The Vast Desert is a term used to describe two of the world's largest deserts, the SAHARA and the Gobi. The SAHARA is a desert located in North Africa and is the largest hot desert in the world, covering an area of over 3.5 million square miles. The Gobi is a desert located in East Asia and is the fifth largest desert in the world, covering an area of over 500, 000 square miles. Both deserts are characterized by their extreme aridity and lack of vegetation.