Which desert occupies the Ordos Loop of China's Yellow River?

The desert occupying the Ordos Loop of China's Yellow River is the Ordos Desert.

The Ordos Desert is a desert-and-steppe region in northern China, administered largely through Inner Mongolia's Ordos area. It lies within the great rectangular bend of the middle Yellow River known as the Ordos Loop, with the river enclosing it on much of the west, north, and east. The region also extends into parts of Ningxia, Shaanxi, and Gansu.

The broad Ordos desert region includes two major sub-deserts: the Kubuqi Desert to the north and the Mu Us Desert to the south. Its ground is a mixture of dry clay, sand, gravel, and steppe vegetation, so “Ordos Desert” describes a wider geographic region rather than one uninterrupted sea of dunes.

The Yellow River's loop has an important contrast: irrigated floodplains beside the river can be fertile, while land farther inside the bend is much drier. The nearby Tengger Desert and Gobi Desert are separate regions, which makes them tempting but incorrect alternatives. The name Ordos also appears in Ordos Plateau and Ordos City, both tied to this distinctive river-enclosed landscape.