Includes bibliographical references (p. [285]-319) and index.
Introduction: defining the desert system -- Deserts of the world -- The climatic framework -- The hydrologic framework -- Lake systems: past and present -- Weathering processes and hillslope systems -- Desert soils and geomorphic surfaces -- Water as a geomorphic agent -- Aeolian processes -- Landforms of aeolian erosion and desert dust -- Plant communities and their geomorphic impacts -- Animal communities -- Desertification and the human dimension.