Desert of Lop
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The Desert of Lop is a section of the Gobi Desert extends southeastward from the foot of the Kuruk-tagh as far as the present terminal basin of the Tarim, namely mollusc shells (species of Llnnaea and Planorbis), the existence of belts of dead poplars, patches of dead tamarisks and extensive beds of withered reeds, all these always on top of the jardangs, never in the wind etched furrows, together with a few scrubby poplars and Eksea gnus, still struggling hard not to die, the presence of ripple marks of aqueous origin on the leeward sides of the clay terraces and in other wind-sheltered situations, all testify to the former existence in this region of more or less extensive freshwater lakes, now of course completely desiccated. During the prevalence of the spring, storms the atmosphere that overhangs the immediate surface of the desert is so heavily charged with dust as to be a veritable pall of desolation. Except for the wild camel which frequents the reed oases on the north edge of the desert, animal life is even less abundant than in the Ghashiun-Gobi, and the same is true as regards the vegetation.
This article incorporates text from the public domain 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica.
