Arabian Desert

Arabian Desert or Eastern Desert, arid region, eastern Egypt, lying between the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Red Sea and the Gulf of Suez to the east, the Nubian Desert (along latitude 22° N) to the south, and the River Nile to the west. The western edge of the desert is demarcated by cliffs that rise steeply from the Nile Valley. To the east the terrain, mostly a rugged plateau, slopes upwards to a range of jagged volcanic mountains bordering the Red Sea. Elevations in the range, which descends abruptly to the sea, exceed 2,135 m (7,000 ft). Aridity makes human settlement difficult, but a few small agricultural villages subsist in little basins in the plateau and mountains. Deposits of turquoise, phosphate rock, nitrates, oil, salt, and building stone are found in the desert, but are of limited economic significance.

The name Arabian Desert is also popularly applied to the Rub‘ al Khali ('Empty Quarter'), also called the Great Sandy Desert, of the Arabian Peninsula. The Rub‘ al Khali is one of the hottest and most sparsely inhabited sand dune deserts in the world.