desert
An arid, barren environment. Usually covered in predominantly sand or very loose soil with few animals and plants (e.g. palm trees and cacti) which can survive with very small amounts of water.
Commonly featured in Middle Eastern setting or post-apocalypse fiction to show that resources are scarce or some event has killed most of the life on Earth.
Not to be confused with sweet food items consumed at the end of a meal, known as a dessert.