# Who hasn't seen a desert? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 17, 2008, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-hasnt-seen-a-desert/433905 "2008-01-17T18:44:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2008, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-hasnt-seen-a-desert/433905/1 "2008-01-17T18:44:35Z")
In the spirit of the [Who hasn’t seen the prairie](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=451830) and [Who hasn’t seen the ocean](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=451744) threads, I present… “Who hasn’t seen a desert?”. Who hasn’t seen a desert? Me, that’s who. I’ve been fascinated by deserts ever since I was a kid. I’ve seen photographs and Google Earth simulations. I’ve read _Dune_ and seen _Star Wars_. I’ve heard of the colours and the sky and the vegetation and the animals. People who have gone to the US Southwest have told me of the desert’s beauty. But I have never been there. Edit: I’ve seen what weere presumably deserts from the plane going to San Francisco, but I’m not sure that counts. ---
**Author:** ![Sophistry\_and\_Illusion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Sophistry\_and\_Illusion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sophistry_and_Illusion)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2008, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-hasnt-seen-a-desert/433905/2 "2008-01-17T18:47:55Z")
That’s too bad. One of my most memorable experiences is, after having travelled as far south in Morocco as motorized vehicles would take us and the military would let us go, laboriously climbing up an enormous sand dune and seeing the Sahara spread out before me all the way to the horizon. Un-fucking-believable. I will carry that memory with me until I die or lose my mind, whichever comes first. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2008, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-hasnt-seen-a-desert/433905/3 "2008-01-17T19:05:28Z")
If you are interested I have a cheap and easy plan to get you to a desert. I will be taking advantage of this all expenses paid government vacation later this year. I’ve been on this plan for years now and I have seen a few deserts in the past. All for free! In fact I was paid for it! ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2008, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-hasnt-seen-a-desert/433905/4 "2008-01-17T19:20:33Z")
I’ve been to prairies, I’ve been on top of mountains, and I go to the ocean pretty often. But I’ve never been to the desert on a horse with no name. If I can scrape together money for the plane ticket, I’ll go to Santa Fe in June. ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2008, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-hasnt-seen-a-desert/433905/5 "2008-01-17T19:22:03Z")
[QUOTE=Sunspace] Edit: I’ve seen what weere presumably deserts from the plane going to San Francisco, but I’m not sure that counts. [/QUOTE] Drawing a straight line from Toronto to San Francisco, I’m not sure this is true. I’ve edged the Mojave going between Las Vegas and California, and I remember staying at the “Death Valley Best Western” or something like that on the way from Reno to LA, but I’ve never been surrounded by rolling dunes or anything like that. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2008, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-hasnt-seen-a-desert/433905/6 "2008-01-17T19:28:13Z")
[QUOTE=Troy McClure SF] I’ve edged the Mojave going between Las Vegas and California, and I remember staying at the “Death Valley Best Western” or something like that on the way from Reno to LA, but I’ve never been surrounded by rolling dunes or anything like that. [/QUOTE] Yeah, while oceans have slight variations from one to the next, I’m pretty sure that deserts can be pretty unique. Huge difference between the Arabian Desert, Gobi Desert, Antarctica, and [Volcano National Park](http://3dparks.wr.usgs.gov/hawaii/html/havo0364.htm). ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2008, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-hasnt-seen-a-desert/433905/7 "2008-01-17T19:48:59Z")
Is Iowa considered prairie? I’ve been there, and it was rolling and hilly (around Iowa City). But as far as desert, nope. Iowa City is as far west as I’ve been. I would like to, though. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2008, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-hasnt-seen-a-desert/433905/8 "2008-01-17T20:12:26Z")
We lived in Arizona when I was a tot, but I don’t remember anything about it, so I don’t feel like I’ve seen a desert. Oh wait! Does Eastern Washington count? Or is that High Plains? ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2008, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-hasnt-seen-a-desert/433905/9 "2008-01-17T20:16:27Z")
How timely. We went to Death Valley last weekend, and stayed at Stovepipe Wells, where dunes were visible from right outside our room. So I don’t even have to worry about what counts as a desert now. ---
**Author:** ![Sal\_Ammoniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Sal\_Ammoniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sal_Ammoniac)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2008, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-hasnt-seen-a-desert/433905/10 "2008-01-17T20:18:21Z")
I’ve been to the Sahara, but I’ve never seen an American desert – unless you count cultural deserts, that is. By the way, are there any deserts in Canada? ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2008, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-hasnt-seen-a-desert/433905/11 "2008-01-17T20:25:06Z")
Yep, quite a few from around the world actually and, as mentioned, they each can be remarkably different. I love the marvelous unexpecteds you find out there; the bajada (desert pavement), the survival characteristics of indigenous plants and animals, the strange geologic formations due to evaporites, winds, etc. Flash floods, freezing nights, strange lights and mirages, suspended animations, delicate structures, bizarre adaptations… all fascinating. ---
**Author:** ![Lionne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Lionne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lionne)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2008, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-hasnt-seen-a-desert/433905/12 "2008-01-17T20:38:34Z")
Another place I haven’t been. Never seen a real desert. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2008, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-hasnt-seen-a-desert/433905/13 "2008-01-17T20:46:33Z")
Me neither. ---
**Author:** ![Tikki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5daacb/32.png) [@Tikki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tikki)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2008, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-hasnt-seen-a-desert/433905/14 "2008-01-17T20:58:17Z")
[QUOTE=AuntiePam] We lived in Arizona when I was a tot, but I don’t remember anything about it, so I don’t feel like I’ve seen a desert. Oh wait! Does Eastern Washington count? Or is that High Plains? [/QUOTE] Techinically, it’s not desert but a semi-arid region. But between you and me, if you’re talking about the scablands in Grand Coulee area and thereabouts, I’m all for calling that a desert. Hey, it’s got cacti (albeit tiny ones) and rattlesnakes and everything! As for true, honest-to-gosh deserts, I traversed the Sonoran in a Greyhound bus back in the day when I was much younger and riding the bus still held some romance. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2008, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-hasnt-seen-a-desert/433905/15 "2008-01-17T21:11:27Z")
Is it possible for a major body of water to be in a desert? I’m think Dead Sea specifically. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2008, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-hasnt-seen-a-desert/433905/16 "2008-01-17T21:18:09Z")
One of the best things about living in Washington state is that I can see every environment mentioned in these threads without ever leaving the state. However, the first desert I ever saw for real was when my family visited relatives in Arizona when I was 12 - years before we moved to Eastern Washington. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2008, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-hasnt-seen-a-desert/433905/17 "2008-01-17T21:23:08Z")
[QUOTE=tdn] Is it possible for a major body of water to be in a desert? [/QUOTE] The Great Salt Lake, Utah. Bonneville was in antiquity even larger still. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2008, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-hasnt-seen-a-desert/433905/18 "2008-01-17T21:30:08Z")
[QUOTE=lieu] The Great Salt Lake, Utah. Bonneville was in antiquity even larger still. [/QUOTE] Salt Lake City is in a desert? I’m pretty sure that they get snow there. And if it IS in a desert, then I guess I’ve seen one. ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2008, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-hasnt-seen-a-desert/433905/19 "2008-01-17T21:31:26Z")
Not me (not yet, but what with global warming and all…) ---
**Author:** ![butler1850](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@butler1850](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/butler1850)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2008, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-hasnt-seen-a-desert/433905/20 "2008-01-17T21:33:08Z")
I’ve had the opportunity to see both desert (Vegas & Reno), and the Ocean (Atlantic specifically, I’ve flown in/out of LA, but didn’t make it to the beach). I’ve not seen the great plains in my ‘remembered life’ (post infancy. I was born in Nebraska at Offutt AFB). I suppose driving to Denver from the airport counts to a point, but it’s not the full experience. I’d like to get to the midwest and understand the ‘miles of straight/flat roads’ in a similar manner to experiencing the ‘huge space’ of the Vegas area desert. The amazing part of the Vegas area to me was looking out across the valley, and realizing those mountains were 40+ miles away. In New England, you’re lucky to be able to see a few hundred yards, unless you’re on a mountaintop. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-hasnt-seen-a-desert/433905.md?page=2)