Desert

Most people think of desert as dry, flat areas with little vegetation and little or no rainfall, but this is hardly true. Many deserts have varied geographical formation ranging from soft, rolling hills to stark, jagged cliffs and most desert have a permanent source of water. Although desert do not receive a high amount of rainfall-to be classified as a desert, an area must get less than twenty-five centimeters of rainfall per year- there are many plants that thrive on only small amounts of water, and desert are often full of such plant life.

Desert plants have a variety of mechanisms for obtaining the water needed for survival. Some plants, such as cactus, are able to store large amounts of water in their leaves or stems; after a rainfall, these plants absorb a large supply of water to last until the next rainfall. Other plants, such as the mesquite, have extraordinary deep root systems that allow them to obtain water from far below the desert's arid surface.