Cholistan Desert (Urdu: صحرائے چولِستان), Saraiki:صحرائے چولستان), also locally known as Rohi (روہی) sprawls thirty kilometers from Bahawalpur, Punjab, Pakistan and covers an area of 26,300 km². It adjoins the Thar Desert extending over to Sindh and into India.
The word Cholistan is derived from the Turkish word Chol, which means Desert. Cholistan thus means Land of the Desert. The people of Cholistan lead a semi-nomadic life, moving from one place to another in search of water and fodder for their animals. The dry bed of the Hakra River runs through the area, along which many settlements of the Indus Valley Civilization have been found.
The Desert also has an Annual Jeep Rally, known as Cholistan Desert Jeep Rally. It is the biggest motor sports event in Pakistan.
Read more about Cholistan Desert: Terra Cotta
Famous quotes containing the word desert:
“Blame but thyself that hast misdone,
And well deserved to have blame;
Change thou thy way so evil begun,
And then my lute shall sound that same:
But if till then my fingers play
By thy desert their wonted way,
Blame not my lute.”
—Sir Thomas Wyatt (1503?–1542)