Page 1 of 9
European Journal of Business &
Social Sciences
Available at https://ejbss.org/
ISSN: 2235-767X
Volume 07 Issue 01
January 2019
Available online: https://ejbss.org/ P a g e | 74
A Study on the Geographical Features of the
Thar Desert
Sandeep Kumar
M.sc geography
ABSTRACT
The Thar Desert is found in Indian sub-continental in the north-west
region. This desert naturally forms a boundary between India and
Pakistan where nearly 85% of its area comes in India and rest of the area
comes in Pakistan. It comes at the 17th position among all the deserts of
the world. Its approximate area is estimated to be 2,00000 km2 where an
area of 1,70000 km2 is covered in India whereas the remaining 30,000
km2 area is covered in Pakistan.
The Thar Desert covers the 4.56% of the total geographic area of India. Its
about 60% of the area is found in Rajasthan which is further extended to
other states like Gujarat and Punjab. This desert is almost very dry
containing sand dunes. The current paper highlights the geographical
features of the Thar Desert.
KEYWORDS:
Thar, Desert, Sand
Page 2 of 9
European Journal of Business &
Social Sciences
Available at https://ejbss.org/
ISSN: 2235-767X
Volume 07 Issue 01
January 2019
Available online: https://ejbss.org/ P a g e | 75
INTRODUCTION
Extremely hot climate is found during the summer season where
temperature is observed to be nearly 50 degree in the Thar Desert. On
the other hand, the temperature of this desert is very low up to zero
degree during the winter season. Hence, the climate of the Thar Desert is
very extreme where it is very difficult for the human beings to survive.
Here, the nature of the soil is almost sandy and sand storms are often
observed there for most of the time. During the summer season, the
weather of this desert is very hot. Only small living organisms are found
there.
The presence of water is very rare in this desert as there is no sign of
rainfall in this region. In the north-east, the Thar Desert is extended
between the Aravalli Hills. Strong winds are observed in this part of the
country and mobility in the sand is found due to these strong winds.
In the Thar Desert, there is only one river nearby i.e. Luni river. The
level of rainfall is also very limited here as only 500 mm of raining is
observed every year which falls during the season of Monsoon i.e. July to
September.
There are some lakes in the Thar Desert. Some of these lakes include
Sambhar, Didwana and Phalodi that are found in Rajasthan and Khara
ghoda lake is in Gujarat region. The water of all these lakes is observed
Page 3 of 9
European Journal of Business &
Social Sciences
Available at https://ejbss.org/
ISSN: 2235-767X
Volume 07 Issue 01
January 2019
Available online: https://ejbss.org/ P a g e | 76
to be salty. All of these lakes remain dried in most of the months of the
year as only during the Monsoon period, these lakes are filled with water
due to rainfalls.
In the Thar Desert, the erosion of wind is observed as much of the soil of
this desert is sandy. Here, about 23 species of the lizards and 25 species
of the snakes are found. Other wildlife animals like Chinkara and Black
Bucks are found in the Thar Desert. Here, the conversion of the grass
land into the crop land is very difficult as there is heavy shortage of
water in this region.
The population density in the Thar region is observed to be approximate
83 people per km2. Nearly 40% of the total population of Rajasthan lives
in the Thar Desert. The main occupation of the people living in this
desert is agriculture and animal husbandry.Two cities of Rajasthan i.e.
Bikaner and Jaisalmer completely comes under this Thar Desert.
