noun
erg
A broad desert area covered with windblown sand dunes.
Wind reshapes the dunes across the erg each day.
Etymology
The Arabic word names a sandy region or dune. Geography adopted it for an extensive desert area dominated by wind-shaped accumulations of sand.
More examples
- The caravan skirts the erg to avoid the deepest sand.
- Several ergs stretch across this part of the Sahara.
- Beyond the rocky plateau lies an erg of towering dunes.
Forms
erg · ergs
Similar words
- sand sea
- A plain-English term for the same vast sandy landscape.
- dune field
- Can describe smaller dune areas, including those outside deserts.