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What is a desert?
A desert is a barren area of land where little precipitation occurs and consequently living conditions are hostile for plant and animal life. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to the processes of denudation. About one third of the land surface of the world is arid or semi-arid. This includes much of the polar regions where little precipitation occurs and which are sometimes called "cold deserts". There are a number of ways of classifying deserts including by the amount of precipitation that falls, by the temperature that prevails, by the causes of desertification or by the geographical location of the desert.


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