Coastal Deserts
10/23/26
“How can deserts form along the coast?”
When people discuss deserts, it’s easy to imagine an endless inland expanse of sand. But deserts can form over coasts too. Cold currents in the tropics will cause cold air to move along the western coastlines of continents. This cold air doesn’t rise upward to form clouds, and instead stays in a stable fog layer. This low cloud formation limits rainfall along the coasts, forming Coastal Deserts. Coastal deserts are cooler and more stable climates than other deserts, and the fog moisture creates fertile conditions for unique organism evolution. Famous coastal deserts include the Namib Desert (pictured) in southern Africa and the Atacama Desert in Chile.
