Desert Facts

The Saguaro Cactus, found in South-western United States does NOT grow branches until it is 75 years old.

The Kangaroo Rat can last longer without water than a camel.

The Sahara Desert has expanded by about 10% since 1920, growing at an average rate of approximately 11,000 square kilometers per year.

Europe is the only continent without a hot desert.

Camels have three eyelids to protect themselves from blowing sand!

A Citroën 2CV crossing the Atacama desert in Chile lost all its engine oil in 1959. The crew filled the crankcase with mashed bananas and drove 300 kilometers to safety.

Leonard Knight arrived in the California desert in 1984 with no art training and no plan - only a message: God is Love. He spent 27 years alone, hand-painting a 50-foot adobe mountain with over 100,000 gallons of donated paint. He slept in a truck at its base, with no electricity or running water. A US Senator called it a national treasure.