Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

hosts five deserts which were historically forests. They include the

Thar Desert The Thar Desert, also known as the Great Indian Desert, is an arid region in the north-western part of the Subcontinent that covers an area of and forms a natural boundary between India and Pakistan. It is the world's 20th-largest desert, a ...

in Sindh, the

Cholistan Desert The Cholistan Desert ( ur, ; Punjabi: ), also locally known as Rohi (), is a desert in the southern part of Punjab, Pakistan that forms part of the Greater Thar Desert, which extends to Sindh province and the Indian state of Rajasthan. It is on ...

Bahawalpur Bahawalpur () is a city in the Punjab province of Pakistan. With inhabitants as of 2017, it is Pakistan's 11th most populous city. Founded in 1748, Bahawalpur was the capital of the former princely state of Bahawalpur, ruled by the Abbasi fa ...

(

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising a ...

), the

Thal Desert The Thal desert (Urdu, Punjabi: ) is situated at 31°10’ N and 71°30’ E in the province of Punjab, Pakistan. Located near the Pothohar Plateau, the area falls under the Indomalayan biogeographic realm and stretches for a length of approximat ...

Bhakkar Bhakkar ( ur, ), is the principal city of Bhakkar District located in Punjab, Pakistan. It lies on the left bank of the Indus River. It is the 86th largest city in Pakistan. Administration Bhakkar city is also the administrative centre of Bh ...

(Punjab), the

Kharan Desert The Kharan Desert ( ur, صحرائے خاران) is a sandy and mountainous desert situated in Balochistan province in south-western Pakistan.The desert covers an area of about 36,000 square kilometers, making it one of the largest deserts in ...

Balochistan Balochistan ( ; bal, بلۏچستان; also romanised as Baluchistan and Baluchestan) is a historical region in Western and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. ...

, and the Katpana Desert in

Skardu , nickname = , motto = , image_skyline = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Gilgit Baltistan#Pakistan , pushpin_label_position ...

( Gilgit-Baltistan).

Coastal desert

Thar Desert

The

spans an area of 175,000 square kilometers and covers large areas of

and

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. It is the largest desert of Pakistan and the only subtropical desert of Asia. It is the 16th largest desert on the planet and the third largest in Asia. It has also spread into India. The Thar Desert, also known as the Great Indian Desert, is a large, arid region in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent that forms a natural boundary between India and Pakistan. It is the world's 16th largest desert, and the world's 9th largest subtropical desert. 85% of the Thar Desert is in India, and the remaining 15% is in Pakistan. In India, it covers 320,000 km2 (120,000 sq mi), of which 90% is in Rajasthan and extends into Gujarat, Punjab, and Haryana. In Pakistan, it spreads over Punjab and Sindh starting from

Tharparkar District Tharparkar (Dhatki/ sd, ٿرپارڪر, ur, ), also known as Thar, is a district in Sindh province in Pakistan headquartered at Mithi. Before Indian independence it was known as the Thar and Parkar district. The district is the largest in Sin ...

in the east. This desert consists of a very dry part, the Marusthali region, in the west, and a semi-desert region in the east with fewer sand dunes and slightly more precipitation.
Deserts of Pakistan

Hot and dry deserts

Cholistan Desert

The Cholistan Desert is locally known as "Rohi 'and covers the area of

. It adjoins the Thar Desert, extending over to Sindh and into India. Cholistan desert hosts an annual Jeep rally, known as Cholistan Desert Jeep Rally which is the biggest motor sports event in Pakistan.

Thal Desert

The

is located in Bhakkar District of Pakistan between the Indus and Jhelum rivers. A large canal-building project is currently underway to irrigate the land. Irrigation will make most of the desert suitable for farming. In the north of the Thal Desert there are

salt range The Salt Range ( pnb, ) is a mountain range in the north of Punjab province of Pakistan, deriving its name from its extensive deposits of rock salt. The range extends along the south of the Potohar Plateau and the north of the Jhelum River. The ...

s, in the east the Jhelum and

Chenab The Chenab River () is a major river that flows in India and Pakistan, and is one of the 5 major rivers of the Punjab region. It is formed by the union of two headwaters, Chandra and Bhaga, which rise in the upper Himalayas in the Lahaul ...

rivers and to the west the Indus River.

Sandy desert

Kharan Desert

The Kharan Desert ( ur, صحرائے خاران) is a sandy and mountainous desert situated in

Balochistan Province Balochistan (; bal, بلۏچستان; ) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southwestern region of the country, Balochistan is the largest province of Pakistan by land area but is the least populated one. It shares land ...

in south-western

. This desert was the site of Pakistan's second nuclear test,

Chagai-II Chagai-II is the codename assigned to the second atomic test conducted by Pakistan, carried out on 30 May 1998 in the Kharan Desert in Balochistan Province of Pakistan. ''Chagai-II'' took place two days after Pakistan's first successful test, ...

, which was carried out on 30 May 1998.

Cold desert

Katpana Desert

The Cold Desert is a high-altitude desert located near

Skardu , nickname = , motto = , image_skyline = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Gilgit Baltistan#Pakistan , pushpin_label_position ...

, in

's northern Gilgit-Baltistan region. The desert contains expanses of large sand dunes that are sometimes covered in snow during winter. Situated at an elevation of 2,226 metres (7,303 feet) above sea level, the Katpana Desert is one of the highest deserts in the world. The desert technically stretches from the

Khaplu Valley Khaplu (Urdu: ) and ( Balti: ཁཔ་ལུ།), also spelt Khapalu, is a city that serves as the administrative capital of the Ghanche District of Gilgit-Baltistan, in northern Pakistan. Lying east of the city of Skardu, it was the second-lar ...

Nubra Nubra, also called Dumra, is a historical region of Ladakh, India that is currently administered as a subdivision and a tehsil in the Leh district. Its inhabited areas form a tri-armed valley cut by the Nubra and Shyok rivers. Its Tibetan name ...

Ladakh Ladakh () is a region administered by India as a union territory which constitutes a part of the larger Kashmir region and has been the subject of dispute between India, Pakistan, and China since 1947. (subscription required) Quote: "Jammu ...

, but the largest desert area is found in

Skardu , nickname = , motto = , image_skyline = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Gilgit Baltistan#Pakistan , pushpin_label_position ...

and

Shigar Valley The Shigar Valley ( ur, وادی شگر) is a valley in Gilgit Baltistan in northern Pakistan that is watered by the Shigar River, and centred on the town of Shigar. The valley stretches about 170 km from Skardu to Askole and is the gatew ...

. The portion most visited is located near Skardu Airport.

References

External links

Deserts of Pakistan
by

Hunza Tour Packages
{{Pakistan topics Des

Coastal desert

Thar Desert

Hot and dry deserts

Cholistan Desert

Thal Desert

Sandy desert

Kharan Desert

Cold desert

Katpana Desert

See also

References

External links