Why do camels have to get out of the desert before dark?

The vast sand sea used to be a post station of the ancient Silk Road, which not only contains mysterious ancient city sites and numerous tomb cultural relics, but also has magical natural landscapes. However, the desolation and beauty of the desert contain ubiquitous threats, which requires explorers to have considerable physical strength, courage and rich experience in field survival. People are very small in the vast sand sea, and only by obeying the laws of the desert can we get out of the desert safely. First, full preparation before departure.

Adventure is always associated with danger, but careful planning and careful preparation will minimize the risk, which is also the confidence of explorers to survive in difficulties. 1. Choice of adventure season

China's deserts are mostly distributed in the northwest, belonging to a dry climate zone, with large temperature difference between day and night, extremely hot in summer, with temperatures as high as 50-60 degrees Celsius, extremely cold in winter and as low as -20-30 degrees Celsius. There is little rainfall, and the annual rainfall in most areas is less than 250 mm; There is a lot of wind, especially in the tuyere area. The wind is coming, flying sand and stones. Every April, there are seasonal strong winds in the desert from Inner Mongolia to Xinjiang, which often form sand flow. In view of these climatic characteristics, when choosing adventure tourism season, try to avoid hot summer and windy season, generally between September and March of the following year.

2. Formulate routes and strategies

When making the exploration route and tactics, we should first respect the objective facts and work out the exploration plan within our power while ensuring the safety of life. Full self-help desert exploration

The principle of making this exploration plan is to make a limited exploration in the desert entirely by our own strength or collective cooperation. For example, in winter exploration in Taklimakan desert, the average temperature during the day is about-10 degrees, and all the equipment, food and water carried by the explorers can't survive in the desert for more than 7 days, and the marching distance is about 100 kilometers. Because this is a self-help desert expedition without backup, explorers must carry all the equipment and materials when they set off. On the first day, they carried heavy loads and put forward a severe test for the physical strength and perseverance of the explorers. According to the exploration itinerary, some food can be stored in the campsite in a planned way as a supply when they return.

Cooperative desert exploration

Collaborative exploration can be divided into non-backup type and backup type. No backup means that after entering the desert, all the manpower and material resources in the rear are lost, and only with the cooperation of camel teams can we go deep into the sand sea. Most expeditions adopt this method. However, this exploration is also limited, because camels can't carry more than 200 kilograms in the desert. Camels drink water every 7- 10 days in winter, and the amount of water they drink at a time is also 100 kg. Therefore, the general exploration days are within 10 days, and the journey is within 100-200 kilometers. Supporting desert exploration is suitable for long-distance desert crossing, which belongs to the coordinated operation of large corps and costs a lot. For example, in the early 1990s, China, Japan and China crossed the Taklimakan Desert twice, using this method. With the cooperation of the camel team, the small-scale crossing team crossed the east-west direction along the southern edge of Taklimakan Desert 100 km. Several support teams use hundreds of camels to set out from the national highway on the southern edge of the desert, and deliver materials to the depths of the desert150km every100km. Second, the sand sea March

1. Correctly judging the direction Walking in the vast desert, it is difficult to find a direction reference because of the open field of vision, and it is generally impossible for people to walk in a straight line. Therefore, judging the direction correctly in the desert March is the premise of desert exploration.

Determine the direction with an instrument

Using compass and map to mark the direction is a common method in early desert exploration. This method first needs to know its own position, calibrate the position and orientation of the target area according to the map, and then drive according to the direction indicated by the compass. Because it is impossible to travel in a straight line in the desert, it is necessary to constantly correct the position when traveling in the desert, otherwise it is difficult to achieve the predetermined goal. In the long-distance desert exploration and crossing, it is very difficult to reach the destination accurately or find precast supplies in the vast sand sea. In the late 1980s, with the popularity of personal satellite navigation system (GPS) among the people, desert exploration became more accurate and the possibility of getting lost in the desert was minimized. At present, almost all desert explorations use GPS navigation. Use natural features to determine direction

1) Use Polaris to determine the position.

Polaris is a bright star in the sky due north. If you find Polaris at night, you will find due north. Polaris is the A star of Ursa minor, and Ursa major (mainly the Big Dipper) and Empress Fairy are located on both sides of Polaris. China is located in the northern hemisphere, and Polaris can be seen at night all year round. 2) Use the sun to determine the direction

The sun rises in the east and sets in the west, which is the most reliable "compass". The sun moves from east to west and the shadow moves from west to east. For example, in the desert in western China, at 8 am, the sun rises in the east, and the shadows of all objects fall to the west. At noon 14, the sun is due south and the shadow points to the north. At 8 o'clock in the afternoon, the sun is due to the west and the shadow points to the east. Uygur camel workers who have lived around the Taklimakan desert for generations will never get lost in this way. Of course, there are some more accurate methods to determine the direction, such as "immediate" method and watch judgment method, which are very useful in desert exploration. 3) Determine the direction through the sand dune trend.

Wind is an important factor in shaping desert surface morphology. In the northwest of China, due to the prevailing northwest wind, sand dunes generally form southeast direction and northwest direction wind, with small slope and hard sand. Southeast leeward, steep slope, soft sand. In addition, plants in the desert, such as willow, Haloxylon ammodendron and camel thorn, are inclined to the southeast. However, it should be noted here that the above are the general characteristics of desert areas. The wind direction in different areas is different, and the direction of sand dunes is also different. To make a correct judgment, we must master the meteorology and landform of the target area in advance.