Which hot desert, spanning across nations such as Mali, Niger, and Chad, is the largest hot desert in the world?

💡 Solution & Explanation

The Sahara Desert covers vast regions of North Africa, making it the largest hot desert globally and the third-largest desert overall behind Antarctica and the Arctic. The Gobi Desert is a cold rain-shadow desert in East Asia, the Kalahari is a semi-arid sandy basin in Southern Africa, and the Atacama is an extremely dry coastal desert in South America. Saharan landscapes feature vast sand seas known as ergs alongside rocky plateaus known as hamadas. Ancient trade routes crossed these arid expanses to connect Mediterranean and sub-Saharan economies.