Life In Hot Dry Lands: California (color, 1949)

[Music] this is the desert as most of us think of it dry hot wind endlessly shaping Dunes of blistering sand but the deserts of the world are much more than just drifting sand the truth is that sand dunes are a small part of most deserts compared to the great desolate mountains the endless miles of rock strewn valleys and vast dry lake beds a land without water this is the true desert it's a hot dry land where a cloud on a Mountaintop is most important because rain from that cloud feeds a little stream or a spring so trees can grow cool and green making a beautiful Oasis in the dreary desert that Priceless water is all that makes the difference between the cooling shade of an oasis in this green-clad Desert Canyon and this Barren land that can support nothing but a sand dune that's what makes a desert land lack of water lack of rain lack of Rivers where are these desert lands do they occur in many places in the world highlighted here are the great desert areas near the equator where the trade winds blow and in the path of the Westerly winds in the temperate zones there are other great deserts in Asia in the northern hemisphere there are great deserts like the GOI or shamal and on the North American continent there is a great desert region spreading through New Mexico Arizona and California into Mexico in Northern Africa and Arabia the trade winds produce vast desert areas while south of the Equator there are desert regions in Southwest Africa as the trade winds cross South America they help to create a narrow Coastal strip of desert land in Chile and far across the Pacific there are the hot dry regions of central Australia the great sandy desert and the Victoria desert and so we find great deserts of the world where trades blow and where westerlies take up moisture from the land and there are many smaller deserts the product of winds and mountain ranges as prevailing winds rise over the high mountain ranges the moisture in the winds is cooled and and turns to clouds and Rain the high mountain wall keeps the cloud and most of the rain on the windward side then the air blows down the mountain slope becoming warmer and warmer absorbing what little moisture there is it turns the land on the leeward side into a desert that cloud May feed a little stream which trickles down the Steep Canyon but the stream is quickly swallowed by The Burning Sands of the desert floor then how can plants and animals survive in the desert how does anything live in the desert let's see what we can learn for example from the bisnaga or Barrel Cactus the casing of sharp curved needles would certainly discourage any thirsty animal from biting into the plant thus it protects itself from animals seeking the water inside when an occasional rain comes the cactus stores up a little water on which it can survive during the months when no rain Falls and that watery pulp has saved the life of many a man lost in the desert some varieties of desert plant yield edible fruit like the so-called Cactus Apple when the spines are knocked off and the fruit is cut open we find that it is Juicy showing us how this plant stores up water too the plants of the desert lands always have a prot coating to seal in their moisture as a result they never feel moist and cool as do the green leaves of trees in this desert land of plants protected by barbs and spines how can animals survive what can they eat in the most Barren sandy or rocky places it would seem impossible for anything to live but many kinds of reptile manage somehow by making their homes in Rocky crevices or in holes deep in the ground they stay cool during the heat of the day and can go for long periods of time without water the fierce looking little horn toad for all his looks is harmless except to the stomach of any animal that foolishly swallows that horny pin cushion but there are many insects in the desert finding their food in the blossoms or eating the sweet sap of desert plants and these insects are the natural food food for the reptiles and birds in the desert Canyons we find birds of many kinds but the struggle to survive keeps them from becoming plentiful a dweller in desert lands knows that the larger animals are wary but they can be found usually staying close to their feeding grounds in the Steep Canyons near some little spring or a small stream what's that coyotes the coyote and his big ger braver cousins The Jackal and the grey wolf live in many desert lands and because they kill sheep and chickens we consider them enemies that is the desert where too little rain falls where there are no Rivers no Lakes how does mankind survive here what is the everyday life of this boy he and his grandfather might be Nomads of the great Sahara or Arabia instead of Indians from the deserts of North America how do they live this boy's grandfather has nicknamed him Robin Robin's family lives in a canyon near a little spring of good water their home is really in a small Oasis where water helps a few trees grow and where they can have a small garden to grow food and raise chickens and Ducks but the spring is small so only one family can live here when Robin and his sister visit their Uncle who raises sheep they must go quite a distance across the desert desert in the spring these sheep must be driven out of the dried up pasture land up into the Mountain Meadows where the grass is still green many families live in wagons or tents all the year round because their sheep or cows must always be on the Move always hunting for enough to eat we call such people noads when robin goes to the district school he will learn that there many kinds of nomadic people living in many different lands with this sand table the class has made we can understand how the nomadic bedan tribes live in the Great deserts of Arabia and Egypt the bedwin use camels to ride and to carry their possessions and they live in tents and because they travel so much from place to place they live simply no beds or chairs just cushions and pillows no ST stoves or sinks just a few pots and kettles for cooking over an open fire the clothing of these BNS is soft and loose like a big Cape it can be wrapped around the face when the cruel cutting sandstorms blow and notice how it protects the head and neck from the Blazing Heat Of The Sun now what are the main occupations of the bedin and other Nomads they raise sheep and camels for food hides and wool from the wool some desert dwellers in the country of Iran weave the most beautiful rugs in the world dwellers in the desert oases are not Nomads they build permanent homes the cooling shade of the Palms makes an ideal place for a home doesn't it let's find out how men have learned to Design Homes to build cool Sheltering places to live in the desert lands this is one very good way heavy clay from the dry lake beds of the desert is formed into sunbaked bricks what could make a better wall to help in the ceaseless struggle against the Heat in an oasis life is somewhat easy for plants and animals and men but the oases are few and far between many miles of burning deserts separate neighbors and roads are not easy to build nor to maintain over the rocks and shifting sand so transportation is a serious problem in all the deserts of the world even the modern car is not the best way to travel if you want to be sure to arrive hearty little donkeys like the camels of Arabia may be slow but they are sure modern highways will improve Transportation on the main routes of travel through the desert and of course the airplane can reach anywhere if Landing fields are available but nothing will ever really change the true nature of the desert lands of the earth as long as the wind and the mountains continue to deprive those lands of [Music] water