Thar desert: photo, fauna. Where is the Tar desert?

Today, many tourists and travelers prefer to rest in India, which is understandable. After all, one of the most popular attractions of nature is the magnificent desert Tar, which occupies the territory of the north-west of India (Rajasthan and others) and southeast of Pakistan. It is one of the most densely populated living creatures of similar natural systems around the globe.

About where the Tar desert is located, its unique features, a diverse animal and plant world, you can find out by reading this article.

general information

The great desert got its name, according to one version, from the word Tahl, which means in the local dialect of the "sand dune ridge". Tar represents the man-made unique corner of the Earth. It is not the result of natural phenomena.

The Tar desert emerged as a consequence of the centuries-old, unfortunately, irrational and improper conduct of people's agricultural activities, from the time of the ancient civilizations of the Indus to today.

Desert Tar: photo, location, description

Tar is also called the Great Indian Desert. In the states of Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Punjab, most of it extends. Residents of Pakistan call the desert in their own way - "Cholistan".

The total area of the desert is more than 300 thousand square meters. Kilometers, the length of the length - 800 kilometers, the width - 485. Between several ridges in these places even have small lakes. Sometimes sandstorms occur in this arid region. Tar is the only large desert in India.

From the north-west side it is confined to the Sutlej River, to the east by the Aravalli Mountains, to the south by the Kach Rann saline, and from the west by the famous Indus River.

Approximately half of the surface of these places is represented by stony rocks, the rest is sandstones with barkhans and dunes. Romantic and attractive for its unusual desert Tar.

Animal world

This amazing place has not quite a mild climate. But, despite this, there is a fairly dynamic and lively nature. This is one of the most densely populated deserts.

Here lives a great many species of plants and animals that have managed to adapt to fairly severe environmental and climatic conditions of residence.

The Thar Desert is located in a unique and unique place where the most diverse and enduring living beings can survive.

Among the numerous mammals here are the following species of animals: Indian gazelle , fox, jackals, desert cats, antelope nilgau and reed cat. These species are widely distributed in the homonymous national park. This natural corner provides excellent natural conditions for the living and survival of various species of lizards, desert rats, snakes and other living things.

In many areas of the park, the presence of a rather unusual animal has become quite normal and habitual. Desert Tar - the habitat of the oldest lizards with unprecedented in our days prickly tails. The most common vermin here are vipers, sand boas and rat snakes.

Vegetable world

Just like animals, desert plants perfectly survive in the Indian desert, adapting to rather difficult natural conditions. The leaves of these plants are able to decrease in size in order to minimize the evaporation of moisture from the surface.

Most of the representatives of the local flora do not have leaves at all - only stems with very small leaves grow, which contributes to the saving of life-giving water. Such tricks allow perennial plants to withstand long enough dry periods.

Climate

The Tar desert has a subtropical continental climate. Most of the precipitation in these places falls from July to September (during the summer monsoon), and from May to June very often there are dust storms.

Survival Mechanisms

Most desert creatures have developed their own ways of surviving under similar conditions.

They reduce activity during the hot period: they hide in the sand or in the liquid shadow of small plants. In addition, in these places, despite the extreme temperature of the air and the hot surface of the earth, the animal, buried in the sand only a few centimeters, feels comfortable enough even on the hottest day.

Many of the inhabitants of the national park (foxes, lizards, cats, snakes, etc.) live in burrows. And the peak of their activity is at the earliest hours or during a drop in temperature, when the sun begins to set.

There are animals, such as a gazelle, which, because of their size, can not hide from the scorching heat either in the hole or in the shade. But they are able to withstand a rise in body temperature above normal to seven degrees, without any complications for health. These animals can live without water for several days, eating only green plants and getting from the leaves of the missing moisture.

Geological Aspects of Origin

The Thar Desert is also interesting and curious from the geological point of view. There are suggestions that the geographic object is located in the place where the sea of the Triassic period once existed. It disappeared, having existed for 25 million years, and instead of it there were only petrified fragments of fauna and flora that were found in rock formations of many areas of the desert.

In a few million years, this region once again became a sea. In the sandstones and limestones in the Jaisalmer area, fossils of ammonites, preserved from those ancient times, were found. In the Cretaceous (lower) in this area, there were lush forests. At the very end of the Cretaceous and at the beginning of the Cenozoic period (63 million years ago), the sea again seized these areas. Accumulated at the bottom of an ancient natural reservoir, the remains of living beings and their subsequent slow decomposition are the basis for the formation of hydrocarbons (in particular oil) and gas in the region.

There is a very curious village in the Tar-Akal desert. The fossilized trees preserved in its surroundings and near Jaisalmer are fragments of ferns and forests that flourished here at the beginning of the Jurassic period (about 180 million years ago) as the main vegetation. To date, approximately 25 fossilized tree trunks are represented in the park of the oldest fossils in Akal. The largest tree here, judging by the finds, had a height of about 7 meters.

Conclusion

Amazing, saturated with the mystical spirit and wisdom of the East, India attracts numerous travelers from all corners of the globe. This country is very famous not only for cultural heritage, rich national and religious traditions, magnificent, unique cuisine, but also beautiful, original nature, a significant part of which is the above-described Indian desert.

Thus, making a journey through India and, in particular, through the amazing desert, watching its unique inhabitants and peculiar vegetation, admiring its huge stretches of sandy expanses for many kilometers, one should not forget that it is necessary to be very sensitive and careful about the world around us, Sincerely love and cherish it.