The Tengger Desert or Tengri Desert (, ) is an
arid natural region
A natural region (landscape unit) is a basic geographic unit. Usually, it is a region which is distinguished by its common natural features of geography, geology, and climate.
From the ecological point of view, the naturally occurring flora and ...
that covers about 36,700 km
2 and is mostly in the
Inner Mongolia
Inner Mongolia, officially the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of China. Its border includes two-thirds of the length of China's China–Mongolia border, border with the country of Mongolia. ...
Autonomous Region in
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
.
The desert is expanding in size.
[Haner, Josh, et al. (24 October 2016)]
Living in China's Expanding Deserts
''The New York Times
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''
Environmental issues
The expansion of the Tengger and its neighbour, the
Badain Jaran Desert, has been apparent since the 1950s, when large volumes of water were diverted from rivers to feed agricultural expansion and huge tracts of forest were removed. Since 1958, local governments have mobilised residents for afforestation campaigns to prevent the desert's spread. By 2004, the desert's expansion was estimated as 10 metres per year in some areas.
In 2007, a non-profit organisation founded by residents of
Minqin County created square ditches lined with hay and grass that they later planted with
saxaul to stabilise the sand dunes.
[ In 2010, the central and regional governments announced a five-year reforestation plan to create a 202-km ]green belt
A green belt or greenbelt is a policy, and land-use zone designation used in land-use planning to retain areas of largely undeveloped, wilderness, wild, or agricultural landscape, land surrounding or neighboring urban areas. Similar concepts ...
between the Tengger and Badain Jaran deserts. The project was estimated to receive 280 million yuan in funding and involve the relocation of 1,000 residents.
Features
File:CamelsinTengger.jpg, Camel ride in the Tengger Desert, August 19, 2005
File:沙坡头, Shapotou, Tengger Desert - panoramio (1).jpg, Shapotou District, Tengger Desert
File:A picture from China every day 269.jpg, A view of the Tengger Desert
File:Alxa Zuoqi, Alxa, Inner Mongolia, China - panoramio - 摩游乐 (74).jpg, A view of the Tengger Desert
See also
* Shapotou
* Alxa Left Banner
References
External links
NASA imaging: Dust Storm in the Tengger Desert
Deserts of China
Geography of Inner Mongolia
Ergs
Geography of Ningxia
Tengriism
{{InnerMongolia-geo-stub