Also worth mentioning: Błędów Desert in Poland:
The world's smallest desert is in Canada
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Re: The world's smallest desert is in Canada
#12:) I’ve visited this place. It’s a beautiful place and some great mountain biking nearby on Montana mountain. Keith is a really cool and showed us some of his work in progress.
Re: The world's smallest desert is in Canada
#13They call it a "desert" because there are sand dunes, not because it is actually a desert[1]. Receives more rain than the Silicon Valley. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carcross_Desert
In France there's the Dune of Pilat (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dune_of_Pilat). It's really nice to visit. 110 meters high, right next to the coast. It's just one giant dune though :)
Re: The world's smallest desert is in Canada
#14They call it a "desert" because there are sand dunes, not because it is actually a desert[1]. Receives more rain than the Silicon Valley. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carcross_Desert
Huh. Mere presence of sand dunes isn't an indication of any sort of "desertness", at least at this scale. Michigan has several sand dunes, and it isn't even remotely a desert: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silver_Lake_State_Park_(Michig... That one is according to Wikipedia over 2000 acres of sand dunes, which is over 3 square miles, which is quite a bit bigger than the Carcross "Desert".
There are places in that park where you can stand and see nothing but sand. Well, sand and lots of dune buggies. But, still.
Presumably a colloquial name, or there's something else to it.
Re: The world's smallest desert is in Canada
#15They call it a "desert" because there are sand dunes, not because it is actually a desert[1]. Receives more rain than the Silicon Valley. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carcross_Desert
Same situation with most of our "high desert" here in Oregon, which is probably best described as "steppe" outside of a few small areas like the Alvord desert. There are some dunes here, too, though: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_Valley_Sand_Dunes
If you haven't been to the Alvord desert you should. It's amazing. Looking up at steens from the playa.
Re: The world's smallest desert is in Canada
#16https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sand_Mountain_(Nevada) is fun to visit, but scary to walk around because of all the ATV's flying around.
Re: The world's smallest desert is in Canada
#17They call it a "desert" because there are sand dunes, not because it is actually a desert[1]. Receives more rain than the Silicon Valley. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carcross_Desert
Where did you get the precipitation data for those places, because the wikipedia pages for the two areas show that Carcoss[0] gets a bit less than Palo Alto[1] for example. 11 inches vs 16 inches respectively. [0] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carcross_Desert [1] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palo_Alto,_California
The wikipedia page for Carcross Desert says 50cm. That's almost 20 in.
Re: The world's smallest desert is in Canada
#18There's also Osoyos "desert" of a similar nature (that is, more of a sandy dry patch). It's 400 km to the East from Vancouver, in the Okanagan valley with its vineyards, wineries and whatnots. Wineries are quite nice; the desert - not so much :)
Re: The world's smallest desert is in Canada
#19Earlier quoted context omitted.
Where did you get the precipitation data for those places, because the wikipedia pages for the two areas show that Carcoss[0] gets a bit less than Palo Alto[1] for example. 11 inches vs 16 inches respectively. [0] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carcross_Desert [1] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palo_Alto,_California
The wikipedia page for Carcross Desert says 50cm. That's almost 20 in.
It says receiving less than which is not 50cm. Further, semi arid desert is defined as less than 50cm. Really Palo Alto like much of California is semi arid, just look at the native plant life. Check out the map: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semi-arid_climate vs https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desert_climate
Re: The world's smallest desert is in Canada
#20Carcross is cute, it's an hour from the capital city, Whitehorse Yukon. Carcross recently built about 6 or so small buildings, mostly occupied by art shops and one cozy cafe. The new plaza is across from the semi-restored frame of the SS Tutshi, but if steam boats are your thing you'll want to check out the SS Klondike.
It has a historic general store, complete with old trapping equipment. Trapping is still practiced today, but the equipment and licensing is much more humane.
The White Pass & Yukon Route railway also ends in Carcross, as of 2007 they restored that part of the railway. https://wpyr.com/sights-sounds/places/carcross-yukon/
If anyone is considering a trip here, the website and guides at https://yukoninfo.com/ are a good resource.
There's also a small makerspace that is in the process of moving to a brand new space, http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/yukonstruct-makerspace-y...
And lots of guiding places to help you get outdoors, in case you are considering a trip here :) https://www.kanoepeople.com