The Western Desert of Egypt is an area of the Sahara which lies west of the river Nile, up to the Libyan border, and south from the Mediterranean sea to the border with Sudan.

There are many different worlds of nature in the Western Desert. One part that is really spectacular is the Black Desert, a dark rocky area which owes its appearance to ancient volcanic action and the presence of the abundant iron ore. It is located in the area around Bahariya oasis.

The black topped golden mountains are the glory of the Black Desert and the Bahariya Oasis. The wonderful huge hills and mountains seem to be just out from everywhere. 

The primarily conical mounds are formed by Cenomanian sandstone and chalky clays. Most are capped with iron quantizes and dolerite rocks. 

In addition, there are reddish hills of ferruginous sandstone and ocherous clay laced with limestone. 

The sand around the mounds is covered with a crusty and thick layer of old dolerite, black basalt and volcanic rocks, which gave the desert its name. 

The soot-coated stones, ranging from pebbles to boulders, lie out across the yellow and orange sand. So, the Black Desert is not quite as black as you may expect. 

According to our-egypt.com