戈壁，平坦的石礫地，是極其干旱氣候下形成的特有自然景觀。

戈壁一詞來自蒙古語，其原意是「難生草木的沙石地」的意思，滿是粗沙和礫石。
沙漠則在形態上有很大不同，它是細如粉末的流沙組成的海洋。
日月輪回，在水、風和陽光的作用下，巨大堅硬的巖石被時光砸為礫石，進而被歲月捻為粉末。

戈壁應該是沙漠的早期形態，是沙漠的前身。因此戈壁和沙漠雖有所不同，但兩者密不可分。
大漠戈壁，寒冷干燥，幾百年來令絲綢之路上的冒險家們望而生畏；然而大漠戈壁一望無際，奇特的地貌，蔚藍的天空，亦構成一幅幅美麗的畫卷。

The word Gobi means "desert" in Mongolian. The Gobi is a large desert region in northern China and southern Mongolia.
The desert basins of the Gobi are bounded by the Altai mountains and the grasslands and steppes of Mongolia on the north,
by the Tibetan Plateau to the southwest, and by the North China Plain to the southwest.

The Gobi is most notable in history as part of the great Mongol Empire,
and as the location of several important cities along the Silk Road.