Thar Desert- Rajasthan

Thar desert- Relevance for UPSC Exam

• GS Paper 1: Physical Geography- Geographical features and their location.

Thar desert- Context

• Recently, in a major discovery, footprints of three species of dinosaurs have been found in the Thar desert in Rajasthan’s Jaisalmer district.
• The discovery proves the presence of the giant reptiles in the western part of the State (Thar Desert), which formed the seashore to the Tethys Ocean during the Mesozoic era.
• The footprints belong to three species of dinosaurs–

1. 1. Eubrontes cf. giganteus,
   2. Eubrontes glenrosensis and
   3. Grallator tenuis.

Jayaprakash Narayan

About Dinosaurs

• The dinosaur species are considered to be of the theropod type, with the distinguishing features of hollow bones and feet with three digits.
• All the three species found in the Thar Desert, belonging to the early Jurassic period, were carnivorous.

National Statistical Office (NSO)

Thar desert- Key Points

• Location of Thar Desert: located partly in India (in western Rajasthan) and partly in Pakistan (in Punjab and Sindh provinces).
  • It derives its name from ‘thul’, (a general term for the region’s sand ridges).
  • It forms a natural boundary along the border between India and Pakistan.
• Thar desert is bordered by
  • Indus River plain to the west,
  • Punjab Plain to the north and northeast,
  • Aravalli Range to the southeast, and
  • Rann of Kachchh to the south.

USA-India Defense Technology & Trade Initiative

Thar desert- Key Features

• Arid Region: it is also the Marusthali (dead land) as this region has an arid climate with low vegetation cover.
  • The Eastern part of the Marushthali is rocky, while its western part is covered by shifting sand dunes.
• Soil: The surface of Thar Desert consists of aeolian (wind-deposited) sand that has accumulated over the past 1.8 million years.
• Climate of Thar Desert: It has subtropical desert climate (due to continuous high pressure and subsidence at that latitude).
• Saline Lakes: Several ‘Playas’ (saline lakes), also locally known as ‘dhands’, are scattered throughout the region.
• Species diversity- Flora and Fauna
  • Flora: herbaceous plants like cactus, neem, khejri, acacia nilotica are found in the Thar region.
  • Fauna: Leopard, the Asiatic wild cat, the chousingha, the chinkara, the Bengal desert fox, the Blackbuck, and several species of reptiles are commonly found in this region.

Dibru­ Saikhowa National Park

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