The Western Deser

The Western Desert
Sometimes called the Libyan Desert, the Western Desert
encompasses 272,400 square miles (705,513 square kilome-
ters), or about two-thirds of Egypt’s total area. East to west, it
extends from the Nile Valley to the Libyan border, and south to
north from the Sudanese border to the Mediterranean Sea. It
consists of several plateaus of limestone and sandstone, a vast
area of sand, and several depressions that contain oases.
The Western Desert does not have spectacular mountains
such as those found in the Sinai Peninsula and Eastern Des-
ert. The highest point is 6,244 feet (1,903 meters) on Jebel
Uweinat, a sandstone and igneous range spanning the extreme
southwestern corner of Egypt. This is an unusual region in
the sterile Western Desert. On average, rain falls once every 7
to 10 years, feeding small springs and supporting plants and
animals similar to those found on the other side of the Nile,
in the mountainous Eastern Desert. North of Jebel Uweinat is
the Gilf Kebir, a divided sandstone plateau rising to 3,300 feet
(1,006 meters). The Western Desert’s largest natural region is
a limestone plateau about 1,650 feet (503 meters) high, rising
north of Gilf Kebir and stretching all the way from the Libyan
border to the Nile Valley. It is rather lifeless except when rain
falls at intervals of only once every 10 years or more, producing
patches of “accidental” plant cover.