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The average annual precipitation in low latitude deserts is less than 250 mm. Relative humidity is very low – only 10% to 30% in interior locations, and even the dewpoints are typically very low, often being well below the freezing mark. Some deserts do not have rainfall all year round, they are located far from the ocean.
Most calendar-based partitions use a four-season model to demarcate the warmest and coldest seasons, which are further separated by two intermediate seasons. Calendar-based reckoning defines the seasons in relative rather than absolute terms, so the coldest quarter-year is considered winter even if floral activity is regularly observed during ...
Cold deserts, sometimes known as temperate deserts, occur at higher latitudes than hot deserts, and the aridity is caused by the dryness of the air. Some cold deserts are far from the ocean and others are separated by mountain ranges from the sea, and in both cases, there is insufficient moisture in the air to cause much precipitation.
The climate is tropical, oceanic, and semi-arid, influenced by the annual movements of ocean currents. There are two main seasons. The dry or garúa (misty) season generally lasts from May to December, influenced by the cool Humboldt Current coming from the south. The dry season is characterized by cooler temperatures and lower rainfall.
The Sonoran desert wraps around the northern end of the Gulf of California, from Baja California Sur (El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve in central and Pacific west coast, Central Gulf Coast subregion on east to southern tip), north through much of Baja California, excluding the central northwest mountains and Pacific west coast, through southeastern California and southwestern and southern ...
Desert ecology is characterized by dry, alkaline soils, low net production and opportunistic feeding patterns by herbivores and carnivores. Other organisms' survival tactics are physiologically based. Such tactics include the completion of life cycles ahead of anticipated drought seasons, and storing water with the help of specialized organs. [12]
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The rock that forms the Mojave Desert was created under shallow water in the Precambrian, [13]: 21 [10]: 115 forming thick sequences of conglomerate, mudstone, and carbonate rock topped by stromatolites, and possibly glacial deposits from the hypothesized Snowball Earth event.