A vast sea of brick-red sand in northern Saudi Arabia, famous for its huge crescent and star-shaped dunes.
Area
65,000 km²
Continent
Asia
Location
Northern Arabian Peninsula
Temperature
Up to 54°C in summer
Rainfall
Under 100 mm a year
Climate
Hot desert
About the An Nafud
The An Nafud, or Great Nafud, is the second-largest sand sea on the Arabian Peninsula after the Rub’ al-Khali. Its dunes can rise around 100 metres and shift under fierce “shamal” winds. Rare winter rains briefly green its hollows, and for centuries its wells and oases guided caravans and Bedouin herders across the north of Arabia.
Did you know?
Iron oxide in the sand gives it a striking reddish colour, especially at sunrise and sunset.
Highlights
- Brick-red sand coloured by iron oxide
- Towering crescent and star dunes
- Second-largest sand sea in Arabia
Photo gallery
Life in the An Nafud
Animals, birds and plants that have adapted to survive this landscape.
Animals
Dromedary camel
The one-humped “ship of the desert”, able to go for days without water.
Arabian oryx
A white, straight-horned antelope saved from extinction in Arabia.
Sand cat
A small wildcat with furry foot-pads that walk unburnt across hot sand.
Birds
Houbara bustard
A well-camouflaged desert bird of Arabia and Central Asia.
Sandgrouse
Flies vast distances to water and soaks it up in its breast feathers.
Trees & plants
Date palm
The classic oasis tree, feeding desert peoples with sweet dates for millennia.
Acacia (thorn tree)
Flat-topped thorn trees that survive on scarce desert groundwater.
Day & night in the An Nafud
Deserts are famous for their extreme temperature swings. Flip between day and night to feel the difference — these are typical figures for a subtropical desert.
Midday sun
+45°C
typical daytime high
Blistering daytime heat gives way to surprisingly cool nights — clear skies let the day’s warmth escape, and the temperature can tumble by 30°C or more after dark.
Recorded range for the An Nafud: Up to 54°C in summer