Planet Earth - Deserts

Cover Story: Preserving a Land of Extremes The gorgeous Sonoran Desert is losing ground to humans. Find out how we're working to preserve it.		You can help protect deserts and all of planet earth when you join The Nature Conservancy today. Take a Quiz on Deserts How well do you know your venomous lizards? Where’s the hottest place on record? Take our deserts quiz and test your knowledge of the world’s deserts!

Great Sand Dunes National Park Colorado's Great Sand Dunes form one of America's most unusual landscapes. Learn how we helped to make them the nation's newest national park.

California’s Joshua Hills When development threatened a California wilderness, the Conservancy stepped in to protect it. Discover how we helped save Joshua Hills.

Your Guide to the Wild

Life in the desert is not easy. Learn about the animals that have evolved a broad range of defenses against the extremes of temperature and scarcity of water.

Send a Free Ecard

Share your love of the world’s deserts with your friends and family by sending a sending a free deserts ecard today!

Get Involved

You can explore new places, receive email you want, and build your own personalized nature page when you join the Conservancy's online community.

How are deserts defined? Find out what makes them so dry and link to desert-dwelling creatures.

Images (top to bottom, left to right): Photos © Frans Lanting/Miden Pictures (Chameleon); © Discovery Communications (Video); © Chris Helzer (Desert); © Charlie Ott (Great Sand Dunes National Park); © Timothy Wolcott (Joshua Hills); © Donna Ikenberry (Cougar); © Michael & Patricia Fogden/Minden Pictures (Thorny devil), © Discovery Communications, Inc.(Cougar)