
The world's smallest desert is in Canada - wellokthen
http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20180621-the-unlikely-home-of-the-worlds-smallest-desert
======
thisacctforreal
Carcross 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/](https://wpyr.com/sights-sounds/places/carcross-
yukon/)

If anyone is considering a trip here, the website and guides at
[https://yukoninfo.com/](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...](http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/yukonstruct-makerspace-
yukon-innovation-hub-1.4576914)

And lots of guiding places to help you get outdoors, in case you are
considering a trip here :)
[https://www.kanoepeople.com](https://www.kanoepeople.com)

~~~
stickfigure
Also, if you make it that far, don't miss out on Dawson City!

It's an old gold mining boomtown with dirt streets, saloons with swinging
doors and dancing girls, and brothels converted into bed & breakfasts. Super
cute and feels like the set of a movie, only it's "the real deal" (albeit now
mining tourists). Dawson is also where Robert Service wrote much of his work,
including _The Cremation of Sam McGee_.

My wife and I rode through on a motorcycle trip some years back. We
immediately altered our itinerary to stay a few days, and I wish we could have
stayed longer!

[https://www.flickr.com/photos/lhoriman/3747251310/in/album-7...](https://www.flickr.com/photos/lhoriman/3747251310/in/album-72157621750944722/)
[https://www.flickr.com/photos/lhoriman/3747272684/in/album-7...](https://www.flickr.com/photos/lhoriman/3747272684/in/album-72157621750944722/)

~~~
52-6F-62
Oh my god. NWT/Yukon, Dawson City, and Nahanni National Park have been on my
list for years!

Did you drink the toe?

~~~
vintagedave
Drink - the toe?

For those of us thousands of kilometers away, can you explain what strange and
probably amazing Canadian tradition this is, please?

~~~
ars
An alcoholic drink with the toe of some famous dead person in it.

You don't eat/drink the toe - you give it back after you are done with the
drink.

Google "Sourtoe Cocktail" for more info (or maybe don't :)

~~~
goldenkey
From what I searched, it seems to be the toe of a random person who donates
it. Not quite the same allure but still a cool idea.

[https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/sourtoe-
cocktail](https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/sourtoe-cocktail)

~~~
doctorwho
Toes have been stolen or swallowed (yup) over the years and replacements have
been donated. There's now a hefty fine for anyone who wants to swallow the
toe.

------
msravi
Now all it needs is a legend!

Reminds me of Talakadu
([https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talakadu](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talakadu)),
a deserty patch along the Kaveri riverbank, about 130km from Bangalore. It
even comes with its own legend in which a queen cursed the ruler of Mysore.
The curse:

ತಲಕಾಡು ಮರಳಾಗಿ; ಮಾಲಿಂಗಿ ಮಡುವಾಗಿ, ಮೈಸೂರು ದೊರೆಗೆ ಮಕ್ಕಳಾಗದೆ ಹೋಗಲಿ!

Let Talakadu be filled with sand; Let Malangi turn into a whirlpool; Let the
King of Mysore never have kids.

Coincidentally, the Mysore royal family does not have heirs born into the
family to this day. For the last several generations, they have adopted an
heir - who might beget a kid - but a kid born into the family has not had
heirs.

The temples in Talakadu have to be constantly cleared of sand. I remember
visiting as a kid and there were whole temples buried underneath the sand. I'm
not sure if that charm and mystery still exists, but it certainly was a
fascinating place!

------
dave_aiello
It's amazing to me that the article doesn't provide a map, illustrating where
Carcross is.

I knew its general location because I operate a website containing over 2000
points of interest in Canada, [https://rinkatlas.com](https://rinkatlas.com).
But why not give more of a hint to people who don't know where the Yukon
Territory is?

~~~
drewolbrich
[https://www.google.com/maps/@60.1884007,-134.7047237,2982m/d...](https://www.google.com/maps/@60.1884007,-134.7047237,2982m/data=!3m1!1e3)

------
mamon
Also worth mentioning: Błędów Desert in Poland:

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C5%82%C4%99d%C3%B3w_Desert](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C5%82%C4%99d%C3%B3w_Desert)

------
0x4f3759df
The Athabasca sand dunes are also visually interesting
[http://photojourneys.ca/2017/12/31/exploring-
saskatchewans-a...](http://photojourneys.ca/2017/12/31/exploring-
saskatchewans-athabasca-sand-dunes/)

~~~
52-6F-62
I had no idea this existed! A reason to visit Saskatchewan!

Here's another fun one, and I think created due to human activity:

Cheltenham Badlands, Ontario

[https://www.google.com/search?q=Cheltenham+Badlands&client=f...](https://www.google.com/search?q=Cheltenham+Badlands&client=firefox-
b-ab&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiS-
uiiiPTbAhWq54MKHWOrCN8Q_AUICygC&biw=1774&bih=957)

------
huhtenberg
There'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 :)

[https://www.google.com/search?q=osoyos+desert](https://www.google.com/search?q=osoyos+desert)

~~~
ficklepickle
C'mon, there are also rattlesnakes, coyotes, big-horn sheep, tumbleweed,
sagebrush, cactus and even the odd scorpion.

It is an amazing and unique climate in Canada and almost always defies the
average foreign tourists' idea of what Canada "is".

About 20km north of Osoyoos is MacIntyre bluff, a shear cliff face formed near
the end of the last ice age.

Okanagan lake, over 100km long and 400m deep, is home to a mythical giant
serpent-type creature known as Ogopogo.

It is a gorgeous place to visit, especially in the summer, although forest
fire season can suck.

------
24gttghh
If we're talking "deserts" in the sense that there is a bunch of sand and some
dunes, then I'd hazard that the Desert of Maine[0] wins this contest at 600
acres smaller (.16km^2 in total) than the Carcross desert (2.6km^2 in total).

[0][https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desert_of_Maine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desert_of_Maine)

~~~
larkeith
Unlike the Carcross, this one receives too much rain to be classified as a
semi-arid desert.

~~~
24gttghh
My comment was tongue-in-cheek that the Carcross isn't a desert either, and
the article claiming it was the "world's smallest desert" was wrong in both
size and the erroneous statement that it is a desert.

>The dry climate and strong winds in the 260-hectare area make it feel like a
real desert, but the Carcross Desert is actually a series of sand dunes (which
technically have too much moisture to be classified as a desert).[0]

[0][https://web.archive.org/web/20090612184355/http://www.canadi...](https://web.archive.org/web/20090612184355/http://www.canadiangeographic.ca/travel/travel_magazine/summer_2007/gateway_nature.asp)

------
lb1lf
There's also a tiny, semi-arid desert in Norway (!) of all places - Kvitsanden
(The White Sands) by Røros. (62 degrees 34 minutes North, 11 degrees 22
minutes East).

Semi-arid - annual precipitation at Røros (on a highland plain, far from the
sea) is some 550mm or so, but some 150-200mm or so of this comes as snow.

The 'desert' itself is approx. a square kilometer (0.4 square miles) - large
enough for desert-like phenomena like shifting dunes to occur, small enough
that there aren't (to my knowledge) any wildlife there which you wouldn't also
find in the surrounding area.

------
shirro
When visiting New Zealand I was driving through Rangipo "Desert" and it gets
1500-2500mm of rain a year. Just bad soils and volcanic desolation. I live in
an area where people grow crops on around 250mm of rain a year. Though a bit
of bad land management and drought can turn land to sand dunes pretty fast. We
probably have hundreds of smaller deserts throughout the region if semi-arid
conditions and sand dunes are the membership requirements. Sorry Canada.

~~~
sandworm101
The article does expain how it fits the semi-arid definition as it gets
250-500mm, nowhere near 2500. Snow doesnt count, which is why antarctica is
technically a dessert. Sand isnt part of the standard.

~~~
shirro
I live in a semi-arid climate (BSk) with 260mm average rainfall where they
grow cereal crops. We are further to the arid end of the semi-arid
classification than the desert in the article though still not technically a
desert climate.

We have plants adapted to low rainfall and animals such as reptiles adapted to
hot, dry conditions. You can go from crops to sand drifts to scrub and back in
metres. I think I could go for a 30 minute drive, find an area of land and
call it the world's smallest desert with about as much validity as the claim
in the headline. The area in the article is remarkable due to its location but
it seems less remarkable when compared with semi-arid areas globally.

I nominate the Perry Sandhills outside Wentworth, NSW, Australia at 0.6 square
miles to be the smallest desert because it is semi-arid and has sand dunes and
is only less remarkable for not being surrounded by snow.

------
goalieca
:) 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.

------
polpo
Reminds me a bit of glades where I grew up in Missouri: areas where the
topsoil is just a thin layer above the bedrock and can't hold much water. This
creates small arid ecosystems, complete with prickly pear cactus and
tarantulas. [https://nature.mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-
guide/habita...](https://nature.mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-
guide/habitats/glades)

------
cozzyd
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sand_Mountain_(Nevada)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sand_Mountain_\(Nevada\))
is fun to visit, but scary to walk around because of all the ATV's flying
around.

~~~
Gibbon1
Similar is the Eureka Dunes in Death Valley. Bonus no mechanized vehicles
allowed.

Pink Coral sand dunes are interesting (worth a stop).

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coral_Pink_Sand_Dunes_State_Pa...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coral_Pink_Sand_Dunes_State_Park)

------
cjensen
They 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](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carcross_Desert)

~~~
davidw
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](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_Valley_Sand_Dunes)

~~~
s0rce
If you haven't been to the Alvord desert you should. It's amazing. Looking up
at steens from the playa.

~~~
davidw
I've only ever made it to the summit of Steens. I want so, so badly to travel
around, since we're not even that far away here in Bend, but ... vacation time
is limited.

~~~
s0rce
Nice. I wish I lived in Bend! So much amazing country to see out there. The
Peter French round barn and diamond craters are also worth a stop if you are
in the area.

