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The Gobi Desert is a vast cold desert and semi-desert region of Central/East Asia. Its principal extent lies across southern Mongolia and northern/north-western China. NASA describes it as a vast desert region of about 1.3 million sq km extending across both Mongolia and China.

The Gobi should not be imagined as consisting entirely of large sand dunes. Much of its landscape consists of rocky plains, gravel surfaces, steppe and semi-desert terrain, although extensive sand dunes occur in some areas.

It is a cold desert with extreme seasonal temperature variations because of its strongly continental location. Summers can be hot, while winters become extremely cold. Surrounding mountain systems restrict moisture, resulting in very low precipitation over much of the region.

UNESCO's Great Gobi Biosphere Reserve lies in south-western Mongolia along the border with China, further illustrating the geographical extent of the Gobi across this Mongolia–China region.