Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
Great Salt Desert

Great Salt Desert

7.1
A large flat area of salt and dry land in north central Iran, also called Dasht-e Kavir
  • proper noun
translation icon : Gran Desierto Salado
  • The Great Salt Desert is known for its harsh climate and unique landscape.

Examples

  • Few plants can survive in the arid conditions of the Great Salt Desert.

  • Many explorers have studied the ecology of the Great Salt Desert.

  • The Great Salt Desert is known for its stunning landscapes.

  • Have you ever visited the Great Salt Desert?

  • Few plants can survive in the arid conditions of the Great Salt Desert.

  • Many explorers have studied the ecology of the Great Salt Desert.

  • The Great Salt Desert is known for its harsh climate and unique landscape.

Synonyms

Dasht-e-Kavir
vsGreat Salt Desert
9.9

A large salt desert in north central Iran with a very harsh climate and salt flats

has identical meaning but is written with a hyphen
Dasht-e Kavir
vsGreat Salt Desert
9.9

A large salt desert in north central Iran with wide cracked salt flats

emphasizes broader desert character rather than marshy features
Kavir Desert
vsGreat Salt Desert
7.5

A large salt desert in north central Iran with a dry climate and salt flats

uses a shorter simpler name rather than the full traditional form

Surface Forms

Great Salt Desert main

Morphology

great + salt + desert

The phrase is compositionally transparent: a B1 learner who knows 'great' (large/significant), 'salt' (saline), and 'desert' (dry region) can infer that it refers to a large salty desert. It is a toponym (Dasht-e Kavir), so learners won't get the geographic location from the words, but the basic meaning is directly derivable from the constituents.

Etymology

Great Salt Desert gets its name from a simple picture: a huge dry desert plain covered in white salt with almost no plants. Long ago salty water dried up and left wide hard salt flats, so people began to call the area the 'salt' desert.