Excerpt from Desert Trails of Atacama It has become the fashion to say that major exploration is at an end because the North Pole and the South Pole have been attained and the general design Of the mountains, deserts, and drainage systems Of the earth has become known. Yet in truth the map is still crowded with scientific mysteries though its great historic mysteries have been swept away. The Mountains Of the Moon, the sources Of the Nile and the Congo, the secrets of the inner Sahara, the heart of Tibet, these are among the great mysteries that long awaited the explorer and that have been dispelled one by one. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

About one-third of the Earth’s land surface experiences a desert climate, and this area supports approximately 15% of the planet’s population. This percentage continues to grow, and with this growth comes the need to acquire and apply an understanding of desert geomorphology. Such an understanding is vital in managing scarce and fragile resources and in mitigating natural hazards. This authoritative reference book is comprehensive in its coverage of the geomorphology of desert environments, and is arranged thematically. It begins with an overview of global deserts, proceeds through treatments of weathering, hillslopes, rivers, piedmonts, lake basins, and aeolian surfaces, and concludes with a discussion of the role of climatic change. Written by a team of international authors, all of whom are active in the field, the chapters cover the spectrum of desert geomorphology.

Aridity prevails over more than one third of the land area of the Earth and over a significant fraction of the oceans as well. Yet to date there has been no comprehensive reference volume or textbook dealing with the weather processes that define the character of desert areas. Desert Meteorology fills this gap by treating all aspects of desert weather.