Thar Desert

The Thar Desert ( Rajasthani pronunciation: [t̪ʰaːɾ]), also known as the Great Indian Desert, is an arid region in the north-western part of the Indian subcontinent stretching across India and Pakistan. Covering an area of 264,091 km (101,966 sq mi), it is one of the largest subtropical deserts in Asia by area. About two-thirds of the desert area lies in India, with the remaining in Pakistan. It forms about six percent of the geographical area of India, with the majority of the desert lying in the state of Rajasthan, with portions extending into Gujarat, Haryana, and Punjab. Towards the west, it extends into the provinces of Sindh and Punjab in Pakistan. It is bordered by the Indo-Gangetic Plain to the north, west and northeast, Rann of Kutch to the south, and the Aravalli Range to the east.

During the Last Glacial Maximum, an ice sheet covered the Tibetan Plateau, which reflected more solar radiation into space, resulting in cooling the overlying atmosphere during that period. Without the thermal low pressure caused by the heating, there was no monsoon over the Indian subcontinent, which led to the deposition of dust and the desertification of the region. The upliftment of the Aravallis brought about changes in the hydrography of the region, and the Ghaggar-Hakra River system that fed the region dried up, and the region became increasingly arid. Over the years, wind blown sediments and sand from the alluvial plains and the coast accumulated in the region.