Part one of term paper
Any barren region that supports very little life may be called a desert. The cold expanses of Antarctica, extreme northern Asia, and Greenland are therefore true, but cold, deserts. Most commonly, however, the term desert is used for regions that are barren because they are arid, or dry. Arid deserts receive little precipitation and are chara ...

Part two of term paper
... year brought 0.6 inches (1.5 centimeters), making a five-year average of 0.12 inches (0.3 centimeter). At another time 2.5 inches (6.4 centimeters) fell in a single shower. " (Compton's Encyclopedia) Temperatures range widely in deserts. The greatest daily fluctuations occur in deserts near the equator. Temperatures above 100o F (38o C) occur regularly in summer. "Azizia, 25 miles (40 kilometers) southwest of Tripoli, in Libya, holds the record with 136.4o F (58o C), while Death Valley, Calif., ...