Characteristic features of the Indian:

• Desert The Great Indian Desert lies to the northwest of the Aravali hills. It is a land of undulating topography dotted with longitudinal dunes and barchans.
• Most of the rivers in this region are ephemeral. The Luni River flowing in the southern part of the desert is of some significance. Low precipitation and high evaporation make it a water deficit region.
• There are some streams which disappear after flowing for some distance and present a typical case of inland drainage by joining a lake or playa. The lakes and the playas have brackish water which is the main source of obtaining salt.
• Though the underlying rock structure of the desert is an extension of the peninsular plateau, yet, due to extreme arid conditions, its surface features have been carved by physical weathering and wind actions.
• Some of the well pronounced desert land features present here are mushroom rocks, shifting dunes and oasis (mostly in its southern part).
• An ephemeral river is a river that only flows when there is rain or snow has melted.
• The rest of the year there is just a dry river bed with no water.
• Sand dune is any accumulation of sand grains shaped into a mound or ridge by the wind whereas a barchan or barkhan dune is a crescent-shaped dune.

Source: NCERT