Images related to Grand Erg Oriental, Algeria

Dunes of the Grand Erg Oriental
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Dunes of the Grand Erg Oriental

Large linear dunes stretch across the Great Eastern Sand Sea of northern Algeria.

Published Apr 4, 2016

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The Shallow Aquifers of Erg Chebbi
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The Shallow Aquifers of Erg Chebbi

A layer of impervious rock under this sea of sand sends water draining toward villages along its edge.

Published Dec 10, 2016

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Tifernine Dune Field, Algeria
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Tifernine Dune Field, Algeria

The Tifernine Dune Field is located at the southernmost tip of the Grand Erg Oriental, a “dune sea” that occupies a large portion of the Sahara Desert in eastern Algeria.

Published Sep 29, 2008

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Dune Types in the Issaouane Erg, Eastern Algeria
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Dune Types in the Issaouane Erg, Eastern Algeria

One of the main reasons that rainless regions like the Sahara Desert are interesting from the perspective of landscape science is that the work of flowing water—mainly streams and rivers—becomes less important than the work of wind. Over millennia, if enough sand is available, winds can generate dunes of enormous size, arranged in regular patterns. Long, linear dunes stretch generally north to south across much of northeast Algeria, covering a vast tract (~140,000 square kilometers) of the Sahara Desert known as the Erg Oriental. Erg means “dune sea” in Arabic, and the term has been adopted by modern geologists. Spanning this image from a point on the southwest margin of the erg (image center point: 28.9°N 4.8°W) are a series of 2-kilometer-wide linear dunes, comprised of red sand. The dune chains are more than 100 meters high. The “streets” between the dunes are grayer areas free of sand.

Published Sep 11, 2006

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Living on the Edge of the Taklimakan Desert
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Living on the Edge of the Taklimakan Desert

Bosten Lake, one of the largest inland lakes in China, and the Kaidu River have made this dry landscape habitable.

Published Aug 22, 2016

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Star Dunes in Algeria
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Star Dunes in Algeria

Complex wind patterns left these distinctive star-shapes in the sands of the Grand Erg Oriental.

Published Sep 29, 2013

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Queensland’s Channel Country
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Queensland’s Channel Country

Linear dunes and ephemeral streams converge on the eastern margin of the Simpson Desert in a region known for its floods.

Published Sep 15, 2012

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Issaouane Erg, Algeria
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Issaouane Erg, Algeria

he Issaouane Erg (sand sea) is located in eastern Algeria between the Tinrhert Plateau to the north and the Fadnoun Plateau to the south. Considered to be part of the Sahara Desert, the Issaouane Erg covers an area of approximately 38,000 km2. These complex dunes form the active southwestern border of the sand sea.

Published Feb 7, 2005

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A Plateau of Chasms
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A Plateau of Chasms

Tassili n’Ajjer was once shaped by water, but the plateau gives shape to the sands below.

Published Mar 12, 2018

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Erg Oriental, Algeria
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Erg Oriental, Algeria

Published Feb 12, 2007

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