[5] Cholistan covers an area of 25,800 km2 (10,000 sq mi)[2][6] in the Bahawalpur, Bahawalnagar, and Rahim Yar Khan districts of southern Punjab.

[7] The entire region is subject to desertification due to poor vegetation cover resulting in wind erosion.

[2] In May 2022, in the desert areas of Cholistan in Pakistan many cattle died due to extreme heat and water shortage.

[8] A canal system built during the British era led to irrigation of the northern part of Lesser Cholistan.

[14] The dry bed of the Hakra River runs through the area, along which many settlements of the Indus Valley civilization/Harappan culture have been discovered, including the large urban site of Ganweriwal.

These forts are part of the Tentative List of UNESCO World Heritage Sites,[5] and run roughly parallel to the Indus and Sutlej Rivers 40 miles to the south.

[18] Agricultural farming away from the irrigated regions in Lower Cholistan is difficult due to the lack of steady water supply.

[9] Livestock holds much importance for meeting the area's major needs for cottage industry as well as providing milk, meat and fat.

Because of the nomadic way of life, the main wealth of the people are their cattle that are bred for sale, milked or shorn for their wool.

This includes blankets, which is also a local necessity for the desert as it is not always dust and heat, but winter nights here are very cold too, usually below the freezing point.

Various kinds of khaddar-cloth are made for local consumption, and fine khaddar bedclothes and coarse lungies are woven here.

Masons, stone carvers, artisans, artists, and designers started rebuilding the old cities and new sites, and with that flourished new courts, paintings, weaving, and pottery.

Camel wool is spun and woven into beautiful woolen blankets known as falsies and into stylish and durable rugs.

Cholistani khusas are very famous for the quality of workmanship, variety, and richness of designs especially when stitched and embroidered with golden or brightly colored threads.

The chief ornaments made and worn by them are Nath (nosegay), Katmala (necklace) Kangan (bracelet), and Pazeb (anklets).

[7] Most common of them are below; A man-made forest called Dingarh was developed by the Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR) on more than 100 ha.

Dunes were fixed and stabilized by mechanical and vegetative means, and the area is now covered with trees with orchards of zizyphus, date palms, and grassland grown with collected rainwater and saline groundwater.

[7] The wildlife of Cholistan desert mostly consists of migratory birds, especially the Houbara bustard who migrates to this part during winter.

This species of bird is most famous in the hunting season, even though they are endangered in Pakistan (vulnerable globally), according to the IUCN Red List.

In earlier times, only the art of pottery and terracotta developed, but from the seventh century onwards, a large number of temples and images were also built on account of the intensified religious passions and the accumulation of wealth in cities.