[quote=@Cyclone]
I don't deny ther being desert, just nowhere to the extent that you showed it where it was 2/3 of my nation.
[/quote]That was a really bad estimate but I assumed the desert was the entire area east of the river delta on the geography map I then checked the white map and learned I was wrong but I had already posted. 

Interestingly if you kept the desert the way it is supposed to be. Other than the strip of territory you own to the north it provides you a natural defense against the 3 of the 4 nations bordering you.