Question

Describe the location and extent of Thar Desert.

Answer 1

Hint: Thar Desert is also known as the Great Indian Desert. It is the world’s 17th largest desert and world’s 9th largest hot subtropical desert.

Complete answer:It is a large arid region located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent covering an area of about 200,000 sq. km. It forms a natural boundary between India and Pakistan.
About 85% of this desert is located in India and the remaining 15% is in Pakistan. It forms almost 5% of the total geographical area of India. About 60% of this desert lies in Rajasthan and it further extends into Gujarat, Punjab and Haryana. In Pakistan, the Thar continues as the Cholistan Desert.
This desert comprises a very dry part called the Marusthali region in the west and a semidesert region located in the east with fewer sand dunes with a little rainfall.
A large part of this desert area is covered by huge shifting and sand dunes which receives sediments from the alluvial plains and the coast. The sand is highly mobile due to strong winds flowing before the onset of monsoon.
The only river integrated into the desert is the Luni River. There's limited rainfall up to 100-500 mm per year and it's mostly in the months of July to September. There are a few salt water lakes within the Thar Desert including Sambhar, Kuchaman, Phalodi etc. These lakes collect rain water during monsoon and then evaporate during the dry season.

Note: The salt in the above mentioned salt water lakes is derived by the weathering of rocks in this region. Few Lithic tools belonging to the Aterian culture have been discovered in Thar Desert.