Badain Jaran Desert between the dunes, some of which are fresh water while others are extremely saline. These lakes give the desert its name which is Mongolian for "mysterious lakes". It is also crossed by one river, the Ruo Shui ("weak water"), which has formed an alluvial plain in the desert. Measuring over , the Badain Jaran Desert covers a significant part of the south-central part of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region as well as the North part of Gansu province. Located in the Alxa Plateau at about 1200 meters above sea level it is listed as a subsection to the Gobi Desert.
Gobi Desert is a rain shadow desert, formed by the Tibetan Plateau blocking precipitation from the Indian Ocean reaching the Gobi territory. The Gobi measures over from southwest to northeast and from north to south. The desert is widest in the west, along the line joining the Lake Bosten and the Lop Nor (87°–89° east). It occupies an arc of land in area as of 2007; it is the fifth-largest desert in the world and Asia's second largest. Much of the Gobi is not sandy but has exposed bare rock. In its broadest definition, the Gobi includes the long stretch of desert