The Thar Desert spans much of Rajasthan and is the most densely populated desert in the world.
Also called the Great Indian Desert, the Thar lies mainly in India’s Rajasthan state and extends westward into Pakistan’s Sindh and Punjab regions. Its eastern edge is near the Aravalli Range, while the Indus River plain borders much of its western side. The desert contains dunes, gravel plains, salt marshes, and seasonal waterways.
Population density is relatively high for a desert because communities have long combined livestock raising with farming where rainfall, wells, canals, or groundwater permit it. Monsoon rains are highly variable, so villages and agricultural systems must cope with substantial differences between wet and dry years.
The Thar is not the same as the Rann of Kutch, a seasonal salt-marsh region in Gujarat. It is also distinct from Pakistan’s Cholistan Desert, which forms part of the broader desert zone west of the international border. The Indira Gandhi Canal has enabled irrigated agriculture in parts of the Indian desert.