Lomography

Erg Sand Desert
written by azurblue on April 27th, 2008 , one comment (2 votes)

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Sahara stands the biggest hot desert in the world, with 8.5 million km2. It runs on ten countries: Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Mali, Morocco, Mauritania, Niger, Suddan, Tchad and Tunisia. Sahara means “desert” in Arabic.
The Erg is the name of the sand desert; it is the final production of the erosion of the mountains. It covers 20% of the Sahara’s surface.
Entire ergs and dune fields tend to migrate downwind as far as hundred kilometers from their sources of sand. Such accumulation requires long period of time (about one million years for Sahara).
These photos are taken in erg Ouahrane, near the city of Chinguetti, in Mauritania.

There is few vegetation: these’s only one sort of tree – a spicky variety of Acacia which provides providential shade for the long hot hours and food for the camels. How to get there: from France, take a plane to Atar, a SUV to Chinguetti, and then a guide with camels. Flights only between October and May, when the weather is not too hot.