The Gobi Desert

In the eastern part of central Asia, extending into Mongolia and western China, is the great Gobi Desert—part of a chain of deserts, including the Kara-Kum, the Kyzyl-Kum, the Takla Makan, the Alashan, and the Ordos. The name "Gobi" is a Mongolian word meaning "waterless place."

Surrounded by mountains—the Pamirs in the west, the Great Kingan in the east, the Altai, Khangai, and Yablonoi in the north, and the Nan Shan in the south—the Gobi is a high, barren, gravelly plain where few grasses grow. It is so flat that a person can see for miles in any direction

Except for the polar deserts, the Gobi is the coldest because of its altitude, which is about 3,000 feet (900 meters) in the east and about 5,000 feet (1,500 meters) in the south and west. Also, arctic winds blow down from the north...