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Egypt Eastern Desert
The topographic features of the region east of the Nile are
very different from those of the Western Desert. The relatively
mountainous Eastern Desert rises abruptly from the Nile and
extends over an area of approximately 220,000 square kilometers
(roughly equivalent in size to Utah). The upward-sloping plateau
of sand gives way within 100 kilometers to arid, defoliated,
rocky hills running north and south between the Sudan border and
the Delta. The hills reach elevations of more than 1,900 meters.
The region's most prominent feature is the easterly chain of
rugged mountains, the Red Sea Hills, which extend from the Nile
Valley eastward to the Gulf of Suez and the Red Sea. This
elevated region has a natural drainage pattern that rarely
functions because of insufficient rainfall. It also has a complex
of irregular, sharply cut wadis that extend westward toward the
Nile.
The Eastern Desert is generally isolated from the rest of the
country. There is no oasis cultivation in the region because of
the difficulty in sustaining any form of agriculture. Except for
a few villages on the Red Sea coast, there are no permanent
settlements. The importance of the Eastern Desert lies in its
natural resources, especially oil
(see Energy
, ch. 3). A single
governorate, the capital of which is at Al Ghardaqah, administers
the entire region.
Data as of December 1990
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