Environment
Deserts of Egypt

The deserts of Egypt comprise over 90 percent of the land surface but are inhabited by around 5 percent of the population. The deserts are part of an arid region that stretches from the Atlantic coast in the west to Central Asia in the east.

The Eastern or Arabian Desert is east of the Nile and extends to the
Red Sea. It rises to a series of ranges, parallel to the sea, called the Red Sea Mountains. It is approximately 222,740 sq km, or 21 percent of the land mass of Egypt. The Arabian Desert has two distinct areas, the northern Al Ma’aza Plateau, composed primarily of limestone, which has been used for building since ancient times, and the southern Al’ Ababda Plateau. Water is very scarce in these areas.


The Western or Libyan Desert is the northeast part of the Sahara. It is separated from the Sahara Desert by highlands and is composed primarily of Nubian sandstone and limestone and rocky plateaus. The Western Desert is much larger than the Arabian Desert, covering 681,000 square km, two thirds the area of Egypt. South of the Qattara Depression there is a band of north-south sand dunes that continue as far south as the Kharga Depression, where they flatten out. The Western Desert is the most arid region of Egypt.

References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libyan_Desert,

http://touregypt.net/Acquaint.htm ,

http://www.encyclopedia.com/html/L/LibyanD1e.asp,

Photo : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libyan_Desert