Definitions, Terminology, and the Base Map of the Chihuahuan Desert

Abstract

The word “desert” can convey a valuable biological concept when properly defined and applied. Unfortunately, it has two very limiting drawbacks. The first is that it is part of the common usage vocabulary, thus vulnerable to constant non-scientific interpretation. The second disadvantage is that the English language has been developed by a people, the term desert has had vague, foreign, and negative connotations. This was reflected in the primary definition of Webster’s Unabridged English Dictionary (1960) which defined desert as simply an uninhabited place, an empty place, in the sense of biblical desert wilderness. This simplistic biblical meaning of desert, namely as “empty” place is of little practical utility. For an Anglo-Saxon people the concept of a desert has little real meaning and thus this simplistic definition could stand without test in Great Britain. In the language of arid land dwelling people, Hebrew being an excellent example, the concept of a desert demands a very explicit meaning and several refined terms are used to describe arid environments.