The Thar Desert in India

The Thar Desert, or the Great Indian Desert, is an arid area in the Indian subcontinent with rolling sandhills. It is split between Rajasthan state in northern India and also Sindh and Punjab.

The Thar Desert spans 200,000 sq kilometres. You can see the plains of the Indus River (west), the Aravalli Range (southeast), the Punjab Plain (northeast and north), and the Rann Kachchh (south). The desert subtropical results from sustained high subsidence and pressure at such latitude. The predominant monsoon winds from the southwest, which bring rainfall to the subcontinent, tend to skip the Thar (east) in the summer. Thar comes from the word thul, which refers to the region’s sand ridges.

Land

Archean (Precambrian) gneiss (rocks that are metamorphic developed between 2.5 and 4 billion years back, Proterozoic (later Precambrian) sedimentary rocks (made between 2.5 and 541 million years back, and more current alluvium are all covered by the Thar’s desert sands. Aeolian sand (wind-deposited) has collected on the surface during the last 1.8 million years.

The desert has undulating topography, with low and high dunes separated by plains that are sandy and downward barren hills (bhakars), rising abruptly from the plains around them. The dunes constantly shift and take on different forms and sizes. On the other hand, older dunes are semi-stable or stable, and several of them rise to over 150 metres outside the surrounding terrain. There are several playas (salty lake beds) throughout the area, sometimes called dhands.

Rainfall

The desert receives very little yearly rainfall, ranging from less than 4 inches towards the west to more than 20 inches towards the east. The amount of precipitation varies significantly from one year to the next. The monsoon season in the southwest, which runs from July through September, accounts for over 90% of the total rainfall annually. During further seasons, the parched northeast monsoon is the prevailing breeze. The warmest months are May and June, with temperatures reaching 50 degrees Celsius. In the coldest month, January, the typical low temperature is between 5 and 10 °C, and you can expect frost.

People

The majority of the desert’s people live in rural regions and are spread out in different densities. The population falls into various social and economic divisions, and people practice both Islam and Hinduism. People speak Lahnda (northwest), Sindhi (southwest), and Rajasthani languages, particularly Marwari, which are spoken in the middle and eastern parts of the Thar. The Thar has a broad ethnic mix. The Rajputs, people who live in the central region of the Thar, are one of the most significant communities. Many nomads work in crafts, animal husbandry, or commerce industries. Nomads, sedentary people, and the economy are mutually beneficial.

Tourism For The Environment

Since then, one of the critical sources of income and revenue-generating has been dry and barren area tourism. People go from all over the world to visit this Great Desert, where nature and humanity coexist under the blistering heat during the day and the freezing winds at night.

Activities Relating To The Industry

Quarrying and mining have been among the oldest industries in this area due to the lack of active human populations. India is rich in mineral reserves and, more significantly, numerous types of stones. Reliance Energy aims to build natural subterranean gasification systems for electric power generation.

Economy

The desert’s primary natural resources are grasses. They provide nourishing pastures and medications for the local population. In the Thar, there are prominently five cattle breeds. The Tharparkar breed produces the most milk. The Kankre breed is suitable as both a producer of milk and a beast of burden. People breed sheep to produce both fine and coarse wool. Camels are frequently employed for transportation, ploughing and other agrarian tasks. Farmers plant crops like cotton and wheat where there is enough water.

Conclusion 

The 1947 partition of India and Pakistan left most of the irrigation canals supplied by the Indus system in Pakistani territory, while a significant desert track on the Indian side of the border remained unirrigated. The Indus Water Treaty of 1960 established and defined both nations’ rights and duties concerning the usage of the Indus River system’s waters. According to the deal, the Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej river’s water would be made available to the Indira Gandhi Canal, which will help irrigate the Thar areas in western Rajasthan.