Nepedia
Back to Discover
Fluent Reader
🗺️

Nubian Desert

geography Maturity 11-13 Next article →

The Nubian Desert is a vast and dry land.

Nubian Desert NASA
Nubian Desert NASA

It sits in the eastern part of the Sahara Desert. This region covers about 400,000 square kilometers. It spans across northeastern Sudan and northern Eritrea. The desert lies between the Nile River and the Red Sea. The land is very rugged and rocky. You can also find some sand dunes here.

Nubian Desert NASA
Nubian Desert NASA

Nature works in interesting ways in this arid place. Most of the land is dry and bare. There are many wadis in the desert. A wadi is a dry path or valley. These paths often die out before they reach the Nile. The average rainfall each year is less than 25 millimeters. This small amount of rain makes the area very dry. The Nile River flows through many cataracts here. Cataracts are rocky parts of the river.

Nubian Desert NASA
Nubian Desert NASA

History tells us about the people of this land. The native inhabitants are known as the Nubians. Ancient Egypt was affected by this desert in many ways. Merchants and traders traveled across the sand long ago. They went to the ancient civilization of Nubia to shop. They bought gold, cloth, and stone there. They also traded for food and other goods.

Nubian Desert NASA
Nubian Desert NASA

Many important places sit within or near the desert. Port Sudan is the largest city in the region. It sits at the eastern end on the Red Sea. Massawa is another important city on the Red Sea. The city of Atbara sits near the Atbara River. The town of Abidiya is located on the Nile. Today, the Cairo–Cape Town Highway passes through the desert.

Nubian Desert NASA
Nubian Desert NASA

There are special things to find in the desert. It is the only home for the Medemia argun. This is a type of palm tree. It is critically endangered and very rare. It only appears in some oases. An oasis is a wet spot in the desert. In 2008, a meteoroid exploded above the desert. The sky became so bright that people saw the flash. This flash was seen hundreds of miles away.

Nubian Desert NASA
Nubian Desert NASA
337 words

Where will your curiosity go next?

Keep exploring at your chosen reading level.

🖼️ Images & Media (1)
File:Nubian Desert NASA.jpg
Nubian Desert NASA.jpg
More to explore

🔬 Go deeper

More advanced topics to explore

🪜 Step back

Simpler topics to build understanding

What is Nepedia?

A free, ad-free encyclopedia for children. Every article is written at five reading levels, so the same page works for a five-year-old and a fifteen-year-old — use the level switcher above to see this one change. No account needed to read.