What's underneath the desert sand?

Deserts with endless stretches of white sand dunes are familiar images to us. So, what's underneath that desert sand?

The answer is, depending on your location, the answer will be different.

It is a fact that due to the influence of the sand wind in the desert can always move a very large volume and there are different types of deserts and deserts depending on the inherent topography of the area.

What's underneath the desert sand? Picture 1

Each area beneath the sand may have been mountains, plains, a forest, or even the ocean, though. There may even be sinkholes like 'traps' that are always ready to wait for prey above 'falling in the net'.

The composition of the sand layer near the surface of the desert is coarse dust and fine sand. Under the action of the desert wind, this layer of sand can stick together to form a deep ripple-shaped trench.

Beneath the desert's fine sand is a layer of rock the size of a pebble. They are mainly terrestrial rocks that have been worn down over time by river weathering and influenced by many other factors.

With the desert area formed in the sea, the rocks on the coast, or on the seabed will be crushed by the sea into dust particles, and contribute a part to the vast desert. However, this process takes place over thousands or millions of years.

If you continue to dig down, it will be a layer of sedimentary sandstone, covering the rock bed of the area. They are formed by sand that has been compacted and transformed under pressure.

This layer of sandstone helps us uncover the secrets of what lies beneath the sandy desert, revealing the landscape inherent to the area, before it was covered by the sand.

In 2010, scientists found evidence of a large lake thought to have formed about 250,000 years ago when the Nile River flooded the area through a small canal beneath the sands of the Sahara Desert.

David Pac

Update 24 July 2023