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The Mongolian word gobi means "waterless place," and it has become the name for the large desert and semidesert region of Central Asia. The Gobi stretches across vast areas of the Mongolian People's Republic and the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region of China. The Gobi occupies a great east-west arc-shaped area that is about 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) long. It varies in width from 300 to 600 miles (480 to 965 kilometers). The total area is approximately 500,000 square miles (1,300,000 square kilometers). To the north are the Altai and Hangayn Nuruu mountain ranges. The Tien Shan range is to the west. The climate of the Gobi is continental: Winter is cold and severe, spring dry and cold, and summer hot. Temperatures range from -40 F (-40 C) in January to 113 F (45 C) in July. Total annual precipitation varies from 2.7 inches (6.9 centimeters) in the west to more than 8 inches (20 centimeters) in the northeast. The greatest amounts of rainfall occur in the summer. The region supports fewer than three persons per square mile (one per square kilometer), and most are nomadic, or wandering, herders. Underground water is widespread enough to allow the raising of cattle, sheep, goats, and camels. Agriculture is developed only along the river valleys. Other vegetation is sparse small bushlike plants and desert grass. Animal life, apart from livestock, includes wild camels and horses, gazelles, and antelopes.
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