# Beautiful Desert landscapes of the World



## Pakia (Jun 29, 2006)

Deserts, Sand dunes, and their inhabitants don't get much coverage but they could be mind-blowing beautiful.

So post pics from the world of Desert that many of us may never witness in person.

Here is Ubari Sand sea, Fezzan, Libya


----------



## Pakia (Jun 29, 2006)

*Sand Dunes, western Australia*


----------



## Pakia (Jun 29, 2006)

The desert of Maspalomas,Gran Canaria, Spain


----------



## Pakia (Jun 29, 2006)

*Lençois Maranhenses, Brazil*


----------



## Pakia (Jun 29, 2006)

*Then There is Thar*

















Thar, Sindh, Pakistan
















Thar, Rajashtan, India


----------



## Mikou (Jul 20, 2009)

*Erg of Admer (Algeria )*


----------



## Mikou (Jul 20, 2009)

*The Algerian desert*


----------



## Mikou (Jul 20, 2009)

*Timimoun Oasis (Algeria )*


----------



## Mikou (Jul 20, 2009)

* Dunes after the rain, surroundings of Djanet, Central Sahara.*


----------



## Mikou (Jul 20, 2009)

*Stony forest, Site of Jabbaren, Tray*​(Plateau) of the Tassili N' Ajjer, Algeria (24°28'N N - 9°47'E E).
The site of Jabbaren appears as a city with its perpendicular main avenues, its places, its multiple streets and alleys... Jabbaren is one of these most important "stony forests" of the Tassili N' Ajjer, natural reserve registers on the UNESCO world heritage list in 1982. Their landscapes always present an aspect of engraved stoneware, affected and sculptured by the wind, the sand and the water. But their interest is not that aesthetic or geologic. Tassili N' Ajjer is one of the vaster whole prehistoric rock art of the world. More than 15 000 drawings and engravings allow to follow, since 6 000 BC until first centuries AD, the changes of the climate, the migrations of the fauna and the evolution of the human life in the borders of Sahara there.


----------



## Mikou (Jul 20, 2009)

Sahara Desert (Algeria)


----------



## Mikou (Jul 20, 2009)

*Salt rock close to Ain Mabed , Algeria*​


----------



## Mikou (Jul 20, 2009)

Algeria 

The Ahaggar Mountains (Tuareg: idurar uhaggar), also known as the Hoggar, are a highland region in central Sahara, or southern Algeria near the Tropic of Cancer. They are located about 1,500 km (900 mi) south of the capital, Algiers and just west of Tamanghasset. The region is largely rocky desert with an average altitude of more than 900 metres (2,953 feet) above sea level. The highest peak is at 3,003 meters (Mount Tahat). Assekrem is a famous and often visited point where le Père de Foucauld lived in the summer of 1905.


----------



## Mikou (Jul 20, 2009)




----------



## Mikou (Jul 20, 2009)

*Relizane - Sahara*


----------



## Mikou (Jul 20, 2009)

Moon on the Algerian Desert


----------



## Mikou (Jul 20, 2009)

*Hoggar Mountains -Sahara​*


----------



## Mikou (Jul 20, 2009)

*Algerian Desert*​


----------



## gabo79 (Oct 31, 2008)

wow awazing more pics


----------



## Mikou (Jul 20, 2009)

*Algeria*

The first pictures are beautiful :


----------



## Misiek (Sep 12, 2002)

Slowinski NP in Northern Poland


----------



## AJ215 (Nov 22, 2003)

more photos of Lençóis Maranhenses


----------



## Sarah33 (Sep 1, 2009)

*Grand Canyon*

The only one I know is the Grand Canyon.


----------



## Pakia (Jun 29, 2006)

*The world's driest place - Atacama Desert in Northern Chile.*









Laguna Brava









Never had a drop of rain (atleast since the record keeping began)


----------



## MoreOrLess (Feb 17, 2005)

Pakia said:


> Laguna Brava
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Where did that lake come from then? :lol:

I'd guess that pictures from higher up on the altiplano rather than the desert proper hich does get some rain/snow.


----------



## Pakia (Jun 29, 2006)

MoreOrLess said:


> *Where did that lake come from then?* :lol:
> 
> I'd guess that pictures from higher up on the altiplano rather than the desert proper hich does get some rain/snow.


Very good question. 

I looked it up but didn't find much info, other than some thermal lake in this desert and some strange fog phenomena that make tiny puddles in morning.

Maybe some expert or Chileano could explain.


----------



## ehh... (Jul 13, 2007)

sorry for my english...
In the Chilean Altiplano can rain up to 300mm in specific areas over 4000 meters above sea level, specifically in the summer. This period of rain is known as "Altiplanic winter" or "Bolivian winter". Also the highest mountains of the Andes have ancient glaciers, fed somehow by the altiplanic winter. These are the sources of water in the driest desert in the world. Anyway, most lakes are salty by evaporation...


----------



## erka (Apr 26, 2003)

Kootwijkerzand, the Netherlands:



















Mind you, these are not dunes near the sea but the Kootwijkerzand is a real developing sand plain in the inland.


----------



## ehh... (Jul 13, 2007)

Atacama desert - Chile


----------



## flyinfishjoe (Mar 20, 2010)

Key Monastery--Spiti Valley, India
cc 4ocima, flickr


----------



## MoreOrLess (Feb 17, 2005)

I think people are mistaking desert for "sand" with alot of these suggestsions, a desert is an area of low rainfall which may or may not be sandy.


----------



## flyinfishjoe (Mar 20, 2010)

Yes, even Antarctica is a desert. When people think desert, most people think dunes, sand, etc.


----------



## ENRIQUE DANIEL (Jan 6, 2005)

MoreOrLess said:


> Where did that lake come from then? :lol:
> 
> I'd guess that pictures from higher up on the altiplano rather than the desert proper hich does get some rain/snow.


THATS FOR SURE THAT PICTURE BELONGS 2 THE ANTIPLANO.


----------



## ENRIQUE DANIEL (Jan 6, 2005)

THE PERUVIAN COAST SOUTH AMERICA ONE OF MOST DRIEST PLACES ON EARTH.


----------



## Pukah (Jul 12, 2010)

Wow


----------



## Pukah (Jul 12, 2010)

Those are beach dunes in Poland


----------



## arzaranh (Apr 23, 2004)

ENRIQUE DANIEL said:


> ...


otherworldly!


----------



## ENRIQUE DANIEL (Jan 6, 2005)

The peruvian desert.


----------



## Limeñito (Mar 13, 2007)

I enjoyed looking at each picture in this thread, especially the Algerian ones.

I love pictures about deserts; Peru, my country, has one of the driest in the world, and the landscapes there can be very appealing, such as the last picture. Desert and sea? How not to like that blend?


----------



## soumodeep (May 28, 2010)

Thar desert India




























HIGH ALTITUDE DESERT LADAKH










cold desert India










thorny desert, India










highest desert in the world, Nubra valley


----------



## .for.ce.br (Sep 1, 2010)

AJ215 said:


> more photos of Lençóis Maranhenses


Great photos! 

Lençóis Maranhenses is the only "desert" in the whole world that has thousands of small lakes spreading between the sand dunes!


----------



## Imperfect Ending (Apr 7, 2003)

Salar De Uyuni, Bolivia









Alex & Gerad


----------



## Imperfect Ending (Apr 7, 2003)

( The Racetrack ) *Death Valley*, California, USA


Sailing Stones
The sailing stones are a geological phenomenon found in the Racetrack. The stones slowly move across the surface of the playa, leaving a track as they go, without human or animal intervention. They have never been seen or filmed in motion. Racetrack stones only move once every two or three years and most tracks last for three or four years. Stones with rough bottoms leave straight striated tracks while those with smooth bottoms wander. Stones sometimes turn over, exposing another edge to the ground and leaving a different-sized track in the stone's wake.
The sailing stones are most likely moved by strong winter winds, reaching 90 mph, once it has rained enough to fill the playa with just enough water to make the clay slippery. The prevailing southwest winds across Racetrack playa blow to northeast. Most of the rock trails are parallel to this direction, lending support to this hypothesis.[1][2]
An alternate hypothesis builds upon the first. As rain water accumulates, strong winds blow thin sheets of water quickly over the relatively flat surface of the playa. A layer of ice forms on the surface as night temperatures fall below freezing. Wind then drives these floating ice sheets, their aggregate inertia providing the necessary force required to move the larger stones. Rock trails would again remain parallel to the southwest winds.









Jim Patterson Photography 









wikipedia









http://www.livingwilderness.com/patterns/racetrack.jpg


----------



## Imperfect Ending (Apr 7, 2003)

The biggest and the most over-looked desert : *Antartica *









ountainmadness_seattle


----------



## Imperfect Ending (Apr 7, 2003)

*Arches National Park*, Utah, USA









caldail









caldail









caldail









http://www.climbing.com/news/hotflashes/double-o-arch-arches.jpg









http://www.pulsarmedia.eu/data/media/867/Arches_National_Park_Utah.jpg


















http://www.traveladventures.org/continents/northamerica/images/arches-national-park08.jpg


----------



## Imperfect Ending (Apr 7, 2003)

*Joshua Tree National Park*, California, USA









http://media.away.com/images/outside/200705/joshua-tree-national-park.jpg









http://pics4.city-data.com/cpicv/vfiles18361.jpg


----------



## Imperfect Ending (Apr 7, 2003)

*Grand Canyon National Park*, Arizona, USA









anadelmann









Al_HikesAZ









Al_HikesAZ


----------



## Imperfect Ending (Apr 7, 2003)

*Glen Canyon*, Utah, USA









Victorciraptor









Porchista 









National Geographic 









http://www.planetware.com/i/photo/glen-canyon-national-recreation-area-utah-ut336.jpg


----------



## Ribarca (Jan 28, 2005)

Bardenas (semi) desert Spain or Mars.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/martinzalba/5054693526/sizes/z/in/photostream/










http://www.flickr.com/photos/martinzalba/5051853675/sizes/l/in/photostream/










http://www.flickr.com/photos/martinzalba/5051853675/sizes/l/in/photostream/










http://www.flickr.com/photos/martinzalba/2981170323/sizes/o/in/set-72157610279569569/


----------



## ...aditya... (May 31, 2010)

*THAR-THE GREAT INDIAN DESERT*



























*COLD DESERT OF LADAKH*


----------



## voyageur (Sep 14, 2010)

Desert of Algeria.


----------



## voyageur (Sep 14, 2010)

Desert of Algeria.


----------



## voyageur (Sep 14, 2010)

Great sand sea of Mourzouk,Lybia.


----------



## balthazar (Jul 19, 2007)

great thread!


----------



## Paddington (Mar 30, 2006)

A lot of these places aren't desert on this thread. Some aren't even "semi-arid". Some sand or a few dried out trees at a certain point of year does not make a place a desert.


----------



## monroyasid (Jan 7, 2011)

Nice pictures. I really like its. But I think that You have edited some of the photos in photo-shop.


----------



## Abner.a (Jan 6, 2011)

i have never seen a desert sea in my whole life not even in pictures until i have seen this thread , that really looks like a heaven . beautiful pictures cant get away admiring them .


----------



## ehh... (Jul 13, 2007)

*Atacama Desert, Chile*









by evaritchie99

Llano de Chajnantor Observatory and ALMA 5104 m (16,740 ft)












































by josefrancisco.salgado


----------



## gabo79 (Oct 31, 2008)

nice pics


----------



## diablo234 (Aug 18, 2008)

*Arches National Park:*









Delicate Arch at Sunset by Jesse Varner









Arches, Utah by Rick McCharles









Arches, Utah by Rick McCharles


----------



## gabo79 (Oct 31, 2008)

*Mysterious Djibouti*

*Ardukoba Volcano*



*Lac Assal*





Uploaded with ImageShack.us



Uploaded with ImageShack.us



*Lac Abbe*





*Arta Bay*





*Goubet El Kharab*


----------



## Linguine (Aug 10, 2009)

amazing shots. :cheers:


----------



## gabo79 (Oct 31, 2008)

Djibouti, officially the *Republic of Djibouti*, is a country in the Horn of Africa. It is bordered by Eritrea in the north, Ethiopia in the west and south, and Somalia in the southeast. The remainder of the border is formed by the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. Djibouti-City is the nation's capital.

*République de Djibouti* (francais)
*جمهورية جيبوتي* (arabic)
*Gabuutih Ummuuno* (afar)
*Jamhuuriyadda Jabuut*i (somali)





Uploaded with ImageShack.us



Uploaded with ImageShack.us






Let's start!




Uploaded with ImageShack.us



Uploaded with ImageShack.us



Uploaded with ImageShack.us



Uploaded with ImageShack.us



Uploaded with ImageShack.us



Uploaded with ImageShack.us



Uploaded with ImageShack.us



Uploaded with ImageShack.us



Uploaded with ImageShack.us



Uploaded with ImageShack.us




Uploaded with ImageShack.us



Uploaded with ImageShack.us



Uploaded with ImageShack.us



Uploaded with ImageShack.us


*Narrowest point in the Gulf of Tadjourah
*


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

*Gubet Al Kharab or the Devil's Island (believed to be haunted) *



Uploaded with ImageShack.us



Uploaded with ImageShack.us



Uploaded with ImageShack.us



Uploaded with ImageShack.us







Uploaded with ImageShack.us



*Assal Lake is the most saline body of water in the world outside of Antarctica (saltier than the Dead Sea). It is Africa's lowest point (153 meters below sea level) and the 3rd lowest ponit in the world. It also is the world's 2nd largest salt reserve (after Bolivia). Enjoy pictures of Assal Lake.*





Uploaded with ImageShack.us



Uploaded with ImageShack.us



Uploaded with ImageShack.us



Uploaded with ImageShack.us




Uploaded with ImageShack.us



Uploaded with ImageShack.us



Uploaded with ImageShack.us



Uploaded with ImageShack.us



Uploaded with ImageShack.us



Uploaded with ImageShack.us



Uploaded with ImageShack.us



Uploaded with ImageShack.us



Uploaded with ImageShack.us


----------



## gabo79 (Oct 31, 2008)

The Grand and Petit Barra deserts are one of the driest place on earth


----------



## gabo79 (Oct 31, 2008)

*Assal*



















*Abbe*










*Assal *



















*Abbe*










Sunset at Lac Abbe










Lac Abbe










Abbe Lake



















Assal Lake



Uploaded with ImageShack.us


----------



## christos-greece (Feb 19, 2008)

Great, very nice and amazing photos from these deserts landscapes


----------



## gabo79 (Oct 31, 2008)

*TABERNAS DESERT – ALMERIA, ANDALUSIA COMMUNITY, SPAIN*

The Tabernas Desert is a desert in Spain. It is located in the province of Almería about 30 kilometers (20 miles) north of the capital, Almería, in the Tabernas municipality. It is protected as a wilderness area (paraje natural) spanning 280 square kilometers (110 square miles).









http://www.flickr.com/photos/juanbrevas

The Tabernas Desert is situated between the Filabres range to the north and the the Alhamilla range to the south-southeast, isolating it from the humid winds of the Mediterranean Sea, in an area with little rainfall known as Levante. The desert receives about 24 cm of rain a year. Together, the high temperatures felt all year long (average temperature of 18°C) and one of the longest levels of sun exposure possible (3000 hours) produce the dry climate that gives rise to this true desert. These characteristics are also aggravated by the foehn effect.









http://www.flickr.com/photos/juanbrevas 

The little rainfall that occurs is usually torrential, so that the ground, consisting of marls and sandstone with little vegetation, is unable to retain moisture. Instead, the rain causes erosion, forming the characteristic landscape of badlands. Arroyos formed by torrential rain harbor the scarce vegetation and fauna such as Swifts, Hedgehogs, Jackdaws, Pin-tailed Sandgrouses, Blue Rock Thrushes, Stone Curlews, Trumpeter Finches, and Crested Larks.









http://www.flickr.com/photos/juanbrevas 

The Desert of Tabernas, because of its similarities with the North American deserts OF the American West, northern Africa, the Arabian deserts, and its lunar landscape, served from 1950s and is still used today for the shooting of many films and westerns (the spaghetti westerns shot at the three main studios, Texas Hollywood, Mini Hollywood, and Western Leone.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tabernas_Desert

http://www.paisajesdecine.com/vol1_eng/

http://www.fort-bravo.com/pages_eng/frameset_eng.htm


----------



## gabo79 (Oct 31, 2008)

*LAS MEDULAS - A World Heritage Cultural Landscape*

Las Médulas is a Cultural Landscape, the result of the Roman intervention in the territory over two centuries and the changes experienced in this territory up to our time. Its importance, however, goes beyond the monumental remains of Roman gold mining, as it is the product of historical changes of all types that this exploitation and domination implied. 









http://www.flickr.com/photos/manolovega 

The inscription in December 1997 of Las Médulas in the List of World Heritage Sites meant the international recognition of a Cultural Landscape for the first time in Spain.









http://www.flickr.com/photos/manolovega 

Today Las Médulas is a Bien de Interés Cultural (Cultural Interest Property) as an Archaeological Zone (1996) and, as a Natural Space, recently declared a Natural Monument (2002). But, above all, Las Médulas is aCultural Park, a dynamic reality in which the fossilised remains are articulated within a living landscape, that of our time, leading the visitor of today’s territory to the ancient territory.









http://www.flickr.com/photos/manolovega

Most people who come to Las Médulas are happy to visit the Mirador de Orellán, a viewpoint from which one can admire one of the best panoramic views of the Las Médulas gold mine. However, the best option for a good understanding of this landscape is not just visiting the Mirador but to follow one or more of these proposed itineraries – depending on the time available. These routes are the best way of getting a spatial understanding of the historic process that produced this cultural landscape and the only alternative for being able to see it in its totality.

http://www.fundacionlasmedulas.org/index.jsp?idioma=en

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Las_Médulas


----------



## Yellow Fever (Jan 3, 2008)

Great videos!


----------



## Linguine (Aug 10, 2009)

simply awesome! thanks gabo. cheers:


----------



## gabo79 (Oct 31, 2008)

Deserts inEjin Banner

Alxa League, Inner Mongolia, NW China













_MG_0355 by zhoubeie, on Flickr










_MG_0243 by zhoubeie, on Flickr









_MG_0332 by zhoubeie, on Flickr









_MG_0425 by zhoubeie, on Flickr


----------



## Linguine (Aug 10, 2009)

stunning photos. :cheers:


----------



## Kelli (Jan 13, 2008)

I love desert landscapes, great thread.


----------



## Kelli (Jan 13, 2008)

My work takes me into the desert a bit, this is NW Western Australia. 

The Governor:









http://www.flickr.com/photos/kelliflower/sets/72157624234443205/



There is a new tourism campaign for the area 'Come and see nothing!'. There is not much really, but it's the colours I love.


----------



## Kelli (Jan 13, 2008)

Just down the road 'S' Hill (it is in the shape of an 'S' from the air):









http://www.flickr.com/photos/kelliflower/sets/72157624234443205/


----------



## Yellow Fever (Jan 3, 2008)

Great pics guys! kay: The Zhou Bei desert photos from Mongolia are awesome!


----------



## EgyMido (Apr 21, 2013)

*Wadi El Hitan (Whales Valley), Egypt*









National Geographic









National Geographic









National Geographic









National Geographic









National Geographic


4768 Wadi al-Hitan by paulappleton, on Flickr


wadi el-Hitan, getuigeberg, Egypte 2007 by wally nelemans, on Flickr


----------



## gabo79 (Oct 31, 2008)

Marvelus Egypt


----------



## Kelli (Jan 13, 2008)

What are they? Dinosaur fossils?


----------



## EgyMido (Apr 21, 2013)

They are whale fossils, you can read more about it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wadi_Al-Hitan


----------



## EgyMido (Apr 21, 2013)

*Black Desert, Egypt*


Black Desert Egypt by JnM_RTW, on Flickr


Egypt - Black desert by CL71, on Flickr


Black Desert in southern Egypt in New Valley Governorate by Santa Claus Travel Egypt, on Flickr


----------



## EgyMido (Apr 21, 2013)

*White Desert, Egypt*
(chalk natural sculptures caused by wind erosion)


Sunset - White Desert - Egypt by Marco Boekestijn, on Flickr


Landy Camping White Desert, Egypt by off2africa, on Flickr


White Desert, Egypt by Dietmar Temps, on Flickr


White Desert (3) by Wild Guanabana, on Flickr









White Desert Egypt by idogu , on Flickr



White Desert, Egypt by Dietmar Temps, on Flickr


White Desert by apricotdaze, on Flickr


White Desert, rock sculptures in late evening light by blauepics, on Flickr


Roca fungiforme o en seta - White Desert (Egipto) - 21 by Banco de Imágenes Geológicas, on Flickr


White Desert, Egypt (49) by SuzyJane, on Flickr


----------



## christos-greece (Feb 19, 2008)

^^ The white desert of Egypt is really amazing


----------



## Kelli (Jan 13, 2008)

Makes me more interested in visiting Egypt than for the pyramids, seeing those images.


One from NW Australia, this was a random mobile dune, apparently it had blown to the coast thousands of kilometers, from the Great Sandy Desert:











Can see it on Google - https://maps.google.com.au/maps?q=exmouth&hl=en&ll=-22.174669,114.613066&spn=0.019155,0.029268&safe=images&hnear=Exmouth+Western+Australia&t=h&z=16


This is more typical of the general terrain in the area though:










Photos: kelliflower on flickr


This area was going to be a massive salt mine, but for once our EPA had the courage to knock it back.


----------



## gabo79 (Oct 31, 2008)

marvelus


----------



## Vasthrash (Dec 4, 2010)

Moon Valley
Antofagasta Region, Chile









Valle de la Luna por HaroldoHorta, en Flickr









Valle de La Luna por HaroldoHorta, en Flickr​


----------



## gabo79 (Oct 31, 2008)

cool pics


----------



## Peregrin Tuk (Oct 20, 2007)

this happen 1 time per year








[/url]
Desierto Florido por RainOfColors, en Flickr[/IMG]


Desierto Florido por FRosselot, en Flickr


Añañuca por FRosselot, en Flickr


----------



## Marcos6010Vinicius (Jan 13, 2012)

*Sands, Northern Territory / Australia*









tim phillips photos


----------



## Marcos6010Vinicius (Jan 13, 2012)

*Rub' al-Khālī / United Arab Emirates*









Achim Thomae


----------



## Cal_Escapee (Jul 30, 2010)

These photos are of *Green Valley, Arizona* where I have a second home:


























































































All photos: https://www.google.com/search?q=Gre...6-Green_Valley_Arizona-Vacations.html;550;412


----------

