This name was first introduced to the world by American explorer Roy Chapmen Andrews in the s. The Mongolian Gobi is the largest, as well as the coldest desert in Asia, and the fifth-largest in the world. The Gobi desert covers the southern part of Mongolia, northern and northwestern parts of China. The Gobi desert area covers 1. The Himalayas block weather and starves the desert of rainfall from the South.
There are mountains with lush green valleys, random sand dunes, oases, rivers, lakes, historical sites, vast barren steppes, grassy steppes, and mud cliffs with dinosaur fossils. The Gobi desert landscape will attract you — it will be seen changing minute by minute, hour by hour, and day by day when driving. The Gobi desert weather is extreme. The temperature changes within a day, monthly, and seasonally. January is the coldest, and July is the warmest month.
The Gobi desert night temperature cools down sharply at night because the cloudless sky does not block the cold air. There are 0. The Gobi is one of the least populated areas where the nomads roam over the steppes.
The Gobi desert is the second important paleontology site in the world. It was first discovered that the dinosaurs laid eggs after the complete nest found in the Flaming Cliffs, which is one of the main attractions in the Gobi desert. Almost all tours include the former dinosaur excavation area Flaming Cliffs. It is a beautiful area, but dinosaur fossils are found randomly due to the tourist crowd.
Where else can you explore the dinosaur fossils in nature now? It rains in the Gobi desert. The Gobi receives approximately 7 inches of rainfall a year. It rained more than regular in the Gobi in the summer of , which revealed many dinosaur fossils. Much like its cousin, the Sahara, camels are well suited to life here. There are many domesticated camels, but the wild Bactrian camel are special.
They tolerate cold, drought and high altitude well. They are a separate species from the domesticated camel, with only 1, camels left in the wild. The camels are one of the few mammals that can actually eat snow for liquid in the winter. Black-tailed gazelles migrate through, and brown bears and wolves often visit. Elusive snow leopards even visit the area. Most of the economic activity in the Gobi Desert comes from the Oyu Tolgoi mining project, located in the southernmost Gobi province.
The mine is operated by the Rio Tinto group through an arrangement with the Mongolian government. It is the largest mine in all of Mongolia, and despite the controversies, it brings some economic benefit to the country. Every year the Gobi Desert grows. It mostly moves to the south, in China. Each year there is an increase of around 3, km of desert into the country.
This is mostly because of human activity, like herding animals there, and the removal of trees. The Chinese government is taking measures to stop the desertification by planting drought hardy trees in the region. The Gobi Desert can be divided into five ecological regions. The farthest north one has low-lying areas and small ponds. The other regions range from nearly steppe, with rolling hills and sporadic vegetation — desert, mountain, steppe. Wild onions also grow in the region, as one of the few sources of natural non-animal sustenance for the nomadic folks that travel through the desert.
Yet another plant is the saltwort, a curiously hardy small green plant, almost a shrub, that thrives on areas of high salt content. The plant is dreadful for eating due to the sheer salt content of it.
Lastly, for our purposes at least, we have the sophora, an evergreen flowering plant with roots that have proved useful for traditional Chinese medicine. The plant has anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, making it suitable for use to treat heart disease. Some hardy animals would call the Gobi desert their home. A surprising variety as a matter of fact!
Estimates suggest 49 mammals, 15 reptiles, an amphibian species and over varieties of birds live within the desert, many of which are exclusive to the region and extremely rare. From the tiny hopping desert-mouse known as the jerboa to massive Gobi bears, they range in a wide variety of shapes and sizes.
Though they may not be that easy to spot. Starting off, the wild Bactrian camel. This differs from feral camels, the likes of which can be found even in non-native habitats like Australia, which are descended from long-domesticated camels. This species has never been domesticated, no doubt owing to their extremely limited range within the desert. Due to hunting and territorial encroachment, the species is estimated at a mere 1, remaining individuals.
It may not be long before all that remains are domesticated camels. The golden eagle is naturally a fixture. Golden eagles are a mark of experience for falconers due to their immense size and tendency towards aggressiveness.
It takes someone far more experienced to take one on as a partner, so you can bet that any nomad with a golden eagle by their side is someone very impressive indeed.
The aforementioned Gobi bear is an especially unique species. The beautiful snow leopard, top apex predator in the desert and one of the most illusive species of wild cat in the world.
Despite a relatively solid population of around 10, across the world, ranging through Siberia, Central Asia, Afghanistan, India and China, the snow leopard mostly inhabits the hardest to reach regions of the world and spread themselves sparsely. The famous Planet Earth documentary by David Attenborough highlighted how difficult to capture and rare footage of the species is. With a rough estimate of three per square mile no doubt far more clustered than consistent with that , nomadic folks still do call the region their home.
Nomadic really is the key word, since such an inhospitable climate and landscape requires one to stay on the mood. One spot that has the necessities for survival may only last you a short while, something that fits into the traditional Mongolian way of life.
Mongolia in general has a large nomadic culture. Even now, around a quarter of the population is to some degree nomadic, albeit mostly along the Mongolian plains and steppes, not so much the harsh environment of the Gobi. Those that do persist there have a fusion of traditional and modern culture.
On the one hand, animal herding, falconry and Ger tents. On the other, solar panels and motorbikes. Surprisingly, there are in fact small towns existing within the Gobi desert, primarily in Mongolia proper. The Dornogovi Province and SouthGobi Province have populations between 60, and 70, each and comprise the bulk of human activity within the desert.
Even still, in most cases, the individual towns have fewer people than there are square kilometres in the area. Dornogovi itself has fourteen distinct towns, with the largest, Sainshand, having a mere 20, inhabitants as of , a density of 8. Still, this area is only SouthGobi province meanwhile is even less inhabited. With its 15 subdivisions, the largest, the regional capital of Dalanzadgad has a mere 12, inhabitants within its kilometre area.
Believe it or not, even a desert can have a whole lot of history to it. From its formation over millions of years to its human history, the Gobi Desert has experienced a lot and been a huge part of a lot. We might as well have a deep-dive into some of that. Of course we could really go back indefinitely with this. The land that makes up the Gobi desert was at one point the cosmic debris that floated about the universe in pre-Earth times.
God knows exactly how any of that came to be. Gobi holds the most important archaeological place where first discovered that Dinosaurs laid eggs. You may think the desert does not have snowfall.
It snows well enough to support its livestock and wild animals. Dunes of this area are covered with snow in winter. The Gobi is still growing as a result of climate change and desertification. Gobi camel herders are losing its grassland. The Desert has one of the most hospitable residents.
Nomads always lack of visitors. Therefore, always welcome visitors pleasantly and give you food and lodging if you need it. The animals living in the Desert are various. You can see bears, camels, golden eagles, gazelles, Kulan Equus hemionus and even snow leopards. Also, rodents include marmot and reptiles.
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