Question

Why are the major hot deserts of the world found on the western margins of the continent?

Answer 1

Major hot deserts are concentrated on western continental margins because they sit in the subtropical belt where the Hadley circulation produces persistent high pressure and descending, dry air, which suppresses cloud formation, and because the trade winds in this zone blow east-to-west and therefore shed most of their moisture on the eastern margins of continents, leaving the western coasts dry. In addition, cold offshore ocean currents that run along many western coasts reduce sea-surface evaporation and stabilize the lower atmosphere, preventing rainfall, for example the Humboldt, Benguela, and California currents, so the combined effect of dry subsiding air, moisture loss by prevailing winds, and cooling from cold currents produces the extreme aridity of western-margin deserts.