Hot Arid and SemiArid

Environment

Hot, Arid Environments

LO: To describe and explain the
location and characteristics of arid
environments.
Key question:
1. Where are arid environments and
why are they hot?

Describe the location of arid and semi-arid environments.

Causes of Aridity
(explain the location of arid
and semi-arid environment)
1. Global circulation of air : Hot arid
and semi arid deserts are found in
the tropics and subtropics due to
two large convective cells called
Hadley Cells that control the air
circulating between the equator and
the tropics in the northern and
southern hemispheres.
. Annotated diagram.

2. Rain shadows : prevent

moisture laden air arriving.
The air is forced to rise over
mountains and cools,
condenses forming cloud and
rain. eg the Atacama desert
(Andes acts as barrier
stopping SE trade winds from
Argentina and Atlantic.
.

3. Cold Ocean Currents

Cold ocean currents
bring cool dense air that
displaces warmer air over
the land. Whilst there is
no rain there is coastal
fog which brings some
moisture. (diagram)
. .

4. Prevailing
winds : In
many hot
arid areas
prevailing
winds are
blowing
from land
to sea and
carry little
moisture
(NE trade
wind from
N.Africa to
Atlantic

5. Continent
ality Many
deserts are
in the
middle of
continents
far away
from
rainbearing
winds.

Hot, Arid Environments

LO: To describe Canyons, Wadis and
salt pans
Key question:
1. How are the above landforms
created?

TASK: Read the poem about the Grand Canyon. What

geographic features of the Grand Canyon can you
identify from this source?
Glen Canyon Dam
by Wilfred A. Elders
(composed during the 2013 trip)
Time and a river flowing,
The river flowing free,
From snowy mountain summits,
To a balmy tropic sea.
The Colorado River,
A river running free,
It carved a stupendous canyon,
For all the word to see.
Six million winter snow falls,
The snowflakes falling free,
Six million years of spring melts,
Have rushed to meet the sea.
The Kaibab Plateau rising,
The river keeping pace?
The tidal delta growing,
An isostatic race?
As upward went the Plateau,

So downward cut the stream,

Its riffles and its rapids,
Down cut a mighty seam.
Each surge of the raging river,
Laid bare a rocky page,
Layer after layer eroding,
Each of an older age.
Time and a river flowing,
The river running free,
The book of time was opened,
To reveal earth's history.
Time and a river flowing,
Now concrete spillway drops,
Restrain the annual flooding,
And irrigate the crops.
Vulcan tried to dam the canyon,
Such conflict of water and fire!
Though the lavas dammed the canyon,
They fell to the river's ire.
Two billion years of Earth's time,
Or three score years and ten?
How mighty is the canyon,
How frail the works of men!
Time and a river flowing,
The river flowing free,
Past the ruins of former dam-sites,
After man has ceased to be!

Canyon An example of hot arid

landforms
A canyon has
3 main
characteristics
Narrow valley
Steep sides
Created by
river erosion

TASK: Describe how canyons like

the Grand Canyon are formed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktf73HNZZGY
Key ideas you may want to include:
Flash floods
Baked surface
River aims to get to baseline flow
Little vegetation
Layers of soft material between harder material
Abrasion the wearing away of the bed and bank by load.
Infiltrate water
Exogenous (exotic) river the source is in a wetter
environment but flows through a desert.

Canyon Landscape
TASK: Study the diagram of a canyon (see below). As you
watch the video (next slide) try to identify some of these.

Mesa
Butte

Steeped sides

Exogenous river

Canyon Landscape
TASK 1: Watch the video and try to identify some of
these.
http://
http://
www.youtube.com/watch?v=U www.youtube.com/watch?v=to4
T3hQlY4oek
Tz748s4U
Optional TASK 2:
Study the image of the
Grand Canyon Label a
mesa, butte and steep
sides.

TASK: Explain how wadis are

formed.

Wadi Degla in Egypt

Key ideas you may want to

include:
Ephermeral river
Braiding
Steep sides
Deposition
Dry valley
Transportation
Hot arid and semi arid

eferring to examples explain how wadis are forme

Use the
paragraph
grid to
evaluate the
formation
rize
a
m
Sum ation
rm
info ort but
sh
into ecise
pr
t s.
poin

Point: Wadis are

formed in
environments.

Evidence:
1)

Evidence:
2)

Evaluation and Analysis:

This means that,

the environment must be

.because.
Deposition happens
..because.

Link: Therefore, Wadis can only be found in

environments.

L/O - To evaluate the impacts and solutions to Climate

Change.

Progress check discussion TASK: Whats the

main difference between canyons and wadis?

Canyon

Wadi

TASK: Explain how salt pans are formed.

Etosha Salt Pan in Namibia. It can
even be seen from space. See
google earth link below.
https://
maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=etos
ha+pan&ie=UTF-8&ei=YgMSU5P0Fd
SrhAfOm4CAAw&sqi=2&ved=0CAgQ_
AUoAg

Key ideas you may want to include:

Repeated process
Ephermeral lakes
Rate of evaporation
Gentle sloping a relief (height of land)
Loose grains can be transported
Salt crystals
Deposition

DESERT FLUVIAL
PROCESSES/LANDFORMS
Fluvial Erosion - rare, intense flash floods.
steep slopes; steep-walled canyons; washes,
wadis, arroyos, canyons.
fluvial systems decrease in discharge
downstream
Fluvial Transportation - large amounts of rock and
sand moved short distances.
Fluvial Deposition where water slows on flat
playas material is deposited and sorted by size.
alluvial fans
rock debris in piedmont region

Arroyo

Virga

Joshua Tree N.P.

Slot
Canyon

The
Narrows,
Zion N.P.,
Utah

AEOLIAN (WIND)
PROCESSES/LANDFORMS
Aeolian Erosion - much less effective than fluvial
deflation - the movement of small particles
abrasion - polishes and etches exposed surfaces
Aeolian Transportation - moves nothing bigger
than sand
dust storms - can extend thousands of feet up
sand storms - only very near the surface
Aeolian Deposition - dunes form and shift where
winds and terrain combine to slow the winds or
block the movement of dunes.

Dust Storm, Senegal

Sand Storm

AEOLIAN (WIND)
PROCESSES/LANDFORMS

Pavement =

Types of Deserts
Erg - sea of sand
largest are in Sahara and Arabian Deserts,
sand covers about 20% of worlds deserts
vegetation rare
sand probably formed during more humid
climate

Death Valley, California

Types of Deserts
Reg - desert pavement of
pebbles and stones
all small materials and sand removed by
wind
may be very thin coating of stones

A gibber plain in Australia

Desert pavement

Hamada - bedrock predominates

Yardangs =

Canyons =

Salt pans =

Pediments =

Sand dunes =

Wadis

Lesson summary TASK: Classify these hot arid

features as either water or wind features.

Pediments shallow slopes formed at the

base of a cliff
Canyons deep gorges
Yardangs mushroom shaped features where
the softer rock features have been removed.
Sand dunes
Wadis
Pavements
Salt pans

This is an Alluvial fan

from looking at the

image can you imagine what causes this landform?

fans
l
a
i
Alluv also
can p in
lo
deve ter
wet s.
te
clima y?
Wh

Dwight Sutherland 2014