Deserts

Rock art from the Ennedi Plateau

Vandals Deface Rock Art In Chad's Ennedi World Heritage Site

Names were written in French and Arabic on some of the area's rock art, which can date back as far as 8,000 years

The latest iteration of the four-legged LEMUR exploration robot clings to a test rock surface in Aaron Parness’ lab in a recent test of its microspine capabilities.

A New Generation of Interplanetary Rovers Is Crawling Toward the Stars

These four-legged, wheel-less robots will explore asteroids and the frigid outer worlds of our Solar System

Adorable Ground Squirrels Playing in Sweltering Heat

Ground squirrels in the Kalahari have devised a remarkable method to guarantee portable shade: they use their tails as umbrellas

This aerial view shoes the weird wonder of "fairy circles" in the Namibian desert.

Dueling Theories on the Cause of “Fairy Circles” Could Both Be Right

New research brings together competing concepts to describe how the mysterious features form

Rains Transform Australia's Uluru National Park Into a Waterfall Wonderland

Record storms flooded roads and swelled rivers near the park's iconic natural feature

Chinchorro mummy at San Miguel de Azapa Museum in Arica, Chile

What Have the World’s Oldest Mummies Kept Under Wraps?

Researchers are making digital reconstructions of the 7,000-year-old bodies, which face rapid deterioration from microbes

This image from the Landsat 7 satellite depicts snow near the border of Morocco and Algeria, south of the city of Bouarfa and southwest of Ain Sefra.

Snow Falls in the Sahara for the First Time Since 1979

A cold snap in the Algerian city of Ain Sefra led to a snowfall that covered the area's distinctive orange dunes

Behold: The World's Largest Radio Telescope

The Atacama Large Millimeter Array, located in the Atacama Desert, is the product of a 20-year global effort by Europe, North America, and East Asia

How does a lizard that looks like a rose stem mated with a cactus suck water out of the desert?

This Spike-Crested Lizard Drinks From Sand With Its Skin

The thirsty, thorny devils of Australia's deserts can’t quench their thirst with tongues alone

White Sands National Monument in New Mexico is known for its snow-white dunes.

Six Places to Spot the World's Most Breathtaking Sand Dunes

From snow-white sand to dunes taller than the Empire State Building, the Sahara has nothing on these majestic deserts

Cute Sand Cat Spotted for the First Time in a Decade in the United Arab Emirates

Researchers set out to photograph the elusive cat to help create a conservation plan for the endangered feline

These shaggy icons may be long gone by next century due to climate change.

California’s Joshua Trees Are Under Threat

Climate change could decimate the iconic tree for future generations

This 98-foot-long figure appears to represent an animal sticking out its tongue.

“New” 2,000-Year-Old Geoglyph Spotted in Peru

There’s always more to learn about the mysterious Nazca lines

Six miles to Racetrack, a million miles from civilization—except for the tea.

Death Valley Has a Secret Shrine to…Tea

Take a kettle, leave a kettle at this remote junction

The Bisti Badlands in northern New Mexico is known for its Easter egg-like rock formations.

These Massive Rock Formations Look Just Like Cracked Eggs

Bisti Badlands’ bizarre eggs bring a bit of Easter to the New Mexico desert

"Serra Gaucha," by Guy Laramée

These Mountains Are Made of Books

An interdisciplinary artist creates landscapes out of encyclopedias

The Marine Corps Plans to Airlift Over 1,000 Desert Tortoises

Despite the positive intentions behind relocation, conservationists worry that it will hurt the tortoises more than it helps

Were these small prints left by Stone Age babies...or lizards?

“Baby Hands” on Rock Paintings Were Probably Lizard Prints

The prints could have held symbolic meaning for Stone Age humans

Desert Gold wildflowers carpet Death Valley during the 2016 "super bloom."

Death Valley Bursts to Life With Rare “Super Bloom”

A rare spectacle covers Death Valley in wildflowers

The sun rises over Joshua Tree National Park. The newlydesignated Castle Mountains, Mojave Trails and Sand to Snow national monuments will connect Joshua Tree to other federally protected lands in a massive 1.8-million-acre preservation bid.

Obama Just Added Three More National Monuments

This time, the California desert was the president's preservation focus

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