6 Nature's Places

World Book's Learning Ladders Nature's Places

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Desert A desert is a region that gets little rain. Most deserts are very hot during the day and cool at night. The big picture shows the Namib Desert in Africa. Animals and plants that live here have developed ways to survive in the hot, dry desert. Sometimes heavy rain falls in a desert. Colorful flowers may soon bloom after the rains. It's a fact! Camels are desert animals that can go days or even weeks without eating. Their bodies use the fat from the food they have eaten and that is stored in the humps on their back. Sand dunes are hills made of sand. They are formed by wind.

This gecko lifts its limbs high for relief from the hot sand. Oryxes may eat melons to get the water they need. Welwitschia plants can live up to 2,000 years! A chameleon can change color to blend in with its surroundings. The quiver tree grows only in hot places. Weaver birds build large group nests in the tree.

Forest A forest is a large area of land covered with trees. Birds, insects, and other animals live in forests. People cut down forest trees to get wood to burn as fuel or make such things as paper. Many people also enjoy the beauty of forests. The big picture shows a forest-covered area in Canada's Yukon. It's a fact! Since 1950, over half of the world's trees have disappeared. A moose roams the forest alone. It eats woody plants of the forest. Wolves hunt large hooved animals of the forest. Elks travel in herds. They eat mostly grass. White spruce trees cover much of the Yukon.

A falcon keeps a lookout for food from high in a tree's branches. Fireweed is a wildflower that springs up quickly after a forest fire. Some scientists work to protect forests. They check to make sure forests stay healthy.