A desert is a dry place that gets very little rain. How can anything big live there? Look at the saguaro cactus. It can grow 40 feet tall or taller, and it is mostly water. Let's find out how it lives in such a dry place.

A saguaro is pleated like an accordion. This lets its skin expand to hold water after rain. When it rains, the cactus can drink and swell. The pleats let the plant hold more water.

A saguaro's roots spread out just a few inches under the ground. So they can catch water from a quick rain. The roots do not go deep. They stay close to the top, where the rain lands.

A cactus's spines give the plant a little shade from the sun. Birds nest in holes in saguaro cactuses. So the saguaro is a home as well as a plant.

Many desert animals sleep in the heat of the day and come out at night, when it is cooler. A desert tortoise spends much of its time in a burrow under the ground. Desert scorpions come out at night and hide from the heat of the day in burrows or under rocks.

Rattlesnakes rest in the shade in the hottest part of the day. They are active at dawn, at dusk or at night. The sidewinder rattlesnake moves sideways across hot sand, touching the ground very little.

The fennec fox has very big ears. Fennec foxes live in the Sahara and other parts of North Africa. They have furry feet that protect them from hot sand. The Sahara in Africa is a giant desert, almost as big as the whole United States.

People use camels to carry loads across the desert. A camel has a double row of long eyelashes and can close its nostrils to keep out blowing sand. A camel's hump is made of fat, not water.

In the desert heat, drink plenty of water and stay in the shade during the hottest part of the day.

Some saguaros live to be 200 years old. Over that time, a saguaro's pleated skin holds the rain it catches with roots just under the ground, and birds nest in holes in it.

Words to know

• saguaro: a tall cactus
• accordion: a pleated instrument
• burrows: holes
• nostrils: nose holes
• scorpions: stinging animals

The short version

A desert is a dry place that gets very little rain. A saguaro cactus can grow 40 feet tall or taller and is mostly water. Its pleated skin expands to hold water after rain, and its roots spread just under the ground to catch quick rains.

Quick facts

• A desert is a dry place that gets very little rain.
• A saguaro cactus can grow 40 feet tall or taller, and some live to be 200 years old.
• A saguaro's roots spread out just a few inches under the ground, so they can catch water from a quick rain.
• Rattlesnakes rest in the shade in the hottest part of the day and are active at dawn, at dusk or at night.
• Birds nest in holes in saguaro cactuses.