The Best Deserts Documentaries

Nature & Wildlife - 62 free documentaries about deserts.

Start with The Flood (93 min, National Geographic), then The Land Of Fear: The Most Isolated Place In The World (51 min, Timeline). All 62 documentaries here are free to watch from their makers' official uploads. To read deeper, the top-rated book on deserts is Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey.

• The Flood (93 min, National Geographic)
• The Land Of Fear: The Most Isolated Place In The World | Sahara Desert (51 min, Timeline - World History Documentaries)
• Surviving Deserts | Hostile Planet (47 min, National Geographic)
• Natalie Portman Takes on the Escalante Desert | Running Wild with Bear Grylls (44 min, National Geographic)
• Discovering Hidden Treasure | Egypt with the World's Greatest Explorer (44 min, National Geographic)
• Wildest Middle East | Episode 2: Egypt - Survivors of the Sand (52 min, Free Documentary - Nature)
• Amazing Quest: Stories from Egypt | Somewhere on Earth: Egypt (52 min, Free Documentary)
• A Strange Grid Pattern in the Gobi Desert | What On Earth? (43 min, Science Channel)
• Sand Dunes Shouldn’t Exist (Here’s Why They Do) (16 min, Be Smart)
• Sahara Secrets: The Tough Lives of the World’s Harshest Desert (147 min, Free Documentary)
• The Insane Biology of: The Dune Sandworm (17 min, Real Science)
• Journey To The End Of The Roman Empire (50 min, Timeline - World History Documentaries)
• Convoying Through Afghanistan's Harshest Desert (45 min, Wonder)
• Can We Terraform the Sahara to Stop Climate Change? (13 min, Real Engineering)
• A Journey Through the World's Deserts (64 min, BBC Earth)
• Desert Wildlife: Extreme Heat Survivors (35 min, BBC Earth)
• Destination Wild: Tundra - Desert Of Ice (49 min, Free Documentary - Nature)
• The Humboldt Current: Where Ocean and Desert Collide (51 min, Free Documentary - Nature)
• Wild Frontier: Deserts of the Middle East (44 min, Free Documentary - Nature)
• World of the Wild | Episode 9: The Deserts (26 min, Free Documentary - Nature)
• Mysterious Rings in the Namib Desert | What On Earth? (43 min, Science Channel)
• Namibia - Animal Kingdom in the Desert (53 min, Free Documentary - Nature)
• How Dubai Built A Metropolis Of Skyscrapers Out Of A Desert | Magnificent Megacitiies (52 min, Spark)
• Bardenas Reales - Europe's Impossible Desert (50 min, Free Documentary - Nature)
• Secrets of the Namib - A Desert Bursting with Life (51 min, Free Documentary - Nature)
• Desertification: A Slow-Motion Disaster | Earth's Furies (53 min, Free Documentary)
• Desert Nomads | Primal Survivor: Extreme African Safari (44 min, National Geographic)
• South America's $1BN Desert Megaproject (14 min, The B1M)
• Britain’s Controversial Desert Campaign | Desert Generals (48 min, Timeline - World History Documentaries)
• Aftermath of the Fukushima Meltdown & Danakil Desert | Mystery Places (52 min, Free Documentary)
• The $5BN Mega Resort in the Desert (9 min, The B1M)
• Deserts: Earth’s Most breathtaking Ecosystem (50 min, Free Documentary - Nature)
• How Wild Desert Elephants Survive One Of The Driest Places On The Planet | Hoanib (52 min, Real Wild)
• Destination Wild: The Sahara (44 min, Free Documentary - Nature)
• Hunting Giants In The Oldest Desert On Earth (48 min, Real Wild)
• Surviving Dune: How Desert Animals Stave Off Death | Arabian Inferno 103 (48 min, Love Nature)
• Can Desert Animals Survive Without Water? | Arabian Inferno 101 (48 min, Love Nature)
• Life and Death in the Dunes | Sand Cats, Camels | Arabian Inferno Ep103 (48 min, Love Nature)
• The Deadliest Animals in the Sonoran Desert | 4K (50 min, Real Wild)
• Tracing The Steps Of The Most Fascinating Animals On Earth | Gobi Bear (51 min, Real Wild)
• Feared French Foreign Legion Bury Recruits Alive In Saharan Desert | Unbreakable (42 min, Wonder)
• Desert Warriors: Nature's Ultimate Survivors (45 min, Free Documentary - Nature)
• World's New Megacities | Dubai: The Desert Supercity (52 min, Free Documentary)
• Wonders of the Desert | Undiscovered Vistas 105 (46 min, Love Nature)
• Southwest Desert Face-Off: Canyons & Fossil Dunes | Undiscovered Vistas 105 (46 min, Love Nature)
• Exploring South America’s Last Wild Desert | Undiscovered Vistas 102 (46 min, Love Nature)
• Desert Killers: Survival of the Ruthless | Deadly Australians 103 (48 min, Love Nature)
• How Africa’s Venomous Killers Perfect The Art of Stealth (45 min, Real Wild)
• WILD NAMIBIA | Survival in the World's Oldest Desert | 4K (45 min, Real Wild)
• Unique Wildlife In The Driest Desert On Earth (59 min, Real Wild)
• Secrets Of The Camel's Hump: How To Survive Extreme Heat | WILD ASIA (53 min, Real Wild)
• Secrets of the Arabian Wadi: Survival in the World’s Toughest Desert | Arabian Inferno 103+104 (96 min, Love Nature)
• How Britain's SAS Tactical Genius Destroyed Hitler's Desert Airfield (24 min, Wonder)
• Where Reptiles Rule the Desert | Arabian Inferno 102+103 (96 min, Love Nature)
• Does Antarctica Have Deserts? (Wildlife Documentary) | Journey Into The White Desert (52 min, Real Wild)
• Chile's Atacama Desert | Undiscovered Vistas 102 (46 min, Love Nature)
• How Do Desert Animals Survive without Water? | Arabian Inferno Ep101 (48 min, Love Nature)
• Apex Survival: The Animals Of The Rarest Coastal Desert On Earth (50 min, Real Wild)
• The Namib Desert Is More Alive Than You Think (102 min, Real Wild)
• Surviving The Harshest Desert On Earth Known As The "Land of Fear" (51 min, Wonder)
• What Do The Deserts Of Mars Look Like? (25 min, Spark)
• Desert Hunters vs Ocean Assassins | Deadly Australians 103 + 104 (96 min, Love Nature)

Top-Rated Books About Deserts

1. Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey (4.2/5) - View on Amazon
2. Wind, Sand and Stars by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (4.2/5) - View on Amazon
3. The Sheltering Desert by Henno Martin - View on Amazon
4. Arabian Sands by Wilfred Thesiger - View on Amazon