Editing Thar Desert (section)

==Geography==
[[File:Thar Desert satellite.jpg|thumb|A [[NASA]] satellite image of the Thar Desert, with the India–Pakistan border]]
[[File:Thar Desert.JPG|thumb|View of the Thar Desert]]
The northeastern part of the Thar Desert lies between the [[Aravalli Hills]]. The desert stretches to Punjab and Haryana in the north, to the [[Great Rann of Kutch]] along the coast, and to the alluvial plains of the [[Indus River]] in the west and northwest. Much of the desert area is covered by huge, shifting sand dunes that receive [[sediment]]s from the alluvial plains and the coast. The sand is highly mobile due to the strong winds that rise each year before the onset of the [[monsoon]]. The [[Luni River]] is the only river in the desert.<ref>{{cite book |last=Laity |first=J. J. |year=2009 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wtAbzLLTcwcC&pg=PA30 |title=Deserts and Desert Environments |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=9781444300741 }}</ref> Rainfall is {{convert|100|to|500|mm|in|0|abbr=on}} per year, almost all of it between June and September.<ref name="Sinha1996"/>

Saltwater lakes within the Thar Desert include the [[Sambhar Lake|Sambhar]], Kuchaman, [[Didwana]], [[Pachpadra Lake|Pachpadra]], and [[Phalodi]] in Rajasthan and [[Kharaghoda]] in Gujarat. These lakes receive and collect rainwater during monsoon and evaporate during the dry season. The salt comes from the weathering of rocks in the region.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ramesh |first1=R. |last2=Jani |first2=R. A. |last3=Bhushan |first3=R. |name-list-style=amp |year=1993 |title=Stable isotopic evidence for the origin of salt lakes in the Thar desert |journal=Journal of Arid Environments |volume=25 |issue=1 |pages=117–123 |doi=10.1006/jare.1993.1047 |bibcode=1993JArEn..25..117R }}</ref>

Lithic tools belonging to the prehistoric [[Aterian]] culture of the [[Maghreb]] have been discovered in [[Middle Paleolithic]] deposits in the Thar Desert.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Gwen Robbins Schug, Subhash R. Walimbe|title=A Companion to South Asia in the Past|date=2016|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|page=64|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7xv-CwAAQBAJ|isbn=978-1119055471|access-date=6 May 2016}}</ref>

===Climate===
The climate is arid and subtropical. Average temperature varies with season, and extremes can range from near-freezing in the winter to more than 50&nbsp;°C in the summer months. Average annual rainfall ranges from 100 to 500&nbsp;mm, and occurs during the short July-to-September southwest monsoon.<ref name = wwf/>

The desert has both a very dry part (the Marusthali region in the west) and a semidesert part (in the east) that has fewer sand dunes and slightly more precipitation.<ref>Sharma, K. K., S. Kulshreshtha, A. R. Rahmani (2013). ''Faunal Heritage of Rajasthan, India: General Background and Ecology of Vertebrates''. Springer Science & Business Media, New York.</ref>

===Desertification control===
[[File:GreeningdesertTharIndia.jpg|thumb|Greening desert with plantations of [[jojoba]] at [[Fatehpur, Shekhawati]]]]
[[File:Greeningdesert1.jpg|thumb|Checking of shifting sand dunes through plantations of ''[[Acacia tortilis]]'' near [[Laxmangarh]] town]]
[[File:Indira Gandhi Canal.jpg|thumb|[[Indira Gandhi Canal]] flowing in Thar Desert near Sattasar village, [[Bikaner district]], Rajasthan]]
[[File:Tharparkar1 Pakistan.jpg|thumb|Due to severe weather conditions, few highways are in the Thar Desert. Shown here is a road in [[Tharparkar]] district of Sindh, Pakistan.]]
The soil of the Thar Desert remains dry for much of the year, so it is prone to [[wind erosion]]. High-velocity winds blow soil from the desert, depositing some of it on neighboring fertile lands, and causing [[sand dunes]] within the desert to shift. To counteract this problem, sand dunes are stabilised by first erecting micro [[windbreak]] barriers with scrub material and then by [[afforestation]] of the treated dunes—planting the seedlings of shrubs (such as [[Calligonum polygonoides|phog]], [[Cassia auriculata|senna]], and [[Ricinus communis|castor oil plant]]) and trees (such as [[Acacia senegal|gum acacia]], ''[[Prosopis juliflora]]'', and [[Albizzia lebbeck|lebbek tree]]). The 649-km-long [[Indira Gandhi Canal]] brings fresh water to the Thar Desert.<ref name="Sinha1996"/> It was built to halt any spreading of the desert into fertile areas.

===Protected areas===
There are several [[protected area]]s in the Thar Desert:
* '''In India''':
** The [[Desert National Park]], in Rajasthan, covers {{convert|3162|km2|abbr=on}} and represents the Thar Desert [[ecosystem]];<ref>{{cite journal |last=Rahmani |first=A. R. |year=1989 |title=The uncertain future of the Desert National Park in Rajasthan, India |journal=Environmental Conservation |volume=16 |issue=3 |pages=237–244 |doi=10.1017/S0376892900009322 |s2cid=83995201 }}</ref> it includes 44 villages.<ref name=Singh2007/> Its diverse [[fauna (animals)|fauna]] includes the [[great Indian bustard]] (''Chirotis nigricaps''), [[blackbuck]], [[chinkara]], fox, [[Bengal fox]], wolf, and [[caracal]]. Seashells and massive [[fossilized]] tree trunks in [[Akal Wood Fossil Park]] record the geological history of the desert.
** The [[Tal Chhapar Sanctuary]] covers {{convert|7|km2|abbr=on}} and is an [[Important Bird Area]].<ref name=Singh2007/> It is located in the [[Churu district]], {{convert|210|km|abbr=on}} from [[Jaipur]], in the [[Shekhawati]] region of Rajasthan. This sanctuary is home to large populations of blackbuck, fox, caracal, [[partridge]], and [[sand grouse]].
** The [[Sundha Mata Conservation Reserve]] covers {{convert|117.49|km2|abbr=on}} and is located in the [[Jalore District]] of Rajasthan.<ref>WII (2015). [http://www.wii.gov.in/nwdc_conservation_reserves Conservation Reserves] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150410212243/http://www.wii.gov.in/nwdc_conservation_reserves |date=10 April 2015 }} Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun.</ref>
* '''In Pakistan''':
** The [[Nara Desert Wildlife Sanctuary]] covers {{convert|6300|km2|abbr=on}};<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ghalib |first1=S. A. |last2=Khan |first2=A. R. |last3=Zehra |first3=M. |last4=Abbas |first4=D. |display-authors=1 |year=2008 |title=Bioecology of Nara Desert Wildlife Sanctuary, Districts Ghotki, Sukkur and Khairpur, Sindh |journal=Pakistan Journal of Zoology |volume=40 |issue=1 |pages=37–43 |issn=0030-9923 }}</ref> it is located in is located in [[Mirpurkhas District]].<ref name="wildlifeofpakistan.com">{{Cite web|url=http://www.wildlifeofpakistan.com/sanctuaries.html|title=Protected Areas|access-date=21 April 2020|archive-date=3 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200203175230/http://www.wildlifeofpakistan.com/sanctuaries.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> It contains the largest population of the endangered [[mugger crocodile]] in Pakistan.<ref name="wildlifeofpakistan.com"/>
** The [[Rann of Kutch Wildlife Sanctuary]] located in [[Badin District]] is an Important Bird Area and [[Ramsar Convention|Ramsar Site]], with 30 species of mammals, 112 bird species, 20 reptiles, and 22 important plant species.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Ghalib |first1=S. A. |last2=Khan |first2=M. Z. |last3=Hussain |first3=S. A. |last4=Zehra |first4=A. |last5=Samreen |first5=N. |last6=Tabassum |first6=F. |last7=Jabeen |first7=T. |last8=Khan |first8=A. R. |last9=Sharma |first9=L. |last10=Bhatti |first10=T. |display-authors=1 |year=2014 |title=Current distribution and status of the mammals, birds and reptiles in Rann of Kutch Wildlife Sanctuary, Sindh |url=https://agris.fao.org/agris-search/search.do?recordID=PK2014000864 |journal=International Journal of Biology and Biotechnology (Pakistan) |volume=10 |issue=4 |pages=601–611 |issn=1810-2719 |access-date=21 August 2022 |archive-date=12 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230412045554/https://agris.fao.org/agris-search/search.do?recordID=PK2014000864 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
** The [[Lal Suhanra National Park|Lal Suhanra Biosphere Reserve and National Park]] is a [[UNESCO]] declared biosphere reserve,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unesco.org/new/en/natural-sciences/environment/ecological-sciences/biosphere-reserves/asia-and-the-pacific/pakistan/lal-suhanra/|title=Lal Suhanra|publisher=UNESCO|access-date=28 December 2016}}</ref> which covers {{Convert|65,791|ha|mi2|abbr=}} the [[Cholistan Desert|Cholistan]] region of the Greater Thar Desert.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.unesco.org/mabdb/br/brdir/directory/biores.asp?mode=all&code=PAK+01|title=UNESCO – MAB Biosphere Reserves Directory|website=unesco.org|access-date=2020-04-21}}</ref>