There are 5 types of deserts, Subtropical Deserts (Caused by high-pressure zones), Rain Shadow Deserts (Caused by mountains blocking rain), Coastal Deserts (Near cold ocean currents), Interior/Continental Deserts (Far from oceans), and Polar Deserts (Cold, dry regions with little precipitation)
This video by National Geographic presents four types of deserts—Subtropical, Semiarid, Coastal, and Polar. However, it’s important to note that the classification includes *Semiarid* as a climate zone, not a true formation type. Based on widely accepted geography sources, there are five main types of deserts: Subtropical, Rain Shadow, Coastal, Continental (Interior), and Polar—each defined by how they form, not just by climate.
Below I describe the World Major Deserts on each continent and what makes each one unique—so you can quickly understand them in under 5 minutes.
Deserts by World Continent
Arctic
- Arctic Desert is a cold desert. It covers the Arctic Ocean and surrounding areas; it’s icy, snowy, and gets very little rainfall.
North America
- Great Basin is a rain shadow desert. It’s located in the western United States of America, mostly Nevada; dry, high desert with cold winters and salty basins.
- Mojave is a subtropical desert. It’s located in southeastern California and home to Death Valley, one of the hottest places on Earth.
- Sonoran is a subtropical desert. It’s located in Arizona and northern Mexico, with tall cacti like the saguaro.
- Chihuahuan is a subtropical desert. It’s located mostly in Mexico, extends into Texas and New Mexico, with wide valleys and desert grasslands.
- Colorado Plateau is a semi-arid region. It covers parts of Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado; known for red rock canyons and mesas.
South America
- Atacama is a coastal desert. It’s located in northern Chile and is the driest desert on Earth; some areas have never recorded rain.
- Patagonian Desert is a cold desert. It’s located in southern Argentina; cold and dry, with strong winds and steppe grasslands.
- Sechura is a coastal desert. It’s located along the coast of Peru; very dry, with fog from the cold ocean current.
Europe
- Tabernas Desert is a semi-arid desert. It’s located in southern Spain; the only true desert in Europe, used for filming old Western movies.
Africa
- Sahara is a subtropical desert. It spans North Northern Africa; largest hot desert in the world, with sand dunes, rocky plains, and ancient trade routes.
- Namib is a coastal desert. It’s located along the coast of Namibia; oldest desert in the world, with orange sand dunes and rare desert-adapted animals.
- Kalahari is a semi-arid desert. It covers Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa; has shrubs, wildlife, and some rainfall.
- Danakil is a subtropical desert. It’s located in Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Djibouti; extremely hot with salt flats, volcanoes, and colorful acid springs.
- Libyan Desert is a subtropical desert. It’s located part of the eastern Sahara in Libya and Egypt; very dry and remote, with sand seas and few settlements.
Asia
- Karakum is a continental desert. It’s located in Turkmenistan; sandy desert with high temperatures and few water sources.
- Kyzylkum is a continental desert. It spans Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan; rocky and sandy with extreme heat and cold.
- Taklamakan is a continental desert. It’s located in western China; one of the largest sandy deserts, surrounded by mountains.
- Gobi is a cold desert. It’s located in northern China and southern Mongolia; cold with gravel plains and few sand dunes.
- Thar is a subtropical desert. It’s located in India and Pakistan; hot with shifting sand dunes and many small towns.
- Dasht-e Kavir is a continental desert. It’s located in central Iran; salty with marshes and sand, hard to cross.
- Dasht-e Lut is a continental desert. It’s located in southeast Iran; recorded the hottest land temperatures on Earth.
- Registan is a continental desert. It’s located in southern Afghanistan; mostly sandy with dunes and dry riverbeds.
Middle East (Asia)
- Syrian Desert is a subtropical desert. It covers parts of Syria, Iraq, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia; rocky and dry with ancient trade routes.
- Arabian Desert is a subtropical desert. It covers most of the Arabian Peninsula; vast sand deserts like Rub’ al Khali (Empty Quarter).
Australia
- Great Victoria is a subtropical desert. It’s the largest desert in Australia; dry and rocky with scrubland.
- Great Sandy is a subtropical desert. It’s located in northwest Australia; has sand dunes and sparse vegetation.
- Gibson is a subtropical desert. It’s located in central Australia; mix of sand and rocky areas, rarely visited.
- Simpson is a subtropical desert. It is known for long, red sand dunes and very low rainfall.
- Tanami is a subtropical desert. It’s located in northern Australia; remote with grasslands and Aboriginal land.
Antarctica
- Antarctic Desert is a cold desert. It covers the whole continent; world’s largest desert, cold and dry with almost no rainfall.
Deserts are places that get very little rain—not just hot places with sand. Some deserts are cold and icy, like Antarctica or the Arctic. Others are dry and rocky, like the Sahara or the Gobi. You can find deserts on every continent. Each desert has different landforms, weather, animals, and plants. Some are covered in sand dunes, others in salt flats or dry grasslands. One thing is sure—life in a desert is hard because of the extreme temperatures, dry air, and limited water and food.
Why Are Deserts Dry?
Deserts don’t get much rain because of where they are and how air, mountains, and oceans affect the weather.
- High-Pressure Zones: Many deserts are found near 30° north or south of the equator. In these zones, air sinks and warms up, which stops clouds from forming and blocks rainfall.
- Rain Shadows: Mountains can block moist air. When air rises over a mountain, it rains on one side, but the other side stays dry. This dry area is called a rain shadow.
- Cold Ocean Currents: In places near cold ocean water, like the Namib or Atacama, the air stays cool and holds less moisture, so very little rain falls.
- Far from Moisture: Some deserts are deep inside continents, far from oceans or lakes. Moist air doesn’t reach these places, so they stay dry.
What are the Top Deserts in the World
The top deserts in the world are led by the Antarctic Desert, which is the largest overall, covering around 14 million km² of icy, dry land. In second place is the Arctic Desert, with a size close to 13 million km², also extremely dry despite being covered in snow and ice. The Sahara Desert ranks third and is the largest hot desert, spanning about 9.2 million km² across North Africa. The Arabian Desert is the largest sand desert, with vast dunes including the Rub’ al Khali (Empty Quarter), one of the emptiest places on Earth. The Gobi Desert ranks fifth for its size and harsh conditions—cold, rocky, and historically important along the ancient Silk Road. The Kalahari Desert comes sixth, known not just for its semi-arid climate but also for its wildlife and cultural value across southern Africa.
Other deserts notable for their size, dryness, or cultural importance include the Patagonian Desert in Argentina, the largest in South America; the Great Victoria Desert, Australia’s biggest and home to unique desert ecosystems; the Atacama Desert in Chile, considered the driest non-polar desert on Earth; and the Thar Desert, a highly populated desert shared by India and Pakistan with rich cultural and historical significance.
Sources: Deserts of the World