Desert Sand Dunes Landscape Photography

In 1961, Peveril Meigs divided desert regions on Earth into three categories according to the amount of precipitation they received. In this now widely accepted system, extremely arid lands have at least 12 consecutive months without rainfall, arid lands have less than 250 mm (10 in) of annual rainfall, and semiarid lands have a mean annual precipitation of between 250 and 500 mm (10–20 in). Arid and extremely arid lands are deserts, and semiarid areas are generally referred to as steppes.
Definition
Measurement of rainfall alone cannot provide an accurate definition of what a desert is because being arid also depends on evaporation, which depends in part on temperature. For example, Phoenix, Arizona receives less than 250 millimeters (10 in) of precipitation per year, and is immediately recognized as being located in a desert due to its arid adapted plants. The North Slope of Alaska's Brooks Range also receives less than 250 millimeters (10 in) of precipitation per year and is often classified as a cold desert. Other regions of the world have cold deserts, including areas of the Himalayas and other high altitude areas in other parts of the world. Polar deserts cover much of the ice free areas of the arctic and Antarctic.