00:05Everyone knows that deserts are dry places.
00:08Compared to most areas, they get very little rain or snow.
00:13Most deserts get less than 10 inches of rain a year.
00:16Even though deserts are very dry, they are perfect homes for some plants and animals.
00:23Desert biomes can be found all over the world.
00:26They cover about one-fifth of Earth's surface.
00:30Areas in a biome have a similar environment.
00:34Some biomes are dry while other biomes get more rain.
00:40Deserts have extreme temperatures and little water.
00:43This makes them tough places for most plants to live.
00:47Plants that are able to grow in deserts are adapted to desert environments.
00:51They can live with very little water for long periods of time.
00:58The extreme environment of desert biomes is too harsh for most animals.
01:03However, some animals are able to live there.
01:07As with desert plants, these animals can survive with a very limited supply of water.
01:14Deserts have very little topsoil.
01:16Most plants need topsoil to survive.
01:20Topsoil is made up of decayed plants and animals.
01:23When something decays, it rots and crumbles into tiny pieces.
01:28Compared to other biomes, desert biomes do not have many plants and animals to decay.
01:35Many deserts have very hot temperatures.
01:39These deserts are known as hot deserts.
01:41The Sahara is the largest hot desert in the world.
01:45People that travel through this desert must bring their own water.
01:51Sometimes powerful winds blow through desert biomes.
01:55When wind picks up sand and throws it around, it is called a sandstorm.
02:00Sandstorms only happen in areas where the sand is very dry and doesn't stick together.
02:07One type of plant that grows well in hot desert biomes is the cactus.
02:11A cactus is able to collect water quickly when it rains.
02:15A cactus is also able to store water for a long time.
02:20This makes a desert biome an ideal place for a cactus to grow.
02:26When rain comes to hot desert biomes, cactus plants and other desert plants can bloom.
02:31Many kinds of cactus plants have beautiful flowers.
02:36Desert wildflowers also bloom after it rains.
02:39When plants in a desert bloom, it is a very beautiful sight.
02:45Camels are some of the most well-known desert animals.
02:49Once camels drink water, they can go a long time without another drink.
02:53That is why people that travel through hot deserts often ride on camels.
03:00Small animals also live in hot desert biomes.
03:03These include snakes, mice, rats, rabbits, and desert foxes.
03:07Some desert creatures, such as snakes and desert foxes, eat other creatures.
03:12Other animals, such as desert rabbits, live by eating plants.
03:18Many kinds of birds live in desert biomes.
03:21Some desert birds are predators or birds of prey.
03:25Hawks, eagles, and owls are birds that hunt other animals for food.
03:29Some desert birds live by eating seeds, insects, and other things.
03:33Most of these birds are smaller than birds of prey.
03:37To save energy, some desert birds run rather than fly to catch their food.
03:43Since ancient times, people have lived in desert and semi-desert biomes.
03:48People in deserts must often move from place to place to find what they need.
03:53These people are known as nomads.
03:55Many nomads use camels to move their belongings from place to place.
04:01When the sun sets in the desert, the temperature drops.
04:05Even though many deserts are hot in the daytime, they often become cold at night.
04:10The heat from the sun does not stay close to the earth at night.
04:14As the heat rises into the night sky, the land gets colder.
04:20People in the desert often have wonderful views of the stars.
04:24This is because the air is very dry.
04:27The drier the air is, the better the view of the night sky.
04:33Some desert biomes are very cold.
04:36Most of Antarctica is a very cold polar desert.
04:39It covers over 5 million square miles and is the largest desert biome in the world.
04:46Like hot deserts, cold or frozen deserts get very little rain or snow.
04:52Antarctica is made up of snow, ice and rock.
04:56Much of the ice there has been frozen for thousands of years.
04:59Scientists have set up research stations to study this cold desert biome.
05:06Penguins, seals and other animals live on the Antarctic coast for part of the year.
05:11They eat mostly fish and other food they find in the ocean.
05:15The land along the Antarctic coast is sometimes classified as a tundra biome.
05:20Like cold deserts, tundra biomes are cold and receive little rain or snow.
05:27Compared to other regions of the world, Antarctica has very few plants.
05:32Antarctic hair grass and Antarctic pearlwort are able to grow in parts of Antarctica.
05:38Some kinds of moss, lichen and other fungi also grow there.
05:42These life forms are made to survive in Antarctica's extremely dry and cold climate.
05:49Coastal deserts are another type of desert biome.
05:52Even though they are near water, coastal desert biomes do not get much rain.
05:58Coastal desert biomes are often long and narrow strips of land.
06:02Baja California is one place that has a coastal desert.
06:06Baja California is located in western Mexico, just under the state of California.
06:13Baja California has a range of biomes.
06:16The coastal desert biome is located on the west coast, between the ocean and the mountains.
06:24Even though desert biome environments can be extreme, people still like to visit them.
06:30Desert biomes are very different places than the biomes most people live in.
06:35That is one thing that makes them so special.
06:38The Grand Canyon is one of the world's most popular desert tourist attractions.
06:42Every year, over 6 million people visit this famous desert biome.
06:49When people look into the Grand Canyon, they can see multicolored layers of rocks.
06:54Those layers were formed millions of years ago.
06:59Some deserts have very colorful sand.
07:01Many people visit the Painted Desert every year.
07:06It is located in Arizona, near the Grand Canyon.
07:12While deserts are beautiful places to visit, most people do not want to live in them.
07:17However, people can enjoy desert beauty in other ways.
07:21One way people enjoy desert beauty is by raising cactus plants.
07:26With proper care, cactus plants can live for many years.
07:31For many years, most people thought of deserts as places where few things lived.
07:36However, as scientists learned more about desert biomes, they found they are full of life.
07:41By studying these plants and animals, scientists have learned much about their abilities to survive.
07:47By studying these plants,
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