The Salar de Uyuni in southern Bolivia is the world’s largest salt flat at almost 5000 square miles. In all that area, its height above sea level only varies by three feet — so nearly perfectly level that NASA uses it as a benchmark to align some of their equipment in space! This whole area is unique with many geologic features — check out the links below to find out more and see awesome pics!
Wikipedia | WikiTravel | Lonely Planet
YouTube video | Epic Pics!
The tufted capuchin, Sapajus apella, is a social little monkey living in the dry canyons of the Amazon river basin, in South America. This little primate is somewhat famous for its use of stones to break open hard nuts. It also eats a variety of fruits and small animals such as insects and even rats! You can watch a family of tufted capuchins survive and thrive throughout one whole year in the BBC Earth movie, Wild Brazil
Wikipedia
Nature Picture Library
YouTube video
Live Like Dirt
UniProt
I just love this name: the Spiny Cream Spider Flower! This shrub grows up to about 6 feet tall, in the outback of Western Australia. It usually flowers twice per year and its leaves are slightly prickly and finely divided. Straight white hairs line the branches and the fruit looks like wrinkly green bean seeds.
Esperance Wildflowers
Western Australia Flora
Atlas of Living Australia
Plant This
Fennec foxes are the smallest species in the canine family, only about 8 inches at the top of their shoulder, body about 12 inches long, tail a bit longer… and ears about 6 inches long — up to half the length of its body! Of course, these ears help them hunt, but they also release heat into the air to keep the fox cooler. Their tiny feet are also well padded with hair to protect against hot desert sand. Their coat is roughly the color of sand to help them stay camouflaged in their Sahara desert home. Fennecs live in groups of about 10, digging interconnected burrows at the base of stable sand dunes lined with at least some vegetation. They tend to stay in their dens during the hot desert day, doing most of their hunting at night when it is cooler. Fennecs eat a wide variety of insects, small mammals, and some plant materials such as roots and berries. Click the links below the pic to see so many more cute pics, and to learn more about the world’s smallest fox!
Animal Diversity Web
ARKive
Encyclopedia of Life
7 fun facts about Fennecs
Fennecs as Pets
The Succulent Karoo is a region of south Africa which hosts 1/3 of the world’s succulent plant species — the richest diversity of succulent flora on the planet! The climate here is mild compared to other desert areas, with sparse but reliable rainfall, especially in the winter. The heat of summer is also moderated by fog created by the Benguela Current flowing northward along the coast.
The Encyclopedia of Earth
Environmental Literacy Council
World Wildlife Fund
Plantz Africa
The tiny elf owl, Micrathene whitneyi, is one of the smallest owls in the world, growing to only 5 or 6 inches long — about the size of a typical sparrow. They live in the extreme southwestern United States and Mexico, and sometimes nest in cacti. Click the links below the pic to learn more about this amazing tiny owl species! 😀
Audubon Guide: Elf Owl
Beauty of Birds
Owl Research Institute
Owling.com
The Owl Pages
The Regal Horned Lizard, Phrynosoma solare, lives in the desert areas of the southwestern United States and Mexico. It eats mostly ants, and it is immune to ant venom. When disturbed by a potential predator, this little lizard squirts its own blood out of its eyeball with precise aim, targeting his attacker’s face. Apparently this blood has some type of odor or taste that repels the predator. Click the links below the video for more videos, pics, and information on this crazy critter with its unique defense!
Discovery Channel Video
SW Center for Herp Research
California Herps
This whole family is learning a valuable survival skill, and you can, too!
This is one of the most famous individual trees in the world.
Nicknamed “The Tree of Life“, it stands alone in the desert without any detectable source of water.
Find out more:
Amusing Planet
Trip Advisor
World Top Top
