- "At the East, not far from here," said one of the Munchkins, "there is a great Deadly Desert, and no one could live to cross it, it is far too harsh in climate and very vast." "It is the same at the South," said another Munchkin, "for I have been to that country of the Quadlings. "I am told," said the third Munchkin, "that it is the same at the West. And that country, where the Winkies live, is ruled by the Wicked Witch of the West, who would make you her slave if you dared to pass her way." "The North is my home," said the Good Witch, "and at its edge of the country of the Gillikins, is the same dangerous desert that surrounds this realm of the magical Land of Oz. "
- ―The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (book) (1900)
Return to Oz Deadly Desert.
The Deadly Desert is the mysteriously cursed desert that completely surrounds the enchanted continent where the magical Land of Oz can be found. On maps, the eastern quadrant of the desert is called the Deadly Desert, while the other three quadrants of desert are called the "Shifting Sands" the "Impassable Desert" and the "Great Sandy Waste". Despite the different names given, each side of the sands are sworn to be as dangerous as hot lava. And anyone who sets foot into the sand of any of these deserts instantly dissolves and becomes sand themselves. Even the very air emanating from the desert is caustic and burns the lungs. L. Frank Baum's dying words reportedly were: "Now we can cross the Shifting Sands..."
Princess Ozma travels through the Deadly Desert on a magic rug.
The desert was originally a desert, being as dangerous as any natural desert but no more. Indeed, in Baum's second Oz book The Marvelous Land of Oz, published in 1904, the old Witch Mombi tries to use her dark magic to escape through it but Glinda the Good Witch uses her magic and chases her over the sands and stops her. In Baum's third Oz book Ozma of Oz, published in 1907, it has become a deadly desert with life-destroying sands, so dangerous that no source of magic; no matter how powerful can be used on it to be crossed. This feature remained constant through the rest of the Oz series. The desert is used as a literary device to explain why Oz is essentially cut off from the rest of the world.
Dorothy crossing the Deadly Desert by stone in Return to Oz.
Notable Crossings[]
- Dorothy Gale and her little pet dog named Toto were carried over the desert into Oz in a farmhouse by a Kansas cyclone and were carried back again by the magic Silver Shoes Dorothy obtained while in that land. (The Wonderful Wizard of Oz)
- The Wizard of Oz arrived in and left Oz in a hot air balloon.(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz)
- Tip and his companions crossed the desert twice in the flying Gump. (The Marvelous Land of Oz)
- Princess Ozma, the child ruler of Oz, crossed the desert to the neighboring Kingdom of Ev with her whole royal court by use of a magical infinitely unrolling carpet created by Glinda the Good Witch. (Ozma of Oz)
- Dorothy Gale, Shaggy Man, and Button-Bright crossed the desert into Oz by use of a sand ship built by Johnny Dooit. (The Road to Oz)
- The evil Nome King dug a tunnel underneath the desert to invade Oz. (The Emerald City of Oz)
- Trot, Cap'n Bill, and Button-Bright flew over the desert carried by birds and led by Flipper the Ork. (The Scarecrow of Oz)
- Kiki Aru transformed himself into a bird and flew over from Oz, exploring the various countries of Nonestica. (The Magic of Oz)
- A giant Ruggedo hopped right over the desert, and ran back to his mountain in Ev. (Kabumpo in Oz)
- Kabumpo, Peg Amy, Pompadore, and Wag crossed over on a runaway country. (Kabumpo in Oz)
- Polychrome allowed Randy, Kabumpo and Jinnicky the Red Jinn to ride her rainbow across the desert. (The Purple Prince of Oz)
- A geyser erupted beneath Handy Mandy on Mt. Mern, sending her hurdling across the desert on a large boulder and landing in Munchkin Country. (Handy Mandy in Oz)
- A powerful storm blew Kabumpo and King Randywell across the desert. (The Silver Princess in Oz)
Adaptations[]
Return to Oz (1985)[]
- "...if this is the Land of Oz, then this is the Deadly Desert. It surrounds Oz. Last time me and Toto flew over it in the old house. Anything living that touches it; turns to sand..."
- ―Dorothy Gale in Return to Oz (1985)
The Deadly Desert in Return to Oz
When Dorothy Gale finally returns six months after the first trip, she crosses over from Kansas to Oz in a chicken coop with Billina the hen from the Kansas farm. Later on in the story, Princess Mombi sends her pack of 13 Wheelers to chase after Dorothy who escaped from Mombi's palace as a prisoner by creating the flying Gump, but not before meeting Tik-Tok and Jack Pumpkinhead.
The horrifying effects of the Deadly Desert in Return to Oz.
The little party successfully flew over the desert and continued on to the Nome King's mountain to rescue his Majesty the Scarecrow. While chasing the party of Dorothy, 6 of the Wheelers accidentally fell right into the Deadly Desert when they reach Oz's border and were subsequently turned into sand and killed. The 7 remaining Wheelers returned the next day back to Mombi, and went through the tunnel dug underneath the Deadly Desert that allowed them to eventually reach the Nome Kingdom with Mombi.
Magic Land[]
In the Magic Land series, the life-destroying property of the sand is absent. However, it is revealed in the second book that Gingema has placed a ring of giant black rocks around the land. These rocks attract any stranger attempting to enter the Magic Land (natives are unaffected), dooming them to death by thirst. The effect can be countered by eating magic grapes growing in a remote part of the Magic Land. It is also possible (although risky) to try slipping in the middle between two stones, where their powers cancel each other out.
Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz[]
In the episode "Doozy of a Woozy", the Lion mentions this is where the Flying Festival is.