The Nubian Desert ( ar, صحراء النوبة, ''Şaḩrā’ an Nūbyah'') is in the eastern region of the

Sahara Desert , photo = Sahara real color.jpg , photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972 , map = , map_image = , location = , country = , country1 = , ...

, spanning approximately 400,000 km² of northeastern

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

and northern

Eritrea Eritrea ( ; ti, ኤርትራ, Ertra, ; ar, إرتريا, ʾIritriyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia ...

, between the

Nile The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin language, Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered ...

and the

Red Sea The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; T ...

. The arid region is rugged and rocky and contains some dunes, it also contains many

wadi Wadi ( ar, وَادِي, wādī), alternatively ''wād'' ( ar, وَاد), North African Arabic Oued, is the Arabic term traditionally referring to a valley. In some instances, it may refer to a wet (ephemeral) riverbed that contains water onl ...

s that die out before reaching the Nile. The average annual rainfall in the Nubian Desert is less than . The native inhabitants of the area are the

Nubians Nubians () (Nobiin: ''Nobī,'' ) are an ethnic group indigenous to the region which is now northern Sudan and southern Egypt. They originate from the early inhabitants of the central Nile valley, believed to be one of the earliest cradles of c ...

. The River Nile goes through most of its cataracts while traveling through the Nubian Desert. This is right before the Great Bend of the Nile. The Nubian Desert affected the civilization in ancient Egypt in many ways. Merchants and traders from ancient Egypt would travel over the Nubian Desert to buy gold, cloth, stone, food, and much more from the ancient civilization of Nubia. The largest city of the Nubian Desert is

Port Sudan Port Sudan ( ar, بور سودان, Būr Sūdān) is a port city in eastern Sudan, and the capital of the state of Red Sea. , it has 489,725 residents. Located on the Red Sea, Port Sudan is recognized as Sudan's main seaport and the source of 90% ...

, located on the eastern end of the desert, on the Red Sea. Other important cities of the Nubian Desert are

Atbara Atbara (sometimes Atbarah) ( ar, عطبرة ʿAṭbarah) is a city located in River Nile State in northeastern Sudan. Because of its links to the railway industry, Atbara is also known as the "Railway City'. As of 2007, its population is 1 ...

on the river of the same name, as well as Massawa on the Red Sea. The town of

Abidiya Abidiya is a town near the Nubian Desert in River Nile (state) River Nile ( ar, ولاية نهر النيل, Nahr an Nīl) is one of the 18 wilayat or states of Sudan. It has an area of 122,123 km² (47,152 mi²) and an estimated ...

is located on the Nile river. This desert is the only habitat for the critically endangered palm ''

Medemia argun ''Medemia argun'' is a rare species of the palm tree family ( Arecaceae) native to Egypt and Sudan. It is the only species in the genus ''Medemia''. The palm's dried dates have been found in ancient Egyptian tombs. Description ''Medemia argun' ...

'', which only appears rarely in some oases in the desert. On October 7, 2008 the meteoroid 2008 TC3 exploded above the Nubian Desert. The sky became so bright, people hundreds of miles away reported seeing the flash.Recovered Pieces of Asteroid Hold Clues to Early History
March 25, 2009, New York Times

References

Deserts of Eritrea Deserts of Sudan Nubia Sahara {{Sudan-geo-stub