Desert Hotlist ~ First Grade
Use these links to find answers to your animal research questions.

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Listen to the desert animals Desert Information Types of Deserts Desert Video Desert Insects Desert Web Cam Chihuahuan Desert Field Guide Video The El Paso Cactus and Rock Club Photo Show click on links on the left Cactus Museum

Desert Animals* from Enchanted Learning Desert Animal Webquest with Audio from Blattman ES Big Bend National Park Desert USA Animals Blue Planet Desert Animals Tramline be sure to take fieldtrip Sonoran Desert Fact Sheet Big Bend Photos Desert Biomes Welcome to the Desert Sonoran Desert scroll down in the window on the left Diurnal & Nocturnal scroll to bottom of page The Chihuahuan Desert click on the baby cactus at the top of the page Day & Night Life Around A Saguaro Cactus scroll to bottom of page Chihuahuan Desert Virtual Tour Audio click Forward button at bottom of page Desert Cactus Plants Barrel Cactus Organ Pipe Prickly Pear

 

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Desert Animals
used for class research

Bat	Barn Owl	Coyote
Elf Owl	Horned Lizard	Desert Tortoise
Hawk	Desert Iguana	Jack Rabbit
Kangaroo Rat	Kit Fox	Rattlesnake
Roadrunner	Scorpion	Tarantula
White-Tailed Deer

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Desert Facts

Deserts make up about 20% of the earth's land. Deserts are a brutal environment where there is no more than 12 inches of precipitation per year. When most people think of desert, they think of sand,~ miles and miles of sand. However, the desert is so much more than endless miles of sand. The desert is filled with brilliant colors and teaming with unique plants and animals.

Life in the desert is not easy for plants, animals, and people where temperatures are extreme. The blistering sun scorches the earth during the day and temperatures can reach upwards of 100 degrees F. At night when the temperature plunges, the desert becomes a cold bone chilling environment. Temperatures can drop well below freezing. Deserts are very dry regions with limited plant and animal life.

Different animals live in the different types of deserts of the world. The people and animals of the deserts have learned to adapt to the difficult conditions~the extreme temperatures, lack of water, and the shortage of food. There are not many large animals in the desert. Many desert animals are nocturnal (sleep during the day and awake at night) to escape the heat of the day. These animals burrow beneath the rock or hide in the shade during the day, coming out at night to feed. Many desert animals do not require water at all; they get all the water they need from their food. Most desert animals are small; therefore they need only small amounts of food or water.


Even though deserts are found throughout the world, we will look mainly at the deserts in Texas and the United States. The deserts in the United States cover the southwestern area of the country. These are the deserts on the United States: Chihuahuan Desert, Great Basin Desert, Mojave Desert, Sonoran Desert.

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Types of Deserts There are two types of deserts - hot and cold. They receive only 10 inches of precipitation (rain or snow)or less a year. Main form of precipitation in a cold desert is snow -- but only ten inches or less per year. Cold deserts receive it’s precipitation mainly from snow during the winter. The winters are long and cold. Summers are warm (not hot) and shorter. The only cold desert in the United States is the Great Basin located in the Western United States. The main form of precipitation in a hot desert is rain. The winters are mild and extremely hot in the summer. Temperatures can reach up to 111° F during the summer. There are three hot desert in the United States: Chihuahuan, Mojave, and Sonoran. Name & Type Location Special Fact Chihuahuan- Hot Desert Southwest USA (Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas) & North Central Mexico Largest in North America. Mojave- Hot Desert Southwest USA (Arizona, California, and Nevada) Death Valley is here. Sonoran- Hot Desert Southwest USA (Arizona and California) & parts of Mexico More rain than other deserts. Great Basin- Cold Desert Western USA (Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, and Utah) Great Salt Lake is here. back to top

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rolling script by Dynamic Drive.
clipart from Microsoft Clipart
pictures from National Park Service & Desert USA
other clip art from http://www.grsites.com/webgraphics/

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