Illustration: Desert
Deserts are widespread. Asia has the Taklimakan Desert; Africa has the Sahara desert; There are Australian deserts in Oceania, Sonora deserts in North America and Atacama deserts in South America. So are there deserts in Europe? Europe also has deserts.
Illustration: Behnes Desert, the only desert in Europe.
Europe has deserts, too? Maybe it's the first time for many people to hear about it. Europe has deserts. Where is the desert in Europe? The only desert in Europe is located in almeria, Andalusia. It is called Benners Desert, also known as TaWenas Desert. The desert area of Behnes is only 280 square kilometers, which is a little smaller than Fengtai District. Compared with Europe10160,000 square kilometers, the desert in Europe really has no sense of existence!
Why are there so few deserts in Europe? There are two main reasons.
Illustration: European terrain
First, most parts of Europe belong to high latitudes. It avoids the area controlled by the subtropical high belt between 20 and 30 north and south latitudes. Otherwise, even if Europe is surrounded by the sea, it will not escape the fate of climate drought. Drought is an important condition for desert formation.
Second, Europe is flat, with low average altitude and surrounded by the sea on three sides. On the map, Europe looks like a peninsula extending from Eurasia to the Atlantic Ocean. The average elevation in Europe is only 340 meters, which is the lowest among the seven continents. Europe is flat, which can make the warm and humid Atlantic air flow deep into the hinterland of Europe. Therefore, most parts of Europe belong to temperate maritime climate, with abundant precipitation and humid climate. Such a climatic environment is not conducive to the formation of desert.
Illustration: Behnes desert and Spanish terrain.
Based on the above two reasons. Europe has not produced a large area of desert. Then the question is, why is there such a small desert in Spain? This has a lot to do with Spain's unique terrain.
The topography of Spain is mainly plateaus and mountains. The plateaus and mountains in northern and central Spain tear the warm and humid air currents from the western and northern Atlantic Ocean. Therefore, in the desert area of Behnes, it is difficult to welcome warm and humid air from the north.
Illustration: The location of the desert in Bannas.
Similarly, unfortunately, the warm and humid air from the Mediterranean Sea is blocked by the Penibetico Mountains in the south. In this way, the area where Behnes Desert is located is a fiery basin surrounded by many mountains. The annual precipitation here is less than 90 mm, and the highest temperature can reach 50℃. Drought and lack of rain make it the only desert in Europe.
In addition to topography, the canary cold current in the Atlantic Ocean passes through the west coast of Spain. The cold current has the function of cooling and dehumidification, and it will also aggravate the drought problem in the desert area of Behnes. This is also an important reason for the formation of desert in Behnas.
These are the main reasons why there is no large area of desert in Europe.