Taklamakan Desert
The Taklamakan Desert (TAK-lə-mə-KAN) is a desert in Central Asia. It is located within the Tarim Basin, a large geographic formation in Southern Xinjiang, China.
The Taklamakan Desert has an area of 337,000 km2 (130,000 sq mi), making it slightly smaller than Germany.
The desert is crossed at its northern and at its southern edges by two branches of the Silk Road; these routes were used by travelers to avoid the arid wasteland of the desert.[1] It ranks 15th in size in a ranking of the world's largest deserts.[2] Dunes range in height from 60 feet (18 m) up to as much as 300 feet (91 m). The few breaks in this sea of sand are small patches of alluvial clay. Generally, the steeper sides of the dunes face away from the prevailing winds.[3] The Taklamakan, as with all of Outer China, is a land of extremes, with hot summers and cold winters. Sandstorms are likely and dangerous. In many cases, permanent settlement is only by oases.
Further reading
Taklamakan Desert, Wikipedia
Notes
- ↑ Ban, Paul G. (2000). The Atlas of World Archeology
. New York: Check mark Books. pp. 134&n dash; 135.
- ↑ "The World's Largest Desert". geology.com. Archived from the original on August 17, 2007. Retrieved August 22, 2007.
- ↑ Chisholm 1911, pp. 365–366.