List: Top Ten Largest Deserts in the World
Source: various sources
Base: We averaged out figures from various web sources which had various different rankings, a variation produced because clear physical boundaries may not occur and therefore geographers do not always concur. That last bit rhymed by the way. woot!
Notes: Important deserts that did not make our top ten list below include: Sonoran, Taklamakan, Kavir, Syrian, Thar, Gibson Desert, Simpson, Atacama, Namib and Mojave.
The Sahara is technically the world's second largest desert after Antarctica, but we didn't think Antarctica should be on our list. At over 9,000,000 square kilometres (in proper money that equals 3,500,000 sq miles) it covers most countries in Northern Africa; an area stretching from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean coasts. Sahara derives from an Arabic word meaning "desert" so to refer to the Sahara as the "Sahara Desert" could be considered a tautology.
Source: various sources
Base: We averaged out figures from various web sources which had various different rankings, a variation produced because clear physical boundaries may not occur and therefore geographers do not always concur. That last bit rhymed by the way. woot!
Notes: Important deserts that did not make our top ten list below include: Sonoran, Taklamakan, Kavir, Syrian, Thar, Gibson Desert, Simpson, Atacama, Namib and Mojave.
The Sahara is technically the world's second largest desert after Antarctica, but we didn't think Antarctica should be on our list. At over 9,000,000 square kilometres (in proper money that equals 3,500,000 sq miles) it covers most countries in Northern Africa; an area stretching from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean coasts. Sahara derives from an Arabic word meaning "desert" so to refer to the Sahara as the "Sahara Desert" could be considered a tautology.
| Rank | Desert | Total Area (km2) | Location |
| 1. | Sahara | 3,400,000 | Northern Africa |
| 2. | Arabian | 2,300,000 | Arabian peninsula |
| 3. | Gobi | 1,300,000 | Mongolia / N.E China |
| 4. | Kalahari | 850,000 | Southern Africa |
| 5. | Patagonia | 700,000 | Argentina |
| 6. | Great Victoria | 648,000 | Australia |
| 7. | Great Basin | 495,000 | USA |
| 8. | Chihuahua | 400,000 | Mexico / USA |
| 9. | Great Sandy | 375,000 | Australia |
| 10. | Kara-Kum | 330,000 | Uzbekistan / Turkmenistan |
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