The Black Desert (, aṣ-Ṣaḥrāʾ as-sawdāʾ) is a region of volcano-shaped and widely spaced mounds, distributed along about in the Western Desert of Egypt between the White Desert in the south and the Bahariya Oasis in the north. Most of its mounds are capped by basalt sills, giving them the characteristic black color.Ekaterina E. Plyusninaa, Emad S. Sallamb, Dmitry A. Rubana; Geological heritage of the Bahariya and Farafra oases, the central Western Desert of Egypt, Journal of African Earth Sciences (2016).
Geology The mounds of the Black Desert, up to 100 metres (328 feet) high, vary in size, composition, height, and shape. Some, are dark, consisting of iron quartzite, while others are more reddish, as their surface rocks consist of iron sandstone. On the outskirts of the Black Desert are volcanic hills that prove the eruption of dark volcanic dolerite, dating back to the Jurassic period 180 million years ago.A.M. Afify, M.E. Sanz-Montero, J.P. Clavo, H.A. Wanas; Diagenetic origin of ironstone crusts in the Lower Cenomanian Bahariya Formation, Bahariya Depression, Western Desert, Egypt. Journal of African Earth Sciences 2015, vol. 101, pp. 333-349.
Palaeobiology Remains of shrubs and fossilized woodlands have been found in the Black Desert, indicating that plants once grew there.The Black Desert Retrieved 2020/04/20.
Declaration of Natural Reserve After the discovery of the second-largest dinosaur skeleton in the world on its borders, the Black Desert was declared a natural reserve in 2010.
In popular culture The Black Desert has inspired the setting of the Valencia region in the fantasy MMORPG Black Desert Online.
The Black Desert serves as a playable region in the 2017 action-adventure game Assassin's Creed: Origins.
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