Ordos Desert

Ordos Desert
source
Desert name	Ordos Desert
Location	China, Inner Mongolia
Area	90,000 km²
Coordinates	39°N 109°E

Ordos Desert. The Ordos Desert is a desert region located in China, specifically in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. It is situated near the Yellow River and is bounded by the Great Wall of China to the north and the Loess Plateau to the south, with the Kubuqi Desert to the west and the Huang He river to the east, near the cities of Baotou and Hohhot. The desert is also close to other notable locations, including the Tengger Desert, Badain Jaran Desert, and the Gobi Desert, with the Mongolian People's Republic to the north.

Geography

The Ordos Desert covers an area of approximately 90,000 square kilometers, making it one of the largest deserts in China. It is situated in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, near the cities of Dongsheng and Ejin Horo Banner, and is bounded by the Yellow River to the south and the Great Wall of China to the north, with the Kubuqi Desert to the west and the Huang He river to the east. The desert is also close to other notable locations, including the Tengger Desert, Badain Jaran Desert, and the Gobi Desert, with the Mongolian People's Republic to the north, near the cities of Ulaanbaatar and Hohhot. The Ordos Desert is near the Helan Mountains and the Langshan Mountains, with the Yellow River flowing through the Ordos City and the Sanmenxia Dam.

Climate

The Ordos Desert has a continental climate with cold winters and warm summers, similar to the Gobi Desert and the Mongolian People's Republic. The desert experiences low humidity and limited precipitation, with an average annual rainfall of around 200-300 millimeters, similar to the Kubuqi Desert and the Badain Jaran Desert. The temperature in the Ordos Desert can fluctuate greatly, with extremely cold temperatures in the winter and hot temperatures in the summer, near the cities of Baotou and Hohhot, with the Yellow River flowing through the Ordos City. The desert is also influenced by the East Asian monsoon and the Siberian High, with the Mongolian People's Republic to the north, near the cities of Ulaanbaatar and Erenhot.

Geology

The Ordos Desert is located in the Ordos Basin, which is a large sedimentary basin that covers an area of over 250,000 square kilometers, near the cities of Yinchuan and Lanzhou. The basin is filled with sedimentary rocks, including sandstone, shale, and limestone, which were deposited during the Paleozoic Era and the Mesozoic Era, similar to the Tarim Basin and the Qaidam Basin. The Ordos Desert is also home to several important geological formations, including the Ordos Group and the Shanxi Formation, with the Helan Mountains and the Langshan Mountains to the north, near the cities of Baotou and Hohhot. The desert is rich in natural resources, including coal, iron ore, and rare earth elements, with the China National Petroleum Corporation and the Shenhua Group operating in the region.

Flora and Fauna

The Ordos Desert is home to a variety of unique and adapted plant and animal species, including the Bactrian camel, Przewalski's horse, and the Mongolian gazelle, which are also found in the Gobi Desert and the Mongolian People's Republic. The desert is also home to several important bird species, including the Demoiselle crane and the Siberian crane, with the Yellow River flowing through the Ordos City and the Sanmenxia Dam. The flora in the Ordos Desert is limited, but includes species such as the Saxaul tree and the Nitraria shrub, which are also found in the Kubuqi Desert and the Badain Jaran Desert, with the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Inner Mongolia University conducting research in the region. The Ordos Desert is also home to several important nature reserves, including the Ordos Nature Reserve and the Ejin Horo Nature Reserve, with the World Wildlife Fund and the International Union for Conservation of Nature supporting conservation efforts.

Human History

The Ordos Desert has a long and rich human history, with evidence of human habitation dating back to the Paleolithic Era, similar to the Gobi Desert and the Mongolian People's Republic. The desert was an important location for several ancient cultures, including the Xiongnu and the Mongol Empire, with the Genghis Khan and the Kublai Khan ruling over the region. The Ordos Desert was also an important location for the Silk Road, with the Marco Polo and the Xuanzang traveling through the region, near the cities of Baotou and Hohhot. Today, the Ordos Desert is home to several important cities, including Ordos City and Baotou, with the China National Petroleum Corporation and the Shenhua Group operating in the region, near the Yellow River and the Great Wall of China. The desert is also an important location for coal mining and rare earth element extraction, with the Inner Mongolia University and the Chinese Academy of Sciences conducting research in the region. Category:Deserts of Asia