Saudi Arabia Deserts

The topography of Saudi Arabia is varied in different parts of the country but the Saudi Arabia deserts comprise the majority of all these geographical regions. Not all parts of Saudi Arabia are of desert type, but the climate is basically arid in most parts. The plateaus and mountains too show features of dry vegetation. There are numerous deserts interrupting the landscape of Saudi Arabia, as in other parts of the Arabian Peninsula.

The Great Deserts of Saudi Arabia
The An Nafud or the Great Nafud constitutes the Great Deserts of Saudi Arabia and occupies about 55,000 square kilometers of land at an average altitude of 1000 meters above the sea level. This desert is featured by the presence of huge, longitudinal sand dunes, interspersed by valleys as wide as 65 square kilometers. The soil of the desert is rich in Iron oxide content, giving a reddish tinge to the color of the sand. The Great Deserts of An Nafud becomes a narrow stretch in the southern part of the Ad Dahna curve. There are regions in the An Nafud desert, which receive winter rains and have watering places. These regions are occupied by the Bedouin tribes, who graze their cattle in the few permanent pastures of An Nafud.

Desert in Northern Saudi Arabia
The deserts of Northern Saudi Arabia is a part of the Syrian Desert. This place is basically a plateau region with a scarce scrub vegetation and grass. This allows many of the nomadic tribes to settle in this place. This region is called Badiyat Ash Sham.

Besides that, there are various Saudi Arabia desert regions of relatively low significance, which are distributed all over the country.