Taklamakan Desert Facts: Learn All About This Mystical Place

The Taklamakan desert is situated in central Asia, adjacent to the Gobi desert.

This is a very sandy desert. It is located in the central area of the Tarim Basin in the Uygur autonomous region of Xinjiang province of northwest China.

It is the largest desert in Central Asia. A sandy desert can be treacherous to travel through as such deserts have shifting sands.

The word 'makan' means a 'place' in Persian, but the origin of 'Takla' is unclear. One line of thinking is that it is derived from a Uygur word that means 'to leave alone' or 'to abandon.' Read together; the word roughly translates to 'place of no return', which gives a sinister touch to the desert.

With the silk road touching its north and south borders, the desert had gained a notorious reputation. During the golden age of the silk road, travelers described the Taklamakan desert as a dangerous and mysterious location.

Climate Of The Taklamakan Desert

Like in all deserts, the Taklamakan desert too, has an arid climate. This means the evaporation is more than the rainfall or precipitation.

The climate here is relatively warm and continental. Continental climate is seen in land-locked regions.

Land-locked regions are surrounded by land, these may be plateaus, plains, or mountains. As they do not have any water bodies nearby, their temperatures are usually extreme. If there are water bodies, they can help regulate the temperature of the land through the inland breeze.

The Taklamakan desert is situated in the rain-shadow region of the Himalayas, this is the reason why it has a cold desert climate. As the desert is near the Siberian north, extreme temperatures are recorded in winter, when temperatures touch -4 °F (-20 °C) in winter.

In the Chinese winter storms of 2008, the entire desert was reported to have been covered by a thin layer of snow almost 1.6 in (4 cm) in thickness.

In summer, the temperature touches 104 °F (40 °C). The temperature during the snowfall of the Chinese winter storm was -26.1 °C (-15 °F).

Since the Taklamakan desert is so far away from any substantial body of water, which could help bring down and maintain a fixed temperature, the desert experiences a wide diurnal temperature variation.

The precipitation or rainfall in the largest desert in Asia is almost minimal. It ranges from 38 mm (1.5 inches) per year in the west to 10 mm (0.4 inches) in the east.

Northwesterly and northerly winds blow over the Taklamakan desert in summer. They meet almost at the center of the desert, creating a complex air circulation system.

These unique air movements create shifting sand dunes. These shifting sand dunes are so much a characteristic of the Taklamakan desert. It is for this reason that the Taklamakan desert is regarded as the world's second-largest shifting sand desert.

The sand dunes have been known to reach a height of 99.67 meters (109 yards). In very rare instances, sand dunes have reached a whopping 299.9 meters (328 yards). Smaller sand dunes are more common and due to the constant wind, these may move as much as 149.9 meters (164 yards) in a year.

The surface sands become warm in spring. Then ascending currents develop and the north-easterly winds become strong.

During this time, hurricane-like dust storms fill the atmosphere with dust. The dust can go as high as 4000 meters (13,000 feet). Winds also blow from other directions, raising dust clouds into the air covering the Taklamakan desert in a cloak of dust throughout the year.

Animals In Taklamakan Desert

Like its vegetation, the fauna of the Taklamakan desert is also sparse. If there is any animal population, it is to be found only on the edges of the desert.

In the Taklamakan desert, we can find very few animal species. One such species is the Bactrian camel (Camelus ferus). These camels are large animals with an average height of 2.134 meters (7 feet).

The adult male in the species is larger than the adult female. Their coat color comes in two shades; dark brown or dirt gray.

Bactrian camels have long hair reaching 255 mm (0.255 meters), unlike other camel species. The hair is thick around the head, humps, neck, and tail regions. This thick coat of hair is shed when the season changes to summer.

They have a double row of eyelashes as protection against the harsh winds and dust storms. There is a lining of hair along the ear edges and their top lip is divided in two.

Their nostrils can close to protect them from sand and dust. An interesting feature of this camel is a groove that runs along with each nostril and ends at the divided top lip. This is to trap any water or extra moisture present in the air.

In the areas east of the Lop Nor lake, these camels are mostly found. The Arjin Shan Wild Camel Nature Reserve was established to protect and conserve these animals, which are thought to number around 500 in the wild.

A part of this nature reserve is in the higher elevation in the south, in the basins of Kunlun mountains. An equal number of camels can be found in the national park in the Gobi desert.

Wild camels used to roam over the Taklamakan desert up to the Hotan river in the early 19th century. But since then, their population has been confined to the eastern region of the desert.

Another species found in the Taklamakan desert is the Asian wild ass (Equus hemionus). They are sturdy but small animals. The color of them ranges from reddish-gray to yellow-gray. Their muzzle is white and so is the underbelly.

They have dark, short, erect manes and a darkish stripe from the mane down to the tail. The Asian wild ass has long, slender legs, short ears, and large hooves. It is a swift runner reaching speeds as high as 64.4 km per hour (40 miles per hour).

Most animals found in the Taklamakan desert are usually around the ancient river valley systems and deltas, where there is water and vegetation. These are located in the peripheral regions of the desert. Here you will find herds of gazelles and wild boars in the thickets of the river valley.

Carnivores found in this desert are the foxes and wolves. Tigers roamed the desert till the beginning of the 20th century. The Siberian deer inhabit the Tarim River valley.

Plant Life In Taklamakan Desert

The weather conditions of the desert are such that not much green cover is possible. The Taklamakan desert is best defined as a wasteland due to its harsh temperature and lack of rainfall.

Because of this, there is no cover of vegetation in the desert. As is the case of the fauna of the desert, its flora also flourishes along the edge of the desert, where the sand dunes meet deltas and river valleys.

Within the sand dunes, there are depressions where the water level is 10-15 feet (3-4 meters) below the surface. Thin thickets of Tamarisk, reeds and nitre bushes can all be found here. Due to the continually shifting sands, it is very difficult for any green cover to spread.

A number of plant species typical of river valleys are found in the Taklamakan desert like the Camelthorn, a kind of poplar called the Turanga poplar, Oleaster, a few species of Caltrop (Zygophyllaceae) and Saltworts, and the ubiquitous scrub.

Taklamakan Desert Location

The Taklamakan is the second largest shifting sand desert in the world and it is located in northwest China. The desert's area, if calculated, would be slightly less than the area of Germany.

The Taklamakan is bounded on the south by the Kunlun Mountains ranges. On the north is the Tian Shan ranges, also called the Celestial Mountains. On the west is the Pamir Mountains and the Gobi desert borders the desert in the east.

The desert stretches 960 km (600 miles) from west to east and its maximum width is 420 km (260 miles). The desert's elevation ranges from 2600-3300 ft (800-1000 m) above sea level in the east and north. The elevation is 3,900- 4,900 ft (1,200- 1,500 m) above sea level in the west and south.

The Lop Nur basin is in the east. Towards the south and west, between the desert and the mountains, is a sloping desert lowland deposited with pebbles.

The Taklamakan desert has a rich history because of the two silk routes of ancient times. The discovery of mummies and historical artifacts, and the grottoes where people wishing to lead a simple life used to live, adds to the mysticism of the desert.

These grottoes were home to hermits who were financed by rich merchants seeking their prayers for their caravans' safe transit through the desert on the silk route.

FAQs

Why is the Taklamakan Desert called the Sea of Death?

Another name for the Taklamakan desert is the 'Sea of Death' as it is a waterless death trap between the Tian Shan Mountains and the Kunlun Mountains. In the Uighur language, the place name literally translates to 'You can get in, but you will never come out.'

This region experiences an average rainfall of 0.4 inches (1cm). Miran and Gaochang are two oasis towns in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region, a part of the desert.

The Sea of Death has been used probably because of its vastness and absence of water. Sandstorms appear without any warning, and nighttime temperatures can drop to freezing.

What is significant about the Taklamakan desert?

It is the world's second-largest sand-shifting non-polar desert. It even experienced 1.5 inches (3.8cms) of snow in 2008.

It is a growing desert eating into neighboring villages as part of desertification. Of late, the desert has gained significance for its rich natural reserves of oil, oil gas, and groundwater on the northern edge of the desert.

The silk road is a predominant part of the desert. The silk road was 3976.8 miles (6400 km) long and was a connection between the east and the west.

It was also a major caravan route. By operating as a key channel for the interchange of ideas, the silk road played a critical part in the economic, social, and religious development of the two worlds.

The silk road ran along the northern and western edges of the desert. According to the Silk Road Foundation, Marco Polo and his brother, who were Venetian merchants, went along the southern route of the desert.

How old is the Taklamakan desert?

The desert is 4.5 million years old.

How hot is the Taklamakan desert?

The Taklamakan desert has a moderately warm climate which is predominantly continental in nature. Its maximum annual temperature is 102 °F (39 °C).

How long does it take to cross the Taklamakan desert?

The Taklamakan is 780 miles (1255.23 km) in diameter and takes 59 days to cross. The desert is shaped like a basin with all its sides protected by a ring of mountain ranges.

There are the Tian Shan mountains in the north, the Kunlun mountain ranges to the south-west, and the Altun mountains to the south. The Pamir mountains are to the west.

Together, these three form a kind of wind tunnel that prevents winds from escaping from the desert. The Chinese government has constructed two desert highways. This highway links the cities of Hotan on the southern edge of the desert and Luntai on the northern edge of the desert.

The other highway connects Bayingol to Ruoqiang and crosses the desert to the east. There is also a railway line that crosses the desert.

It is known as the Geku railway. It connects Golmund and Korla in western China.

Is there water in the Taklamakan desert?

With pitiable rainfalls, the desert had two oasis towns along the silk trade route. These oasis towns were watered by rains in the mountains. These towns were Kashgar on the northern route and Yarkand on the southern route. Of late, there has been a discovery of a reservoir of groundwater.