|
Deserts
take up nearly one-third of the Earth's land surface, yet only 41
countries in the world (one-fifth) are hosts to all the deserts on this
planet. That leaves out quite a significant number of countries without
one. I don’t know how it feels to live in a country without a desert,
but it must certainly feel bad and inadequate because there are a large
number of regions that don’t actually have these hot and arid geographic
anomaly but are still quick to label any sandy or arid place a ‘desert’,
and turn it into a tourist attraction. In the past we have seen more
than a couple of such examples here at Amusing Planet. So today, we are
going to find out some more.
Here are some of most notable pseudo-deserts around the world.
|
|
Desert of Maine
The Desert of Maine is a 40-acre patch of exposed glacial silt in a pine
forest in the town of Freeport, Maine, in the United States. Not only is
the “desert” not a real desert, the “sand” is not real either, but a
sand-like substance that was underground sometime around the last ice
age until it was exposed.
The silt would have remained hidden underground if it wasn’t for the
Tuttle family who decided to farm the land in 1797. The family had some
poor farming practices. Failure to rotate crops, combined with land
clearance and overgrazing, led to soil erosion, exposing the dune of
sand-like glacial silt. The initial exposed small patch of sand
gradually spread and overtook the entire farm. Eventually, the Tuttles
had to abandon the land in 1919. An enterprising man who went by the
name of Henry Goldrup bought the farm for $300 and converted it to a
tourist attraction in 1925. Today the site is preserved as a natural
curiosity, hosting a gift shop, a sand museum, and a farm museum. |
|
 |
|
Osoyoos Desert
Tucked into the southernmost corner of the beautiful Okanagan Valley is
a pocket of dry, shrub-grassland that is popularly called Canada’s only
desert. Surrounding the community of Osoyoos, and the lake of the same
name, this area of the Okanagan is home to 100 rare plants and 300
critters found nowhere else in the country. Osoyoos has a semi-arid
climate with very hot, dry days in the summer and very mild days in the
winter. Osoyoos Lake is the warmest fresh water lake in Canada, and in
winter it never completely freezes over.
The Osoyoos Desert Centre conducts tours where visitors can learn about
desert ecology, habitat restoration and conservation of endangered
ecosystems in the South Okanagan. |
|
|
|
Carcross Desert
Located outside Carcross, Yukon, Canada, the Carcross Desert is often
considered the smallest desert in the world. It measures approximately 1
square mile (2.6 km2), or 640 acres. It’s not an actual desert, but a
large bed of sand that was formed during the last ice age, when large
glacial lakes formed and deposited silt. When the lakes dried, the dunes
were left behind. Today, sand comes mainly from nearby Bennett Lake,
carried by wind. The dunes contain a wide variety of plants, including
unusual varieties such as Baikal sedge and Yukon lupine, among others.
Carcross Desert is a popular tourist spot and very popular among locals
who enjoy recreational activities in the dunes such as sandboarding.
Tourist groups also use the area for off-road scenic tours, which is
allowed on the fine-grained dunes. Other summer activities include
hiking and all-terrain vehicles. In the winter, the area is used mainly
for cross-country skiing and snowboarding. |
|
|
|
Bledow Desert
Bledow Desert is located between Błędów and the village of Klucze in
Poland. At an area of 32 square kilometer, it is the largest
accumulation of loose sand away from any sea in Central Europe. Yet, it
is only one-fifth the size it was back in the 1950s. The sands were so
large that visitors reported seeing mirages and sandstorms here.
Until medieval times the entire area was covered in forests, which grew
over vast spaces of thick layers of sand, deposited by waters flowing
out of melting glaciers. The situation changed in the 12th century, when
residents cleared local forests to satisfy the needs of silver and lead
foundries from nearby Olkusz. The massive deforestation exposed the
sands which now cover the region. |
|
 |
|
Oleshky Sands
Oleshky Sands also called Oleshky Desert is a huge expanse of sand
situated inland from the Ukrainian coast of the Black Sea. The sands,
located near the lower reaches of the Dnieper River, have existed for
many centuries, but the desert appeared relatively recently. This sand
area used to be covered with plants and vegetation which prevented the
sands from spreading. But in the 19th century, with the good intention
of turning the region into a wildlife preserve, a sheep breeder brought
about a million sheep to these lands. Soon the animals had ate up all
the grass exposing the sand underneath. Because of wind erosion, the
unrestrained sands began to take over new territories and the desert
quickly spread.
As any desert, the Oleshky Sands have their own oases, dried up, wet,
and mineral lakes, and five-meter high sand dunes covered with grass and
bushes. Sandstorms are known to occur in these regions.
In order to prevent the whole Black Sea region from turning into one big
desert, in the 20th century, artificial forests were planted around the
sands. Today, spread over a territory of 100,000 hectares, these forests
are one of the largest artificial forests in the world.
|
|
 |
|
Highlands of Iceland
The Highlands of Iceland, cover most of the interior of Iceland, is an
uninhabitable volcanic desert. The water precipitating as rain or snow
infiltrates so quickly into the ground that it is unavailable for plant
growth, which results largely in a surface of grey, black or brown
earth, lava and volcanic ashes.
|
|
 |