Gobi, << GOH bee, >> is a desert that stretches across part of southern Mongolia and northern China. The Gobi is windswept and nearly treeless. It covers more than 500,000 square miles (1,300,000 square kilometers). It extends about 1,200 miles (1,930 kilometers) from east to west. It stretches about 600 miles (970 kilometers) from north to south. The Gobi lies in a basin on a high plateau. Elevations in the desert range from 3,000 to 5,000 feet (910 to 1,500 meters) above sea level. The name Gobi comes from a Mongolian word meaning desert.
The center of the Gobi consists largely of dry, rocky or sandy soil. Steppes (dry grasslands) surround this central area. Sand dunes are not common in the Gobi. Dunes cover only about 5 percent of the desert.
The Gobi often has long heat waves in summer and cold periods in winter. During the summer, the temperature can reach 113 °F (45 °C). In winter, it can drop to –40 °F (–40 °C). Most of the desert receives less than 10 inches (25 centimeters) of precipitation annually.
Animals of the Gobi include Mongolian wild horses and Asiatic wild asses. The desert also has goitered (or black-tailed) gazelles, wild camels, Gobi bears, and Mongolian lizards. All of these species are endangered.
The chief economic activities in the desert are raising animals and processing animal products. For centuries, nomads roamed the Gobi with herds of camels and goats in search of vegetation for their animals. Beginning in the mid-1900’s, the governments of China and Mongolia established many farms in wetter areas of the Gobi. The farms took vital grazing areas from herders, threatening their traditional way of life. The desert provides small amounts of coal, oil shale, salt, and various compounds known as soda.
The interior part of the Gobi has no major cities. However, two cities on its southern edge, Hohhot and Baotou, serve as commercial centers for the Chinese part of the desert. A railroad crosses the Gobi between the Chinese city of Jining and the capital of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar.
Archaeologists have found dinosaur fossils and evidence of ancient civilizations in the Gobi. The Chinese built the Great Wall near the Gobi to guard against attacks from the north. During the 1200’s, Mongol armies crossed the Gobi to attack China. Forces led by Genghis Khan and Kublai Khan swept across the Great Wall and conquered much of China.
See also Great Wall of China .
