The tables compare key features of three major deserts in different parts of the world: the Sahara in Africa, the Taklimakan in Asia, and the Great Basin in North America.
Overall, the Sahara Desert is by far the largest and hottest of the three, while the Taklimakan is the coldest. The Great Basin, in contrast, shows the widest variation in rainfall.
In terms of size, the Sahara is enormous at 9,000,000 square kilometres, greatly exceeding both the Taklimakan (337,600 sq km) and the Great Basin (305,775 sq km), which are relatively similar in area.
Regarding rainfall, all three deserts are dry, but the Taklimakan is the driest, receiving as little as 1.0 cm annually in the east. The Sahara gets slightly more precipitation, ranging from 7.6 cm in the north to 12.7 cm in the south. By comparison, the Great Basin has a much broader range, from 5.1 cm to as much as 51 cm.
As for temperatures, the Sahara and Great Basin both reach around 30°C in summer, whereas the Taklimakan is slightly cooler at 25°C. However, winters differ significantly: the Taklimakan is the coldest at -9°C, followed by the Great Basin at -8°C, while the Sahara remains relatively mild at 13°C. In terms of extremes, the Sahara records the highest temperature (58°C), whereas the Taklimakan experiences the lowest (-26.1°C).