**Desert Exploration:**
– **Africa:**
– Heinrich Barth approached Timbuktu in 1853.
– Michael Asher & Mariantonietta Peru made the first recorded Sahara crossing from west to east in 1986–87.
– Eva Dickson was the first woman to cross the Sahara Desert by car in 1932.
– Friedrich Gerhard Rohlfs was the first to cross Africa north to south.
– Helen Thayer was a 20th-century walker and explorer.
– **Asia:**
– Bertram Thomas and St. John Philby documented journeys in the Rub al Khali in 1931 and 1932.
– Wilfred Thesiger crossed the Rub al Khali several times in 1946–50.
– Youngho Nam crossed 1,000km from Oman to UAE on foot in 2013.
– Xuanzang, a monk, explored the Taklamakan Desert in the 7th century.
– Zofia Kielan-Jaworowska led Polish-Mongolian palaeontological expeditions in the mid-1960s.
– **Australia:**
– Jon Muir made the first unassisted crossing of the Australian desert on foot.
– Edward John Eyre led expeditions to Lake Eyre and the Flinders Ranges in the 1830s.
– Warren Bonython and Charles McCubbin completed the first North to South traverse on foot in 1973.
– Louis-Philippe Loncke did an unsupported expedition across the Simpson Desert on foot in 2008.
– Various explorers led expeditions in Western Australia.
– **North America:**
– Francisco Garcés was the first European explorer of the Colorado and Mojave deserts in 1776.
– Jedediah Smith travelled through the Great Basin and Mojave deserts in 1826.
– John C. Frémont explored the Great Basin and provided maps for the journey to California.
– Native American tribes were hunter-gatherers in the California deserts.
– European explorers began exploring North American deserts in the 18th century.
– **Other:**
– Lesdain led an expedition through the Gobi desert in 1902.
– Lesdain encountered Miss Mailey, who commanded her expedition dressed in men’s clothes.
– Roy Chapman Andrews was a notable figure in desert exploration.
– Fr. Francisco Garces is known for his contributions to Mojave Desert history.
– Alson J. Smith led the South West Expedition of 1826–1829.
**Historical Accounts and Reports:**
– Stephen C. Weiss published a report on John C. Fremont in 1999.
– The Journal of Government Information featured Weiss’s report.
– The report sheds light on historical events from 1842 to 1844.
– Fremont’s expeditions are crucial for understanding the history of the region.
– Weiss’s work contributes to the documentation of historical government information.
**Roman Army in Tripolitana and Gold Trade:**
– The Roman Army had a presence in Tripolitana.
– Gold trade occurred between Tripolitana and Sub-Saharan Africa.
– The connection between the Roman Army and gold trade is significant.
– This historical aspect sheds light on ancient trade routes.
– The APA Annual Convention in New Orleans discussed this topic.
**US Air Force Air Sea Rescue in Saudi Arabia:**
– Ted A. Morris documented the US Air Force’s activities in Saudi Arabia in 1950–1951.
– The rescue operations were crucial during that time.
– The role of the US Air Force in air-sea rescue missions is highlighted.
– The Zianet.com platform provides information on this topic.
– The retrieval dates of the information are important for historical context.
**Publications and References:**
– The Encyclopædia Britannica in 1911 included information on the Gobi desert.
– The Evening News from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, reported on a romance story in 1926.
– The Roy Chapman Andrews Society provides insights into Andrews’ work.
– Zofia Kielan-Jaworowska’s book ‘Hunting for Dinosaurs’ is a notable publication.
– Gilbert’s ‘The Trailblazers’ and Smith’s ‘Men Against the Mountains’ are significant historical works.
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Desert exploration is the deliberate and scientific exploration of deserts, the arid regions of the earth. It is only incidentally concerned with the culture and livelihood of native desert dwellers. People have struggled to live in deserts and the surrounding semi-arid lands for millennia. Nomads have moved their flocks and herds to wherever grazing is available, and oases have provided opportunities for a more settled way of life. Many, such as the Bushmen in the Kalahari, the Aborigines in Australia and various Indigenous peoples of the Americas, were originally hunter-gatherers. Many trade routes have been forged across deserts, especially across the Sahara Desert, and traditionally were used by caravans of camels carrying salt, gold, ivory and other goods. Large numbers of slaves were also taken northwards across the Sahara. Today, some mineral extraction also takes place in deserts, and the uninterrupted sunlight gives potential for the capture of large quantities of solar energy.
Many people think of deserts as consisting of extensive areas of billowing sand dunes because that is the way they are often depicted on TV and in films, but deserts do not always look like this. Across the world, around 20% of desert is sand, varying from only 2% in North America to 30% in Australia and over 45% in Central Asia. Where sand does occur, it is usually in large quantities in the form of sand sheets or extensive areas of dunes. The following sections list deserts around the world, and their explorers. Expeditions are listed by their leaders; details of other expedition members may be found via the links.