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Namaqualand
Namaqualand or Namaland , region, c.150,000 sq mi (388,500 sq km), SW Africa. It extends from Windhoek, Namibia, in the north to Northern Cape, South Africa, in the south and from the Namib Desert in the west to the Kalahari Desert in the east. The Orange River divides the region into Great Nama...
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Simpson Desert
Simpson Desert c.50,000 sq mi (130,000 sq km), barren region of central Australia, predominantly in the southeastern portion of the Northern Territory, extending S into Queensland and E into South Australia. Long, parallel sand dunes, up to 150 ft (46 m) high and 1,500 ft (457 m) apart, run for mil...
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desert
desert arid region, usually partly covered by sand, having scanty vegetation or sometimes almost none, and capable of supporting only a limited and specially adapted animal population. The so-called cold deserts, caused by extreme cold and often covered with perpetual snow or ice, are quite distinc...
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desertion
desertion in law, the forsaking of a station involving public or social duties without justification and with the intention of not returning. In military law, it is the abandonment of (or failure to arrive at) a place of duty without leave; in time of war, especially in the face of the enemy, deser...
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Painted Desert
Painted Desert badlands on the northeastern bank of the Little Colorado River, NE Ariz., stretching c.200 mi (320 km) SE from the Grand Canyon; includes Petrified Forest National Park. Striking bands of color result from irregularly eroded layers of red and yellow sediment and bentonite clay.
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Black Rock Desert
Black Rock Desert arid region of lava beds and alkali flats, NW Nev., in Toiyabe National Forest, stretching c.70 mi (110 km) NE from Gerlach. The Jackson Mts. rise to the east; the Black Rock Range to the west. A land speed record was set there in 1983. The desert has been the site of the Burning ...
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oasis
oasis , an area within a desert where the water table reaches the surface, with enough moisture to permit the growth of vegetation. The water may come up to the surface in springs, or it may collect in mountain hollows. In deserts such as the Sahara, artificial oases have been successfully created b...
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Kara Kum
Kara Kum , two deserts, one in Kazakhstan and one in Turkmenistan. The Caspian Kara Kum or Garagum, the larger desert (c.115,000 sq mi/297,900 sq km), is W of the Amu Darya River and includes most of Turkmenistan. The Murghab and Tejen rivers flow out of the Hindu Kush Mts. to the south and empty in...
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Orange River
Orange River chief river of S Africa, c.1,300 mi (2,090 km) long, rising in the Maluti Mts., N Lesotho. It flows SW through Lesotho, then meanders northwest and west through central South Africa, forming the SW boundary of Free State and part of the South Africa-Namibia line before entering the Atl...
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Paran
Paran , desert, the eastern region of the Sinai peninsula. In accounts in the Bible, Ishmael settled there. It was also the Israelites' first resting place after their stay at Sinai, and the refuge of David when Samuel died.
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