Deserts and Grasslands of the World
Why deserts sit where they do, and every grassland name from prairie to veld, with PYQs.
Drag to pan, scroll or pinch to zoom. Tap a state to zoom, tap a marker for its exam facts.
Every place on this map
Asked in exams
Actual questions from UPSC and state PCS papers that this map answers. The key detail column carries the correct fact behind each question.
| Exam | Question | Key detail |
|---|---|---|
| UPSC 1992 | Sahara-type deserts at 20-30° west margins: offshore winds all year | — |
| UPSC 2011 | African-Eurasian desert belt: subtropical high ✓, warm currents ✗ | the belt is caused by the subtropical high-pressure zone, not warm currents |
| UPSC 2006 | Harmattan is an East African wind ✗ | Harmattan is a hot dry wind of West Africa, from the Sahara to the Gulf of Guinea |
| UPSC 1991 | Thar: low-latitude desert | — |
| UPSC 1983 | To check the Thar’s expansion: afforestation | — |
| UPSC 2009 | Great Victoria Desert: Australia | — |
| UPSC | Sahara: largest hot desert in the world, in North Africa | — |
| UPSC | Thar desert: in NW India, mainly Rajasthan | extends into Pakistan |
| UPPCS | Cold desert of India: Ladakh | Trans-Himalayan region |
| UPPCS | Banni grassland: in Kachchh, Gujarat | Asia’s largest grassland |
| UPPCS | Shola grasslands: in the Western Ghats | Nilgiris, Kerala-Tamil Nadu |
| UPSC | Gobi: cold desert in Mongolia and China | — |
| UPSC | Atacama: driest desert in the world, in Chile | — |
| UPSC | Kalahari: in southern Africa | Botswana, Namibia, South Africa |
| UPSC | Namib: coastal desert of Namibia, cooled by the Benguela current | — |
| UPSC | Patagonian desert: rain-shadow desert of the Andes, in Argentina | — |
| UPSC | Savanna: tropical grassland with scattered trees | Africa |
| UPSC | Temperate grasslands: Steppes (Central Asia), Prairies (North America), Pampas (Argentina), Veld (South Africa), Downs | Australia |
About this map
The hot deserts, cold deserts and named grasslands of every continent. Each marker explains the formation logic or the ecological tag the exam uses.
The key concept is why hot deserts hug western continental margins: cold currents plus subtropical highs. Grassland names (prairie, steppe, pampas, veld, savanna) are asked as continent matching.
Cold deserts (Gobi, Patagonia, Ladakh) are the contrast set. Desertification questions (Sahel, the Great Green Wall) link this map to environment.