Contrary to the general idea, deserts are not always located in warm areas and do not represent only sand dunes. br Here are the largest deserts in the world: br br 1 Antarctica (polar desert) br Area: 14 million km2 br Location: Antarcticabr br 2 The Arctic (polar desert) br Area: 13.7 million km2 br Location: United States, Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russiabr br 3 The Sahara (hot desert)br Area: 9 million km2 br Location: Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Chad, Mauritania, Morocco, Tunisia, Sudan, Niger, Malibr br 4 The Arabian Desert (hot desert) br Area: Over 2.3 million km2 br Location: Jordan, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Yemenbr br 5 The Gobi Desert (cold desert) br Area: 1.