When most people think of deserts, they picture endless sand dunes baking under a scorching sun. But the world's two largest deserts are actually polar ice sheets. A desert is defined by low precipitation -- less than 250mm per year -- not by heat. Here are the 15 largest deserts on Earth, ranked by total area.
Top 15 Largest Deserts by Area
| Rank | Desert | Area (km²) | Type | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Antarctic Desert | 14,200,000 | Cold | Antarctica |
| 2 | Arctic Desert | 13,985,000 | Cold | Arctic region |
| 3 | Sahara Desert | 9,200,000 | Hot | North Africa |
| 4 | Arabian Desert | 2,330,000 | Hot | Middle East |
| 5 | Gobi Desert | 1,295,000 | Cold | China/Mongolia |
| 6 | Kalahari Desert | 900,000 | Hot | Southern Africa |
| 7 | Patagonian Desert | 673,000 | Cold | Argentina |
| 8 | Great Victoria Desert | 647,000 | Hot | Australia |
| 9 | Syrian Desert | 500,000 | Hot | Middle East |
| 10 | Great Basin Desert | 492,000 | Cold | United States |
| 11 | Chihuahuan Desert | 453,000 | Hot | Mexico/USA |
| 12 | Karakum Desert | 350,000 | Cold | Turkmenistan |
| 13 | Colorado Plateau | 337,000 | Cold | United States |
| 14 | Sonoran Desert | 310,000 | Hot | USA/Mexico |
| 15 | Kyzylkum Desert | 298,000 | Cold | Central Asia |
Hot Deserts vs Cold Deserts
Deserts are classified into two broad types: hot deserts and cold deserts. Hot deserts like the Sahara experience extreme daytime temperatures that can exceed 50°C (122°F) but drop sharply at night. They are typically found between 15° and 30° latitude and are shaped by subtropical high-pressure systems that suppress rainfall.
Cold deserts, including the Antarctic and Arctic deserts, receive their meager precipitation mostly as snow. The Gobi Desert in Mongolia is a cold desert where winter temperatures plunge to -40°C (-40°F), yet summers can reach 45°C (113°F). Of the top 15 deserts, 8 are cold deserts and 7 are hot deserts, challenging the common misconception that all deserts are hot.
The Antarctic Desert: Earth's Largest
Antarctica receives an average of only 50mm of precipitation per year along its interior, making it the driest continent on Earth. Despite holding about 70% of the world's fresh water (locked in ice), it qualifies as a desert due to its extremely low precipitation. Some valleys in Antarctica, known as the McMurdo Dry Valleys, have not seen rain for nearly 2 million years, making them the driest places on the planet.
The Sahara: King of Hot Deserts
The Sahara is the world's largest hot desert and the third-largest overall, covering roughly the same area as the entire United States or China. It stretches across 11 African countries from the Atlantic coast to the Red Sea. Despite its barren reputation, the Sahara supports about 2.5 million people, mainly around oases and along the Nile. The desert has not always been dry -- around 5,000 to 11,000 years ago during the "Green Sahara" period, it was covered with lakes, rivers, and lush vegetation.
Desert Extremes
Hottest recorded temperature: Death Valley, California, in the Sonoran Desert region, holds the world record at 56.7°C (134°F), recorded on July 10, 1913. Driest place: The Atacama Desert in Chile (not large enough for the top 15) averages less than 1mm of rain per year in some areas. Largest sand sea: The Rub' al Khali (Empty Quarter) within the Arabian Desert covers 650,000 km² and is the world's largest continuous sand body.
Key Facts
- The two largest deserts on Earth are polar -- Antarctic and Arctic.
- The Sahara (9.2 million km²) is the largest hot desert and third-largest overall.
- Deserts cover about one-third of Earth's land surface.
- The Gobi Desert grows by approximately 3,600 km² per year due to desertification.
- Antarctica's McMurdo Dry Valleys haven't seen rain in nearly 2 million years.
- Only about 25% of the Sahara is sandy -- the rest is rocky plateaus and gravel plains.
Fun Facts
- Snow falls in the Sahara Desert roughly once every few years -- it was last recorded in January 2022 in the Algerian town of Ain Sefra.
- The Sahara was green and covered with lakes as recently as 5,000 years ago.
- The Antarctic ice sheet is so heavy it has pushed the bedrock beneath it below sea level.
- The Gobi Desert spans two countries and is the source of many important dinosaur fossil discoveries.
- Australia has 10 named deserts that together cover about 18% of the continent.
Final Thoughts
The world's largest deserts reveal a geography far more varied than sand dunes and scorching heat. From the frozen expanses of Antarctica to the shifting sands of the Sahara, deserts cover a third of the planet's land and are among its most extreme environments. Climate change and human activity are causing many deserts to expand through desertification, making desert geography increasingly important for understanding our planet's future.
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