Thar << tuhr or tahr >> Desert stretches northwest of the Aravalli Range in India across Rajasthan to the Indus River plain in Pakistan. It is also called the Indian Desert. The Punjab region forms its northern limits.
The Thar Desert covers 74,000 square miles (192,000 square kilometers). Less than 10 inches (25 centimeters) of rain falls there annually. Formerly, few people lived in the Thar Desert. They raised sheep where there was enough water for grass. But in 1986, the Indira Gandhi Canal was completed and irrigation projects were begun. The projects have attracted farmers to the area.
The Thar is rich in various types of precious minerals and stones. Pokharan, in the desert, is the site of India’s nuclear test facilities. One of India’s major nuclear power plants is located in the Thar at Kota.
