Grand Erg Occidental
العرق الغربي الكبير | |
|---|---|
 The desolate landscape of the Grand Erg Occidental near Timimoun | |
 Map of the Maghreb showing the Grand Erg Occidental. | |
| Country | Algeria |
| Elevation | 500 m (1,600 ft) |
The Grand Erg Occidental (Arabic: العرق الغربي الكبير, al-ʿIrq al-Gharbī al-Kabīr), (also known as the Western Sand Sea) is the second largest erg in northern Algeria after the Grand Erg Oriental. It covers an area of approximately 78,000 square kilometres (30,000 sq mi).[1] The sand dunes in the erg are formed by the wind, and can be up to 120 metres (390 ft) high.[1] Certain crescent-shaped dunes, known as barchans, are actually mobile; the wind can push these dunes as much as 20 to 30 m (65–100 ft) in one year.[1]
- ^ a b c Scheffel, Richard L.; Wernet, Susan J., eds. (1980). Natural Wonders of the World. United States of America: Reader's Digest Association, Inc. pp. 168–169. ISBN 0-89577-087-3.