Thar desert

Why in news?

• A study undertaken as part of an assessment of the environmentally sensitive areas within the framework of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) indicates that Thar desert expanding fast with land degradation.

More about the news:

• Along with the gradual destruction of the Aravali ranges, the mighty Thar desert in western Rajasthan is expanding fast because of migration of people, changes in the rainfall pattern, spread of sand dunes and unscientific plantation drives.
• The degradation of land is posing a threat to the desert ecology, while the climate change has contributed to the spread of arid region.

About Thar desert:

• It is the world's 20th largest desert, and the world's 9th largest hot subtropical desert.
• About 85% of the Thar Desert is located within India and the remaining 15% in Pakistan.
• It is an arid region that forms a natural boundary between India and Pakistan.
• More than 60% of the desert lies in the state of Rajasthan, and it extends into the states of Gujarat, Punjab and Haryana, and the Pakistani province of Sindh.
• The surface consists of aeolian (wind-deposited) sand that has accumulated over the past 1.8 million years.
• The desert presents an undulating surface, with high and low sand dunes separated by sandy plains and low barren hills, or bhakars, which rise abruptly from the surrounding plains.
  • Barchan, also spelled Barkhan, crescent-shaped sand dune produced by the action of wind predominately from one direction.
  • One of the commonest types of dunes, it occurs in sandy deserts all over the world.

Climate:

• The subtropical desert climate there results from persistent high pressure and subsidence at that latitude.
• The prevailing southwest monsoon winds that bring rain to much of the subcontinent in summer tend to bypass the Thar to the east.
• The desert comprises a very dry part, the Marusthali region in the west, and a semidesert region in the east with fewer sand dunes and slightly more precipitation.

Lakes and Rivers:

• Several saline lake beds, locally known as dhands, are scattered throughout the region. It includes include the Sambhar, Kuchaman, Didwana, Pachpadra, and Phalodi in Rajasthan and Kharaghoda in Gujarat.
• The Luni River is the only river in the desert.
• The Indira Gandhi Canal, the longest canal of India starts from the Harike Barrage in Punjab and terminates in irrigation facilities in the Thar Desert.

Flora and Fauna:

• The region produces herbaceous plants like cactus, neem, khejri, acacia nilotica among others.
• The desert also houses the residents of the wild like the leopard, the Asiatic wild cat, chousingha, chinkara, Bengal desert fox, Blackbuck, great Indian bustard etc.

Protected areas:

• The Desert National Park  in Rajasthan
• The Tal Chhapar Sanctuary, Rajasthan

Add ons:

• Oil India Limited discovered natural gas in 1988 in the Jaisalmer basin

PRACTICE QUESTION:

Consider the following statements:

1. The Indira Gandhi Canal irrigates parts of Thar desert for agricultural purposes.

2. Thar desert is the largest desert in Asia after Gobi desert.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Answer