Karoo Karoo The Karoo ( ; from a Khoikhoi word, possibly "garo" "desert") is a semi desert natural region of South Africa. No exact definition of what constitutes the Karoo is available, so its extent is also not precisely defined. The Karoo is partly defined by its topography, geology and climate, and above all, its low rainfall, arid air, cloudless skies, and extremes of heat and cold. The Karoo also hosted a well-preserved ecosystem hundreds of million years ago which is now represented by many fossils. The Karoo formed an almost impenetrable barrier to the interior from Cape Town, and the
Syrian Desert Syrian Desert The Syrian Desert (, "Bādiyat al-Shām"), also known as the Syrian steppe, the Jordanian steppe, or the Badia, is a region of desert, semi-desert and steppe covering of the Middle East, including parts of south-eastern Syria, northeastern Jordan, northern Saudi Arabia, and western Iraq. It accounts for 85% of the land area of Jordan and 55% of Syria. To the south it borders and merges into the Arabian Desert. The land is open, rocky or gravelly desert pavement, cut with occasional wadis. The desert is bounded by the Orontes Valley and volcanic field of Harrat al-Shamah to the