Indus Valley Desert

The Indus Valley Desert is an almost uninhabited desert ecoregion of northern Pakistan.

Location and description
The Indus Valley desert covers an area of 19,501 km2 in northwestern Punjab Province between the Chenab and Indus rivers. The Indus Valley Desert is drier and less hospitable than the northwestern thorn scrub forests that surround it with temperatures ranging from freezing in winter to extremely hot (more than 45 °C) in summer with only 600 - 800 mm of rainfall per year.

Flora
The desert vegetation is quite varied due to the variety of temperatures with Khejri shrubs being the characteristic species.

Fauna
The desert is home to five large mammals: Indian wolf, striped hyena, caracal, Indian leopard and the urial (Ovis orientalis punjabensis) along with many rodents and other mammals. Meanwhile, the 190 species of bird in the desert include the red-necked falcon.

Threats and preservation
Like the nearby Thar Desert, the Indus Valley desert has little farming or grazing due to its hard climate and therefore the natural habitats are almost intact. A 2017 study estimated approximately 12,176 square kilometers in protected areas.

However, hunting still goes on and is a threat to caracals, wolves and other mammals.