Book 16, Question 114
Why Doesn’t Desert Soil Soak Up Rain Well?
Desert soil does not soak up rain well because it is often baked hard or sealed by a thin crust! There are also few plant roots to open channels for water. So rain runs across the surface instead of sinking in.
More fun facts
- Thunderstorms often drop a lot of rain in a very short time.
- When that happens, most of the rain runs off into channels and streams instead of soaking in.
- Rain that falls too fast can be more than the soil can absorb.
- Dense clay soil is also hard for rain to soak into.
- Some rain goes back into the air when water evaporates from moist soil.
Sources: U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Geological Survey
Questions kids ask
Why does desert rain run off so fast?
Storms often drop lots of rain in a short time, more than the soil can soak up, so most of it runs off into channels and streams.