Thar Desert

The Thar Desert, also known as the Great Indian Desert, is a desert located in western India and southeastern Pakistan. It lies mostly in the Indian state of Rajasthan, and extends into the southern portion of Haryana and Punjab states and into northern Gujarat state. In Pakistan, the desert covers eastern Sind province and the southeastern portion of Pakistan's Punjab province. In Pakistan's Punjab province it is known as the Cholistan Desert. The Thar Desert is bounded on the northwest by the Sutlej River, on the east by the Aravalli Range, on the south by the salt marsh known as the Rann of Kutch, and on the west by the Indus River.

Area and extent

Definitions of the desert's area and extent differ somewhat, depending on how much of the transitional thorn scrub forest zone is included. According to the World Wildlife Fund, the desert covers an area of 238,700 square kilometers (92,200 square miles), and the Northwestern thorn scrub forests cover another 488,300 square kilometres (188,500 square miles).

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Another source give the area of the Thar Desert as 446,000 km² extending 805 km (about 500 mi) long and about 485 km (about 300 mi) wide, with 208,110 square kilometres in India. Of the Indian portion, 61% falls in Rajasthan, 20% in Gujarat and 9% in Punjab and Haryana combined. The greater portion lies in Rajasthan, covering about three-fifths of the total geographical area of the state.

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The Indian Desert is said to be extending at a rate of ½ km per year towards Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh.

Related Topics:
Uttar Pradesh - Madhya Pradesh

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