It is believed that the desert of Rajasthan is a part of the Tethys Sea. After which the desert was formed here in the Tertiary period. Which is known as ‘Thar Desert’ in Rajasthan. Generally it is a hot desert, where the day temperature goes up to 45°C and it becomes very low at night. The Aravalli mountain range lies to its west. In terms of area, 15 districts of Rajasthan come under the Thar Desert which is spread over 61.11% of Rajasthan.
The desert of Rajasthan with the highest biodiversity.
The desert region of Rajasthan is the desert region with the highest biodiversity, whose average height is 300 m and the slope is towards the west. The sandy soil found here is also special in itself. Generally, the amount of rainfall here is 20-50 cm, which makes it different from other regional parts. Due to the different biodiversity, some special creatures are also found here. Peevna is a species of snake which is found the most in Jaisalmer. It is special in itself due to its special yellow color, which blends in with the sand here and remains hidden for its prey.
Sand Stupa in the Desert of Rajasthan.
The sand stupas found here are special in themselves, which are known by different names due to different characteristics. Such as linear stupa, transverse stupa, barkhan, tara stupa, naibkha, dhariyan etc.
The different shapes of these are formed due to the shifting of sand due to the flow of wind.
Landforms found in the desert of Rajasthan
Many landforms are found here such as – known as Thali/Dhand, Talli, Balsan, Playa etc. It is famous for water reservoir.
Along with this, ‘Akal Wood Fossil Park‘ in Jaisalmer also attracts tourists with its history of many years. ‘Chandan Tubewell’ known as ‘Thar ka Ghada’ is also located here.
Why is the Thar Desert of Rajasthan in the headlines.
The Thar Desert is a huge source of renewable energy, at present many wind energy and solar energy plants have been established here. Energy minerals are found in large quantities in the Thar Desert. Such as petroleum, natural gas, coal.
The Thar Desert of Rajasthan as a nuclear testing site.
Nuclear tests were conducted in Pokharan (Jaisalmer) in 1974 and 1998. Since there is no populated area nearby, many military exercises have been conducted here.
Organization of fairs for tourism
To attract tourism, various types of fairs are organized here, the main ones being:
Camel Festival – Bikaner
Desert Festival – Jaisalmer
Thar Festival – Barmer
Mand Festival – Jodhpur.
