History Main / CrossingTheDesert

* In an episode of ''AvatarTheLastAirbender'', the Gaang wanders the desert to find a hidden library. And yes, [[NeverLiveItDown Sokka and Momo]] [[MushroomSamba get high]] [[AllDesertsHaveCacti on peyote.]]
* In an episode of ''Ben10AlienForce'', Ben wanders the desert with a Highbreed, Reinrassig III, in order to get to a teleporter. The two eventually [[spoiler: share a NotSoDifferent moment, causing the latter to stay behind in self-imposed exile.]]

* SergioLeone's ''[=~The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly~=]''. Tuco and Blondie go on "walks" through the desert, in attempts to kill each other before reaching the nearest town.

* Happens to Bastian in ''TheNeverEndingStory II: The Next Chapter''

* In ''[=~Star Ocean: Till the End of Time~=]'', you need to cross a (very small) desert to get to some ruins. You quickly dehydrate and have to stand in the water from an oasis in order to recover, making the gameplay in this section exploring as quickly as possible to find the next oasis before you keel over. No, we don't know how standing in water rehydrates you. [[MST3KMantra Don't think about it so hard]].

* The second act of Disney's ''{{Dinosaur}}'', which for some reason, resembled the final act of the "Rite of Spring" segment from ''{{Disney/Fantasia}}''. In fact, the soundtrack played during this scene is even called "Across the Desert!"

* Gaara has done this in ''{{Naruto}}'' in order to get to the Leaf Village.

* ''MarioAndLuigiSuperstarSaga'' has Teehee valley, in which Mario And Luigi must guide Peach across to get to a Mushroom Kingdom city.

* In Abe'sOddysee Abe must cross the desert of Scrabania on elum-back to reach a temple.

* In LFrankBaum's ''The Marvelous Land of Oz'', the second [[Literature/LandOfOz Oz book]], Mombi tries this to escape Glinda. Glinda catches her.

* In LFrankBaum's ''[[TheWonderfulWizardOfOz The Marvelous Land of Oz]]'', Mombi tries this to escape Glinda. Glinda catches her.

* In ''King Solomon's Mines'' by [=~H. Rider Haggard~=], Allan Quatermain and his crew had to spend a long time suffering while trying to cross a desert to get to the land of the Kukuanas.

----
<<|{{Plots}}|>>

* An odd example, from [[Laurence Yep Laurence Yep's]] ''Literature/DragonSeries'' - In ''Literature/DragonOfTheLostSea'', the dragon Shimmer injures her wing, and she and the boy Thorn have to cross a dried out sea on foot. Since all the water was removed from the sea instantaneously [[AWizardDidIt via magic]], the dry seabed is a desert plain of blindingly white salt flats, with periodic stinging salt winds.

[[folder:Live Action TV]]
* One of the sequences in the TopGear Middle East special has them doing this is Syria. The main obstacles in this case are mostly rocks and rough terrain.

On his neverending quest to find the [[McGuffin McGuffin]], Hero Bob must cross a desert wasteland. Expect there to be [[ScaryScorpions scorpions]], [[AllDesertsHaveCacti cacti]], a few [[RibcageRidge Ribcage Ridges]], and maybe even a SandWorm or two. For whatever reason, rather than travel during the night, Bob will nearly always travel starting at high noon, though this can be [[JustifiedTrope justified]] by the planet [[AlienSky having multiple suns]], or the desert having some kind of curse, what have you. If Bob's travelling with Alice, Carol, and Dave, expect at least one of them to suffer from heat stroke, and another to see a HollywoodMirage. And AllDesertsHaveCacti.

* In ''KingsQuest V'' you must enter the desert to get some {{Mac Guffin}}s. The sun's [[GameplayAndStorySegregation frozen in the sky]], but you must drink water every ''x'' screens or you will die. Oddly, you only need water in the desert areas, never in the more temperate zones.
** And again in ''KingsQuest VII''. Valenice will be just fine as long as she stays within the few screens where most of the action takes place, but when she has to venture out into the greater parts of the desert, where all the screens look the same, then she has a chance of dying of thirst.

* In an episode of ''AvatarTheLastAirbender'', the Gaang wanders the desert to find a hidden library. And yes, [[NeverLiveItDown Sokka and Momo get high on peyote.]]

On his neverending quest to find the [[McGuffin McGuffin]], Hero Bob must cross a desert wasteland. Expect there to be [[ScaryScorpions scorpions]], [[AllDesertsHaveCacti cacti]], a few [[RibcageRidge Ribcage Ridges]], and maybe even a SandWorm or two. For whatever reason, rather than travel during the night, Bob will nearly always travel starting at high noon, though this can be [[JustifiedTrope justified]] by the planet [[AlienSky having multiple suns]], or the desert having some kind of curse, what have you. If Bob's travelling with Alice, Carol, and Dave, expect at least one of them to suffer from heat stroke, and another to see a HollywoodMirage. And there will be cacti.

On his neverending quest to find the [[McGuffin McGuffin]], Hero Bob must cross a desert wasteland. Expect there to be [[ScaryScorpions scorpions]], [[AllDesertsHaveCacti cacti]], a few [[RibcageRidge Ribcage Ridges]], and maybe even a SandWorm or two. For whatever reason, rather than travel during the night, Bob will nearly always travel starting at high noon, though this can be [[JustifiedTrope justified]] by the planet [[AlienSky having multiple suns]], or the desert having some kind of curse, what have you. If Bob's travelling with Alice, Carol, and Dave, expect at least one of them to suffer from heat stroke, and another to see a HollywoodMirage.

* In the beginning of ''Death Comes for the Archbishop,'' Bishop Latour must cross the New Mexico desert to Santa Fe.

* In ''Tribesman of {{Gor}}'', Tarl Cabot must make a long trek through the Tahari Desert to stop a DoomsdayDevice from destroying the planet.

* In the ''[[RanmaOneHalf Ranma 1/2]]'' anime (but not manga) Genma once had to cross a desert ([[MSTKMantra somewhere]]) with baby Ranma on his back. When he ran out of water he traded Ranma to a (well fed) stranger for a bowl of rice and some fish to eat (after the stranger fed Ranma Genma stole him back). And thus Ranma gained [[UnwantedHarem another fiancée]].

->''The Man in Black fled across the desert, and [[Determinator the Gunslinger]] followed.''

->''The Man in Black fled across the desert, and [[TheHero the Gunslinger]] followed.''