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The Deadly Desert is the magical
desert A desert is a barren area of landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions are hostile for plant and animal life. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About on ...
in Nonestica that completely surrounds the fictional
Land of Oz The Land of Oz is a magical country introduced in the 1900 children's novel ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' written by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow. Oz consists of four vast quadrants, the Gillikin Country in the north, Quadli ...
, which cuts it off from the rest of the world.


Geology

On the map of Oz, first published in the endpapers of the eighth book, ''
Tik-Tok of Oz ''Tik-Tok of Oz'' is the eighth Land of Oz book written by L. Frank Baum, published on June 19, 1914. The book has little to do with Tik-Tok and is primarily the quest of the Shaggy Man (introduced in ''The Road to Oz'') to rescue his brother, a ...
'' (1914), the eastern quadrant of the desert is called the ''Deadly Desert'', while the other three quadrants of desert are called the ''Shifting Sands'', the ''Impassable Desert'', and the ''Great Sandy Waste''. The desert was originally described as dangerous as any natural desert but no more. Indeed, in the second book, ''
The Marvelous Land of Oz ''The Marvelous Land of Oz: Being an Account of the Further Adventures of the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman'', commonly shortened to ''The Land of Oz'', published in July 1904, is the second of L. Frank Baum's books set in the Land of Oz, and th ...
'' (1904), the witch
Mombi Mombi is a fictional character in L. Frank Baum's classic children's series of Oz Books. She is the most significant antagonist in the second Oz book ''The Marvelous Land of Oz'' (1904), and is alluded to in other works. Mombi plays a very impor ...
tries to escape through it in the form of a
griffin The griffin, griffon, or gryphon (Ancient Greek: , ''gryps''; Classical Latin: ''grȳps'' or ''grȳpus''; Late Latin, Late and Medieval Latin: ''gryphes'', ''grypho'' etc.; Old French: ''griffon'') is a legendary creature with the body, tail ...
, and
Glinda Glinda is a fictional character created by L. Frank Baum for his ''Oz'' novels. She first appears in Baum's 1900 children's classic ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'', and is the most powerful sorceress in the Land of Oz, ruler of the Quadling Coun ...
chases her over the sands. In the third book, ''
Ozma of Oz ''Ozma of Oz: A Record of Her Adventures with Dorothy Gale of Kansas, Billina the Yellow Hen, the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, the Cowardly Lion and the Hungry Tiger; Besides Other Good People Too Numerous to Mention Faithfully Recorded Herein'', p ...
'' (1907), it has become a magical desert with life-destroying sands and noxious fumes, a feature that remained constant through the rest of the series. In the fifth book, ''
The Road to Oz ''The Road to Oz: In Which Is Related How Dorothy Gale of Kansas, The Shaggy Man, Button Bright, and Polychrome the Rainbow's Daughter Met on an Enchanted Road and Followed it All the Way to the Marvelous Land of Oz.'' is the fifth of L. Frank Ba ...
'' (1909), a sign is posted on the edge of the desert to warn travelers:
ALL PERSONS ARE WARNED NOT TO VENTURE UPON THIS DESERT
For the Deadly Sands Will Turn Any Living Flesh to Dust in an Instant.
Beyond This Barrier is the
LAND OF OZ
But no one can Reach that Beautiful Country because of these Destroying Sands.
The desert is used as a literary device to explain why Oz is essentially cut off from the rest of the world and the rest of the surrounding countries of Nonestica. However, it has been crossed several times by people from within Oz and from the outside world, with applied ingenuity, with magical assistance, or through unusual natural phenomena. In fact, no one in the Oz series is ever seen to die in the desert.


Notable crossings

* In ''
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' is a children's novel written by author L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow. It is the first novel in the Oz series of books. A Kansas farm girl named Dorothy ends up in the magical Land of Oz after s ...
'',
Dorothy Gale Dorothy Gale is a fictional character created by American author L. Frank Baum as the protagonist in many of his ''Oz'' novels. She first appears in Baum's classic 1900 children's novel ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' and reappears in most of its ...
is carried into Oz in her house by a
cyclone In meteorology, a cyclone () is a large air mass that rotates around a strong center of low atmospheric pressure, counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere as viewed from above (opposite to an anti ...
and back over again by her
Silver Shoes The Silver Shoes are the magical shoes that appear in L. Frank Baum's 1900 novel ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' as heroine Dorothy Gale's transport home. They are originally owned by the Wicked Witch of the East but passed to Dorothy when her ho ...
, which fall off during her flight and are lost in the desert. Also, the Wizard of Oz originally arrived in Oz by a circus balloon (which he implies functioned by a gas lighter than air, rather than hot air), and years later leaves Oz in a hot-air balloon of his own design. * In ''
The Marvelous Land of Oz ''The Marvelous Land of Oz: Being an Account of the Further Adventures of the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman'', commonly shortened to ''The Land of Oz'', published in July 1904, is the second of L. Frank Baum's books set in the Land of Oz, and th ...
'', Tip and his companions fly over it using
The Gump This is a list of characters in the original Oz books by American author L. Frank Baum. The majority of characters listed here unless noted otherwise have appeared in multiple books under various plotlines. ''Land of Oz, Oz'' is made up of four ...
who was granted flight with its palm leaf parts. * In ''
Ozma of Oz ''Ozma of Oz: A Record of Her Adventures with Dorothy Gale of Kansas, Billina the Yellow Hen, the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, the Cowardly Lion and the Hungry Tiger; Besides Other Good People Too Numerous to Mention Faithfully Recorded Herein'', p ...
'',
Princess Ozma Princess Ozma is a fictional character from the Land of Oz, created by American author L. Frank Baum. She appears in every book of the Oz series except the first, ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' (1900). She is the rightful ruler of Oz, and Baum i ...
crosses the desert with her whole court by use of an infinitely unrolling carpet. * In ''
The Road to Oz ''The Road to Oz: In Which Is Related How Dorothy Gale of Kansas, The Shaggy Man, Button Bright, and Polychrome the Rainbow's Daughter Met on an Enchanted Road and Followed it All the Way to the Marvelous Land of Oz.'' is the fifth of L. Frank Ba ...
'', Dorothy Gale,
Shaggy Man The Shaggy Man is a character in the Oz books The Oz books form a book series that begins with ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' (1900) and relates the fictional history of the Land of Oz. Oz was created by author L. Frank Baum, who went on to writ ...
,
Polychrome Polychrome is the "practice of decorating architectural elements, sculpture, etc., in a variety of colors." The term is used to refer to certain styles of architecture, pottery or sculpture in multiple colors. Ancient Egypt Colossal statu ...
and
Button-Bright This is a list of characters in the original Oz books by American author L. Frank Baum. The majority of characters listed here unless noted otherwise have appeared in multiple books under various plotlines. ''Land of Oz, Oz'' is made up of four ...
cross the desert into Oz by use of a sand ship. * In ''
The Emerald City of Oz ''The Emerald City of Oz'' is the sixth of L. Frank Baum's fourteen Land of Oz books. It was also adapted into a Canadian animated film in 1987. Originally published on July 20, 1910, it is the story of Dorothy Gale and her Uncle Henry and Aunt Em ...
'', the
Nome King The Nome King is a fictional character created by American author L. Frank Baum. He is introduced in Baum's third Oz book ''Ozma of Oz'' (1907). He also appears in many of the continuing sequel '' Oz'' novels also written by Baum. Although the c ...
and his allies the Whimsies, the Growleywogs, and the Phanfasms dug a tunnel underneath the desert. * In ''
The Scarecrow of Oz ''The Scarecrow of Oz'' is the ninth book set in the Land of Oz written by L. Frank Baum. Published on July 16, 1915, it was Baum's personal favorite of the Oz books and tells of Cap'n Bill and Trot journeying to Oz and, with the help of the Scar ...
'', Trot, Cap'n Bill, and Button-Bright flew over the desert carried by birds and led by Flipper the Ork. * In ''
The Magic of Oz ''The Magic of Oz '' is the thirteenth Land of Oz book written by L. Frank Baum. Published on June 7, 1919, one month after the author's death, ''The Magic of Oz'' relates the unsuccessful attempt of the Munchkin boy Kiki Aru and former Nome Ki ...
'', Kiki Aru transformed himself into a bird and flew over the Deadly Desert from the Land of Oz, exploring the various countries of Nonestica. * In ''
Kabumpo in Oz ''Kabumpo in Oz'' (1922) is the sixteenth Oz book, and the second written by Ruth Plumly Thompson. It was the first Oz book fully credited to her. (Her first, '' The Royal Book of Oz'', was credited to L. Frank Baum on the cover.) Plot summary ...
'', a giant Ruggedo hopped right over the Deadly Desert and ran back to his mountain in the Land of Ev after Princess Ozma's palace got stuck in his hair spikes. In the same book, Kabumpo, Peg Amy, Pompadore, and Wag crossed over the Deadly Desert on a runaway country. * In ''
The Purple Prince of Oz 200px, Cover of ''The Purple Prince in Oz''. ''The Purple Prince of Oz'' (1932) is the 26th in the series of Oz books created by L. Frank Baum and his successors, and the 12th written by Ruth Plumly Thompson. It was illustrated by John R. Neill ...
'', Polychrome allowed Prince Randy, Kabumpo, and Jinnicky the Red Jinn to ride her rainbow across the Deadly Desert. * In ''
Handy Mandy in Oz ''Handy Mandy in Oz'' (1937) is the thirty-first of the Oz books created by L. Frank Baum and his successors, and the seventeenth written by Ruth Plumly Thompson. It was illustrated by John R. Neill. Synopsis The book's heroine is an "honest an ...
'', a geyser beneath Mt. Mern in an unidentified area erupted underneath Handy Mandy sending her and the large boulder she was on over the Deadly Desert where she landed in Munchkin Country. * In ''
The Silver Princess in Oz 200px, Cover of ''The Silver Princess in Oz''. ''The Silver Princess in Oz'' (1938) is the thirty-second of the Oz books created by L. Frank Baum and his successors, and the eighteenth written by Ruth Plumly Thompson. It was illustrated by John ...
'', Kabumpo and King Randy were blown across the Deadly Desert by a powerful storm.


In other media

* In the film ''
Return to Oz ''Return to Oz'' is a 1985 dark fantasy film released by Walt Disney Pictures, co-written and directed by Walter Murch. It stars Nicol Williamson, Jean Marsh, Piper Laurie, and Fairuza Balk as Dorothy Gale in her first screen role. The film is an ...
'', Dorothy Gale crosses the edge of the Desert by stepping upon stones. Later, the pack of Wheelers working for
Mombi Mombi is a fictional character in L. Frank Baum's classic children's series of Oz Books. She is the most significant antagonist in the second Oz book ''The Marvelous Land of Oz'' (1904), and is alluded to in other works. Mombi plays a very impor ...
fail to get across the Deadly Desert in pursuit of Dorothy and the Gump, who cross the desert to reach the Nome King's mountain. Six of the Wheelers fall into the desert and are subsequently turned into sand and killed. The seven remaining Wheelers later return with Princess Mombi and cross the desert through the tunnel that was dug underneath the desert to reach the Nome King's mountain. * In ''
Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz ''Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz'' is an American animated children's television series loosely based on L. Frank Baum's 1900 novel '' The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' and its subsequent books, as well as its 1939 film adaptation. The series debute ...
'', the Deadly Desert is featured where it also contained a monster made of sand.


References

Fictional elements introduced in 1904 The Wizard of Oz locations Fictional deserts {{Oz-stub