Are the world’s major deserts located in the inner part of continents?

This is a myth that needs to be put to rest.

It’s pervasive enough that it must be getting taught in schools. Here is a very simple map of the world’s deserts I lifted from the internet:

Please note the location of the deserts relative to the ocean. Deserts are dry for various reasons, most often because they are adjacent to very cold ocean currents that don’t put a lot of moisture into the atmosphere or because they are behind (relative to prevailing winds) tall mountain ranges that effectively strip the moisture from the air passing over them.

Sure, there are deserts in central Asia, but it’s not entirely desert. The Mongols would have had a much tougher time there if that was the case.

No deserts in the center of Europe.

North America’s deserts touch plenty of coastlines and aren’t very central.

South America’s deserts are almost strictly coastal, staying well away from the Amazon at the center.

Africa? It’s the north that’s mostly dry and it touches plenty of ocean. The center is the Congo and most agree that’s not desert.

Saudi Arabia is a peninsula nearly surrounded by water.

I can go on and on. I mean, just look at the Arctic and Antarctic deserts. So let’s put this one to rest, folks. The deserts don’t just form at the center of continents. It’s not that simple.