[1] Its southeastern end is crossed by the Ming Great Wall, and it forms the southern portion of the Ordos Desert.

Several research papers cited below claim that the Mu Us Desert includes part of Shaanxi and Gansu.

[5] As part of the Ordos Plateau, the elevation ranges from 1,000m to 1,300m (as low as 950m in some south-eastern valleys, and reaching between 1,400m to 1,600m in the north-western area).

This suggests that the prehistoric climate was mild and wet with numerous rivers and lakes, yet limited plant life and wildlife in the early stage of the Late Pleistocene age.

The Mu Us Desert underwent a series of changes, including the formation of shifting sands as well as the fixation and reduction of dunes.

[4] Based on remote sensing data, rangeland has experienced an increase in both total biomass and number of grazing animals.

Active measures which have been taken to limit desertification have resulted in increased vegetation cover and lowered potential for wind erosion.

In most of the desert, desertification developed rapidly, swallowing grassland, while marginal areas in the east and south were restored to some extent.

After 1949, the Chinese government carried out a variety of ecological restoration projects including sand stabilization, irrigation development, afforestation, soil improvement, and transformation of the desert with remarkable results.

[14] As early as 453 BC, the Yiju people built a double wall in the southern region of the Mu Us Desert to protect themselves against the northernmost Chinese states.