Right along the borders of India and Pakistan lies the huge desert named as the Thar Desert. Popularly known as the Great Indian Desert, This dry sea in the west of India contributes immensely to its geographical diversity and beauty. The Total areas of the Thar is greater than 200,000 km2or 77,000 sq mi. Situated completely in the state in India called Rajasthan, The Thar Desert encapsulates a number of district in the state including theBarmer,Jaisalmer, Jodhpur. The Thar also manages to swallow certain regions of Gurjrat, Haryana and even Punjab. With such a huge and humbling stature, Thar stands at the 18th positions amongst the world’s largest subtropical desert.

Covering the border, The Thar Desert has the audacity to lie majorly in the western part of India in Rajasthan and also runs into the southeastern areas of the country of Pakistan.The enormousendlessarea of blazingsizzling sand is stretched inmore than4 states of India, including Haryana,Punjab,Gujarat and Rajasthan. The Thar also goes deep into a couple of Pakistani states . In totality, The desert of Thar covers a total distance of almost 446,000 square kilometres.  The major part of the Thar is reserved with the state of Rajasthan with a small touching in the southern states of Punjab and Haryana.

The Thar is guardedon the east by the Aravallis hills. Thar also ends at the immensely luxuriantRiver and Basin of Indus and also by the valley of Nara in the heart of Pakistan. On the western frontThe thar is bordered by Kacchh, A salty mash. The fertilemeadows of Punjab and Haryana close the thar in its northern front.

The Thar Desert encapsulates a number of district in the state including theBarmer,Jaisalmer, Jodhpur. The Desert of Thar is always fll by the sand that is blown. Sand Sheets are not the only habitants of thar but thestonyprojection of shortrisesthatcompose the elderrocksin India also inhabit the place. Characteristic of a desert, The availability of water is very low and deep too. Water can be accessed only at a depth of30 – 120 metresunderneath the level.

The Legend and Origin of Thar Desert

Legends across the nations assert that the holy Lord  Shri Ram withdrew a dart and loaded the same in his bob. He aimed at the Lanka, which was the residing island of the demon Ravana who had abducted goddess sita. On the other hand, scared of the powers of destruction that it possessed, People across him pleaded Lord Ram against using that arrow.

Ram had already pulled the arrow back and could not abort it at this stage. Fearing its impact and responding to the please, Rama shot the arrow to a distant sea. The drastic effect that the arrow had on the sae dried it completely up and converted the entire sea into a scorching desert.

There is much confusion about how the desert originated in actual. Many people believe that the desert dates back to a small age of 4000 to 10,000 years old. On the ither hand, Many assert that the actual desertification of the land started much before that. Techniques of remote sensing and their careful observations have recently revealed that the Late Quaternary changes in the general climate and neotectonics have acted as a major catalyzing factor in transforming the course of drainagein that regionalong with ahugefigure of palaeochannels exist.

People and their Life in Thar Desert

The desert of Thar is inhabited by a huge number of poeple. Animal Husbandry and agriculture contribute majorly to the economic status of the households. Huge projects of power and irrigation has made it possible for the deserts areas to undertake agriculture.The main population of this desert is of Muslims, Sikhs and Hindus.Urbanisation has not yet seeped in into the desert and a large number of families still live in ther huts made out of local and natural materials.The prevelant culture in the desert is full of color and joy.Folk Dance, Food, Music etc are all much appreciated in the desert. Rajasthan is also house to a large number of festivities including Holi,Gangour, Blaji Dham Yatra, Gogaji, Bhopaji Puja Ramdevji Yatra etc.

Rajasthani is the most prominent language here.Their literature boasts of several great and eminent poets too. Bishnois are one of the follower ofLord Jhambheshwar . This community is the environmental loving and caring people in the desert

Water is scarce in the region of this desert. The scarcity is such that villagers in ancient Rajasthanoften were forced to walk miles and miles to access water which many a times took them to various states and sometimes even across the border. As difficult as it may sound, The Thar natives have continued to live that way since centuries.

Flora and Fauna in Thar Desert

Snakes and Lizards are usually the most common thing here with 25 and 23 species of them found in the desert respectively. The sparselyoccupiedmeadowshold up the in danger of extinctionthe Great Indian Bustard, the Chikara, the Black Buck,and other living things like birds, particularly the Quail and Francolin .

Tree Species

Acacia jacquemontii,Calligonum polygonoides, Balanites roxburghii, Ziziphus nummularia, Ziziphus jujube,  Suaeda fruticosa,Calotropis procera Crotalaria burhia, Clerodendrum multiflrum, Aerva tomentosa, , Lycium barbarum,Leptadenia pyrotechnica, Commiphora mukul, Grewia populifolia, Cordia rothii, Maytenus emorginata Capparis deciduas,Euphorbia nerifolia,

Herbs

, Dactyloctenium scindicum,Eleusine compressa, Cenchrus biflorus, Lasiurus hirsutus, Cenchrus setigerus, Cynodon dactylon, Panicum antidotale,Panicum turgidum, Dichanthium annulatum,  Saccharum spontaneum, Sporobolus marginatus, Desmostachya bipinnata,Cenchrus ciliaris, Cyperus arenarius, Ergamopagan species, Erogrostis species, Typha speciesmPhragmitis species,

Vegetation in Thar Desert

There is a huge variety of vegetation in the desert. The total number of plants found in this areas are as much as 700. 107 of which are merely kinds of grass. The neighboringgrassisusuallyproductive seeders, also the majority of the genus are edible, comparativelynourishing and wealthy in mineral deposits, as well as trace basics. The grasses also possesstherapeutic value and therefore there extracts are used as a basis for alkaloidswhich are required formanufacture ofmedication. Oil for the soaps are also extracted.

Thar has a hugedearthwhen it comes to water and consequently the vegetations here aremore often than not herbaceous. Moving towards the hills one may find Euphorbia and Gum Arabic Acacia.Rainfall decides how the land would be used in the Thar. When there are good rains, crops are exaggerated, cattles too find themselves in good condition with abundant food and harvest.

Climate of Thar Desert

The cimate is hard, The desert is hot and arid. Rainfall seldoms blesses them with its full might. The scarce rain meters rangebetween 120 to 350 mm.The temperature on the contrary ranges between  -4.4ºC to 48.9ºC for the duration of winter months and summer months respectively. The velocity of winds during the summer reach a total of 40 Km/hr and strong radiations of the sunreach 200-600 cal/cm2 /per day. Rainfall provides some relief but bring humidity with itself which subsides only during the winters.Characteristic of a desert, The availability of water is very low and deep too. Water can be accessed only at a depth of30 – 120 metres underneath the level.