Gobi Landscape

This is part of the edge of the Gobi desert in southern Mongolia. The Gobi is the largest desert region in Asia and extends through the south of Mongolia into northern and western China.

The desert is formed because the land lies in the rain shadow of the Himalayas which stops any rain clouds reaching this particular region. However we can testify that it does rain here on the edge of the desert having been caught up in a storm here!!

Even though it looks deserted the desert is still a busy place with the Trans Mongolian railway to China running through it, numerous tourist jeeps showing curious tourists the vastness of the desert and of course nomads crossing the desert with their herds feeding on the sparse vegetation that manages to cling to life here.

The Gobi is actually a cold desert, lying in northerly latitude and at a height of between 3000 and 5000 feet above sea level it is not uncommon to see frost or even snow on the dunes in the winter when temperatures can drop to -40.