The Grand Erg Occidental (, al-ʿIrq al-Gharbī al-Kabīr), (also known as the Western Sand Sea) is the second largest erg in northern Algeria after the Grand Erg Oriental. It covers an area of approximately 78,000 km2. The sand dunes in the erg are formed by the wind, and can be up to 120 m high. Certain crescent-shaped dunes, known as barchans, are actually mobile; the wind can push these dunes as much as 20 to 30 m (65–100 ft) in one year.

Geography

It is a desert natural region that receives less than 50 mm (1,96 in) of rainfall per year. The mean elevation of the Grand Erg Occidental is about 500 m, on average higher than the elevation of the Grand Erg Oriental, but not as high as the neighboring Tademaït to the southwest. This desolate region is a practically uninhabited area; there are no permanent villages.

Features