Paper 1, Question 4: Hot desert

environments and their margins

revision list
Topics Covered
Location and characteristics of hot deserts
and their margins:
arid and semi-arid
o climate
o soils
o vegetation

Case Study Examples

Vegetation:- Death Valley, California

Causes of aridity:
atmospheric processes relating to pressure
winds
continentality
relief
cold ocean currents.
Arid geomorphological processes: mechanical & chemical weathering
The importance of wind (Aeolian)
erosion: deflation and abrasion
transportation: suspension, saltation, surface creep, deposition.
The importance of water (Fluvial)
sources: exogenous, endoreic and ephemeral
The role of flooding - Ismil, Morocco
Landforms resulting from:
wind action:
o Yardangs
o Zeugen
o sand dunes
water action:
o pediments
o inselbergs
o mesas and buttes
o salt lakes
o alluvial fans
o wadis
o badlands

Mojave Desert and Monumental

Valley, USA

Sahel

Desertification:
distribution of areas at risk
physical and human causes
impact on land, ecosystem and populations

Case study of desertification in the

Sahel the struggle for survival to

include the energy/ fuelwood crisis,

water supply, the impact on food
supply/farming and livelihoods and
coping/management strategies
including external aid
Managing hot desert environments and their
margins
to consider and evaluate the
strategies adopted with regard to land
use and agriculture in areas such as
the Sahel
contrast with the development of
areas such as south western USA or
southern Spain.
Implications and potential for
sustainability.

Burkina Faso
Niger

Morocco

Water Diversion of River Ebro, Spain.

The politics of managing water in the
Middle East
Managing the River Colorado USA and
Las Vegas