Editing Geography of India (section)

===Thar Desert===
[[File:Thar desert Rajasthan India.jpg|thumb|Thar desert, [[Rajasthan]]]]
{{Main|Thar Desert}}

The Thar Desert (also known as ''the deserts'') is by some calculations the world's seventh largest desert, by some others the tenth.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://geology.com/records/largest-desert.shtml|title=The World's Largest Desert|publisher=geology.com|access-date=14 May 2011|archive-date=17 August 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070817025305/http://geology.com/records/largest-desert.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref> It forms a significant portion of western India and covers an area of {{convert|200000|to|238700|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/590028/Thar-Desert|title=Thar Desert|encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]|access-date=14 May 2011|archive-date=2 May 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110502033249/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/590028/Thar-Desert|url-status=live}}</ref> The desert continues into Pakistan as the [[Cholistan Desert]]. Most of the Thar Desert is situated in [[Rajasthan]], covering 61% of its geographic area.

About 10 percent of this region consists of sand dunes, and the remaining 90 percent consist of craggy rock forms, compacted salt-lake bottoms, and interdunal and fixed dune areas. Annual temperatures can range from {{convert|0|C}} in the winter to over {{convert|50|C}} during the summer. Most of the rainfall received in this region is associated with the short July–September southwest monsoon that brings {{convert|100|to|500|mm|abbr=on}} of precipitation. Water is scarce and occurs at great depths, ranging from {{convert|30|to|120|m}} below the ground level.<ref name="KAUL">{{cite book|title=Afforestation in Arid zones|author=Kaul, R.N.|publisher=N.V. Publishers, [[The Hague]]|year=1970}}</ref> Rainfall is precarious and erratic, ranging from below {{convert|120|mm|in|abbr=on}} in the extreme west to {{convert|375|mm|in|abbr=on}} eastward. The only river in this region is Luni. The soils of the arid region are generally sandy to sandy-loam in texture. The consistency and depth vary as per the topographical features. The low-lying loams are heavier may have a hard pan of clay, [[calcium carbonate]] or [[gypsum]].

In western India, the Kutch region in Gujarat and Koyna in Maharashtra are classified as a Zone IV region (high risk) for earthquakes. The Kutch city of [[Bhuj]] was the [[epicentre]] of the [[2001 Gujarat earthquake]], which claimed the lives of more than 1,337 people and injured 166,836 while destroying or damaging near a million homes.<ref name="USGS">{{cite web
 |title=Preliminary Earthquake Report 
 |publisher=USGS Earthquake Hazards Program 
 |url=http://neic.usgs.gov/neis/eq_depot/2001/eq_010126/ 
 |access-date=21 November 2007 
 |url-status=dead 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071120094220/http://neic.usgs.gov/neis/eq_depot/2001/eq_010126/ 
 |archive-date=20 November 2007 
}}</ref> The [[1993 Latur earthquake]] in Maharashtra killed 7,928 people and injured 30,000.<ref name="IIRS">{{cite thesis | title= Earthquake Risk Assessment of Buildings: Applicability of HAZUS in Dehradun, India | url= https://www.iirs.gov.in/iirs/sites/default/files/StudentThesis/brijesh_thesis2005.pdf | author= Brijesh Gulati | date= January 2006 | type= MS thesis | publisher= International Institute for Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation | access-date= 17 March 2023 | archive-date= 24 May 2022 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220524165339/https://www.iirs.gov.in/iirs/sites/default/files/StudentThesis/brijesh_thesis2005.pdf | url-status= live }}</ref> Other areas have a moderate to low risk of an earthquake occurring.<ref>{{cite book | title = Manorama Yearbook 2006 (India – The Country)|page = 519}}</ref>