains and the Yellow River Valley. To the southwestern limit
of the Gobi, the Tarim Basin of the southern Uygur Autonomous region of Xinjiang. The Gobi
covers 1.3 million square kilometers and is elevated with hot summers and cold winters.
When you think of a desert, you think of heat. Surprise! The Gobi is a cold desert. The
temperature in the Gobi is a temperature of extremes. It can shift from 60 degrees Fahrenheit in
as little as twenty-four hours. It can get to freezing temperature of minus forty degrees in the
winter, and the blazing hot temperature of one hundred twelve degrees in the summer. The desert
gets an average rainfall of only 7.6 inches. If you compare that to the Amazon Rainforest, which
receives 9 feet, that’s very low. The region’s height is above sea level and its northerly position on
the globe gives the Gobi another source of moisture, snow. You might even see frost on top of the
dunes occasionally. The Gobi doesn’t receive much water during the rainy season. The Gobi Desert
receives more moisture during winter. Monsoons sometimes reach the southeastern part of the
desert which is normally very dry. Even with this harsh climate life still finds a way to survive.
This is not a miracle, Living creatures such as fauna, flora, and humans have all adapted to the
region’s harsh climate of extremes. Keep reading to see how they do it!
Even though the Gobi seems like a barren, rocky, wasteland, the Gobi still supports life. The
extremely low rainfall still allows some desert plants to survive. One of them is the Saxual Tree.
The Saxual Tree is one of the most important plants in the Gobi. Water reserves collect behind
its bark, allowing other animals and humans to use its precious water. If you squeeze the bark of
the tree, water comes out. Wild onions are another plant in the Gobi. They provide a food source
for the fauna. They even offer a supply of food for the humans traveling over the Gobi Desert.
Convolvulus and Tarmarix are two shrubs and add a bit of color to the scenery. Needle and Bridle
grass dot the rocky land. A weed-like plant, Saltwort has a high tolerance to salt.
Jerobas are the smallest of all animals in the Gobi and are built almost like kangaroos. They
have a long tail that helps balance their leaps of about 10 feet in length. Jerobas have an enemy:
Golden Eagles. Golden Eagles are also trained to hunt for people. There are also endangered
species in the Gobi such as the Snow Leopard and the Gobi Bear.
Majority of the people living in the Gobi are Mongolians, but the population of the Han
Chinese has been steadily increasing since the 1950s. Luckily, the people in the Gobi have been
able to keep its culture and traditions from ancient history. There is even an old Mongolian
proverb from the Gobi that concerns hospitality: “Happy is the one who has guests, merry is the
home boasting a tethering rail full of visitors’ houses.” The Gobi Desert is a harsh, massive habitat
that has to be very challenging to survive in for everyone, even with adaptations.
