Thar Desert (case study)

• Thar desert

  A major desert located in Northwest India and Pakistan, mostly in the state of Rajasthan
• The thar desert covers over 200,000 square kilometers
• The thar desert is the most densely populated desert in the world with 83 people per square kilometer
• Rainfall in the thar desert is typically between 100 and 240 millimeters per year
• Summer temperatures in the thar desert can reach over 50 degrees
• Thar desert opportunities


  • Provides many opportunities for development
  • Has valuable reserves of minerals and stones
  • Ideal climate for solar power
  • Significant oil and coal reserves
  • Irrigation has allowed commercial farming to flourish
• Minerals and stones found in the thar desert


  • Gypsum
  • Feldspar
  • Phosphorite
  • Cowling
  • Sano limestone
  • Marble
• Gypsum


  Used for producing plaster and cement
• Feldspar


  Used to make ceramics
• Phosphorite


  Used for fertilizers
• Cowling


  Used as a whitener in paper
• Sano limestone


  Used in the Indian steel industry
• Marble


  Used in the construction industry
• Energy production in the thar desert


  • Solar power
  • Giselma wind park (India's largest wind farm)
  • Oil and coal reserves
• Farming in the thar desert


  • Wheat
  • Cotton
• Indira Gandhi Canal


  Provides irrigation for commercial farming and drinking water for the local population
• Tourist attractions in the thar desert


  • Thar Desert National Park
  • Camel safaris
  • City of Jaisalmer
• Challenges for development in the thar desert


  • Extreme heat in summer makes farming and mining difficult
  • Limited water supply with increasing demand
  • Inaccessibility due to lack of infrastructure and extreme environment