Indus Valley Desert

The Indus Valley Desert is an almost uninhabited desert ecoregion of northern Pakistan.

Location and description

The Indus Valley desert covers an area of 19,501 square kilometers (7,529 sq mi) in northwestern Punjab Province between the Chenab and Indus rivers. The Indus Valley Desert is drier and less hospitable than the northwestern thorn scrub forests that surround it with temperatures ranging from freezing in winter to extremely hot (more than 45 °C (113 °F)) in summer with only 600-800 mm of rainfall per year.

Flora

The desert vegetation is quite varied due to the variety of temperatures with Prosopis shrubs being the characteristic species.

Fauna

The desert is home to five large mammals: wolf, hyena, caracal, leopard and the urial (Ovis orientalis punjabensis) along with many rodents and other mammals. Meanwhile the 190 species of bird in the desert include the red-necked falcon.

Threats and preservation

Like the nearby Thar Desert the Indus Valley desert has little farming or grazing due to its hard climate and therefore the natural habitats are almost intact. However hunting still goes on and is a threat to caracals, wolves and other mammals.