Gansu lies between the Tibetan Plateau and the Loess Plateau, bordering Mongolia (Govi-Altai Province) to the northwest, Inner Mongolia and Ningxia to the north, Shaanxi to the east, Sichuan to the south, and Xinjiang to the west. The Yellow River passes through the southern part of the province. The province contains the geographical centre of China, marked by the Center of the Country Monument at . Part of the Gobi Desert is located in Gansu, as well as small parts of the Badain Jaran Desert and the Tengger Desert. The Yellow River gets most of its water from Gansu, flowing straight
Gobi jerboa auditory bullae are very large in size, and almost meet at the front of the skull (Smith and Xie 2008). The dental formula of the Gobi jerboa is I 1/1 C 0/0 P 1/1 M 2/2 (R. Taylor). One of the most prominent features of the Gobi jerboa are their ears, since they are almost three times as large as their heads. Their large ears give them an extra keen hearing sense, which helps to serve as extra protection in their vulnerable environment. The great size of their ears also helps to cool their bodies by dissipating heat, since they