Gobi Desert

**Geography**:
– The Gobi Desert measures 1,600km from southwest to northeast and 800km from north to south.
– It extends from the Pamirs to the Greater Khingan Mountains and from Altay to Kunlun mountains.
– Some consider the western area a separate desert called Taklamakan.
– Includes areas of exposed bare rock.

**Climate**:
– The Gobi Desert is a cold desert with frost and occasional snow.
– Located 910–1,520m above sea level.
– Average rainfall of about 194mm annually.
– Temperatures range from -40°C in winter to 45°C in summer.
– Extreme temperature changes up to 35°C in 24 hours.

**Conservation, Ecology, and Economy**:
– Source of significant fossil finds including first dinosaur eggs.
– Sustains unique animal species like Gobi bears and snow leopards.
– Shrubs like gray sparrows saltwort and sagebrush are common.
– Nature reserves like Gobi Gurvansaikhan National Park established.
– Vulnerable to trampling by livestock and off-road vehicles.

**Desertification**:
– Gobi Desert expanding through desertification.
– Rapid expansion on the southern edge into China.
– 3,600km of grassland overtaken every year.
– Dust storms increased in frequency between 1996 and 2016.
– Causing damage to China’s landscapes.

**History and Exploration**:
– Known for important fossil finds like dinosaur eggs.
– Nemegt Basin in the northwestern part noted for fossil treasures.
– Unique animal species like Gobi bears and snow leopards inhabit the region.
– Vegetation mainly consists of shrubs adapted to drought.
– Large copper deposits being mined by Rio Tinto Group.

Gobi Desert (Wikipedia)

"Gobi" redirects here. For other uses, see Gobi (disambiguation).

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these template messages) This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Gobi Desert" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (July 2007) (Learn how and when to remove this message) This article is largely based on an article in the out-of-copyright Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, which was produced in 1911. It should be brought up to date to reflect subsequent history or scholarship (including the references, if any). When you have completed the review, replace this notice with a simple note on this article's talk page. (April 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

The Gobi Desert (Mongolian: Говь, ᠭᠣᠪᠢ, /ˈɡoʊbi/; Chinese: 戈壁; pinyin: gēbì) is a large, cold desert and grassland region in northern China and southern Mongolia and is the sixth largest desert in the world. The name of the desert comes from the Mongolian word Gobi, used to refer to all of the waterless regions in the Mongolian Plateau, while in Chinese Gobi is used to refer to rocky, semi-deserts such as the Gobi itself rather than sandy deserts.

Gobi Desert
Length	1,500 km (930 mi)
Width	800 km (500 mi)
Area	1,295,000 km2 (500,000 sq mi)
Naming
Native name	戈壁 (沙漠) (Chinese) Говь (ᠭᠣᠪᠢ) (Mongolian)
Geography
Countries	China Mongolia
State	Ömnögovi Sükhbaatar
Region	Inner Mongolia
Coordinates	42°35′N 103°26′E / 42.59°N 103.43°E / 42.59; 103.43

Gobi Desert
Chinese name
Chinese	戈壁
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Gēbì Bopomofo ㄍㄜ　ㄅㄧˋ Gwoyeu Romatzyh Gebih Wade–Giles Ko-pi4 IPA [kɤ́.pî] other Mandarin Xiao'erjing قْبِ
Mongolian name
Mongolian Cyrillic	Говь
Mongolian script	ᠭᠣᠪᠢ
Transcriptions SASM/GNC Gowĭ