Largest sand seas on Earth

Arabian Peninsula · about 650,000 km²

A single unbroken ocean of sand bigger than France, with dunes rising over 250 m. It is the largest area of continuous sand in the world.

Xinjiang, China · about 337,000 km²

Nicknamed the "Sea of Death", this basin is almost entirely covered by towering, constantly moving dunes that have buried ancient Silk Road cities.

Algeria & Tunisia (Sahara) · about 192,000 km²

A vast field of golden dunes in the eastern Sahara, famous for its sweeping ridges and the oasis towns that ring its edges.

Algeria (Sahara) · about 103,000 km²

The western twin of the Grand Erg Oriental, a classic Saharan dune sea threaded with historic caravan routes and date-palm oases.

Central Australia · about 176,000 km²

Hundreds of rust-red linear dunes run almost perfectly parallel for up to 200 km — the longest parallel dunes found anywhere on the planet.

Coastal Namibia · about 34,000 km²

A World Heritage dune sea where fog off the Atlantic feeds life among giant star dunes such as the 300 m-plus dunes at Sossusvlei.

Inner Mongolia, China · about 49,000 km²

Home to the tallest fixed dunes in the world — some rise nearly 500 m — dotted with mysterious spring-fed lakes between the sand mountains.

Morocco (Sahara) · about 220 km²

Small but spectacular, these wind-sculpted orange dunes near Merzouga reach about 150 m and are the Sahara most travellers come to see.